ʚ ɞ

We got everything

Baby, even though you know

Every time you go away, yeah

You take a piece of me with you, oh

ʚ ɞ

The alarm clock on her bedside table starts to blare, pulling her out of her light sleep. She yawns as she looks over at the clock, the hour hand just passing five. She groans and hits to silence the alarm. She woke up this early countless times before, but now, her head ached and all she wanted to do was roll over and get back to bed. She was up until three a.m., not expecting she'd have to be up this early to retrieve her ex-boyfriend from the airport.

About twenty minutes later, she's on the road, heading north towards the airport in her father's Lincoln. She took his keys without him knowing, and she's praying that he won't wake up before she returns home. Her nerves were at an all time high, between taking the car, driving by herself, and (most importantly) seeing him again. The roads were empty, it was five a.m. on a Saturday in rural Wisconsin. She has a map laying on the seat beside her, relying on it to get her to the right place. Appleton was only about an hour away, but the drive intimidated the hell out of her. She'd never driven this far, especially by herself. She is gripping hard on the wheel, to the point of her knuckles turning white. Her mind is racing with so many thoughts inside her head.

She doesn't know what she is going to say to him. She wants to say the right thing, she just can't figure out what the "right thing" is to say. She debates with herself, wondering what she should do.

A part of her wants to pretend that nothing happened, she doesn't want to have an awkward car ride home. But, they're Eric & Donna, they can't just pretend nothing has happened, because so much has happened. That just isn't a possibility.

Another part of her really wants to date him again, she misses him. She misses his stability, his comfort, and the warmth she felt whenever he was around. Afterall, he is her skinny neighbor boy.

If they get back together, is she ready to move in with him? She thinks about last night, when she visited Jackie and Hyde. They seemed so happy together, like they were finally complete. She wants that for herself. But, is she able to accomplish that with Eric?

She has been writing to him for the last four months, they have obviously kept in contact. She doesn't know why she is stressing herself out so much. If she didn't care about the boy, she wouldn't be driving an hour at five in the morning to pick him up. She was making this harder on herself.

She votes to just live in the moment and just see what happens when she sees him.

ʚ ɞ

The cool air hits Eric's face as he steps outside of the airport, dragging his luggage behind him. The sun hasn't risen yet, there's a dewy smell in the air. It was spring in Wisconsin, and he was finally home.

He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his pack of cigarettes. He flips the lid and plucks one out, reaching into his front pocket for his lighter. He leans against the wall of the airport, peacefully smoking his cigarette. He justifies this one, he has been awake for nearly twenty four hours at this point, and just really needed a smoke. As he inhales and the smoke fills his lungs, he finds himself starting to mellow out. It didn't calm him nearly as much as pot would, but it helped.

Just as he's about to finish his cigarette, he watches as a familiar Lincoln begins to drive up towards him. Shit, he thinks to himself, she's here early. And she's looking right at him, and his smoking situation. He tosses the cigarette onto the ground and begins to walk over to the car, which is now parked with its hazard lights on. As he's approaching the car, the door flings open, and out comes its driver.

"Eric!" she calls out, walking around the car. He stops right before the car and she pulls him into a hug. This isn't what she expected herself to do, but she's doing it.

"Donna. Hey," he says, rubbing her back gently as she holds him in place.

"Hey." After another moment, she releases him from her grasp and looks into his eyes. "I really missed you. More than I had expected." He can see her smile under the bright lights of the airport.

"I missed you, too." he runs his hand along her arm. "So, how've you been?"

"I'm good, everything's been good. You?" They are both still staring deeply into each other's eyes. He grins thinking back to the last four months.

"It was great. I feel like I've really made an impact there."

"I'm glad to hear that." They stand inches apart for another moment, just taking in their reunion. "Donna, I'd love to stay here with you all day, but I'm ready to go home. I need to sleep, and I need to sleep really bad." He chuckles, pulling away from her. He picks up his luggage and steps towards the car. She follows close behind him, jumping ahead of him to open the trunk for him.

"Thank you, m'lady." He says as he closes the door. He walks around the car to return the favor to her, and opens the driver door wide for her. She's hesitant for a moment.

"Actually, do you mind driving home? This really freaked me out." she admits, not being as seasoned of a driver as he is. She drives very seldomly, usually only to run an errand or two every now and then. This drive actually spiked her anxiety to a much higher level than it normally is.

"Donna, you volunteered!" he laughs, slightly picking on her.

"Alright, maybe I did, but I'm not volunteering now!" she laughs back, knowing he's only messing around.

"I can drive you home." he smiles once again, climbing into the driver seat. She hurriedly walks around the car and gets into the passenger seat. He adjusts his mirrors slightly, him and Bob are similar heights so there's no major changes. He turns on the radio, yacht rock begins to flow through the speakers of the car. He puts the car into gear and begins on the trek back to Point Place.

The car ride back was mostly silent, they did not need to exchange any words. They understood how the other was feeling: anxious, tired, confused. Eric didn't want to talk about their relationship quite yet, as he felt it was too soon. He wants Donna to start the conversation, as she was the one who made it clear she thought they shouldn't be back together. Donna was the one who started most of the "difficult" conversations, afterall. She had the balls that he didn't.

Donna was sharing the same dilemma, questioning when she should bring the topic up. She knew he wasn't going to and it was going to fall on her, but she just wanted to pick out the right time. After seeing him again after all this time, and all those feelings coming back once again, she knew she was ready to be with him once again. As she comes to that conclusion, she subconsciously reaches over and rests her hand on his thigh, something she's always done when he drives her around. His reaction is just to look down and smile.

They sat in silence, but it was a pleasant silence. It was a "we're two people who care deeply about each other and don't need to talk to be comfortable" kind of silence.

Eventually, he pulls into the Pinciotti driveway and puts the car into park. He turns to Donna again, her hand still on his leg, and all he can help to do is smile at her again. He feels like that is all he has done since he has gotten back, is smile at the girl that he loves.

They get out of the car and drag his luggage across the yard to his own driveway, he secretly hopes his parents hadn't woken up yet. He just wants to go to bed, not engage in another big welcome. He loved his parents, he just wasn't ready for it yet. He sets his bags down on the patio and turns to look at Donna again. All with that smile still stuck to his face.

"Thank you again for coming to get me." he says, gently holding onto her hand.

"Thank you for driving me home." she giggles, grateful that he was willing to do so. They spend yet another moment just together, looking deep into each other's eyes again, just welcoming each other's presence after a long time apart.

She closes the gap between them, as she leans in and places her lips on top of his. He quickly reciprocates, placing the hand not in hers on her shoulder, while he deepens the kiss. She gently pulls back and presses her forehead to his.

"I want to date again. I want to be Eric and Donna again." she whispers, pulling him into an embrace. They are off in their own little world, their own Eric and Donna world.

As he gets ready to respond, his mother pulls open the sliding door, interrupting their intimate moment.

"You're home!" she calls out, almost instantly wrapping her arms around him, completely ignoring Donna and the moment they seemed to be having here. Donna pulls away from him, upset that Kitty ruined this for her. "Red, honey, he's home!" Kitty says, still oblivious as to what she walked into. Red appears in the doorway, greeting his son as well. Donna takes a step back, wanting to go back to her own house now. Eric turns back to see her, attempting to pull away from his mother.

"Donna, look, we'll talk about this later. I promise. I'm sorry." he says, hoping he'll understand that he can't control his mother. "I'm sorry," he repeats again.

"I'll see you at dinner," she says, giving him a weak smile.

ʚ ɞ

"Oh, Steven, look at the babies!" Jackie chirps as they walk past an animal shelter in downtown Chicago. They were spending a day there, as W.B. called Hyde in for a meeting at one the larger Grooves stores in the region. "Look at that one! He wants me!" she points out to a chocolate labrador, who is jumping up and down at the sight of the couple. "Steven, honey, we should get a dog," she turns to him and pouts.

"Let's think about it.." Hyde says, trying to pull Jackie along from the window.

"Steven, look at him! He needs me!"

"Jackie, I'd love to stop and look at the dogs, but we're going to be late for W.B."

"Steven, I want that dog." she says as she reluctantly continues to walk down the city block. They are about another two or three blocks away from the Grooves. They had been here once before, a little earlier in the year.

"I know, honey. Let's talk about it after the meeting, alright?" he says, attempting to reassure her.

Soon, they reach the door of the Grooves, an upscale building located on a busy city corner. She holds tightly onto his hand as he pulls open the heavy door to the store. He nods at the teenage kid behind the counter and moves to head upstairs, knowing that that is where the office is located.

"Are you nervous?" she asks him as they move up the steps.

"Why would I be nervous? I'm the boss' kid." he chuckles, he wasn't nervous at all. It was a pretty routine meeting, just W.B. wanting to check in on the progress of the Point Place location. They reach the top of the stairs, and she gently knocks on the door at the top. The door swings open and W.B. greets them with a big smile and two open arms.

"Jackie! Steven! Lovely to see both of you!" He wraps his arms around both of them as they step into the office. Hyde typically did these kinds of meetings solo, but since Jackie had the day off, he wanted to bring her along. He had brought her along the week prior, but that was just to just to see his secretary in Madison to grab some paperwork.

He walks them over to his desk, a big oak executive desk that had two chairs neatly aligned in front of it. Their discussion mostly includes the predicted outlook of the Point Place Grooves, their attempts to get leases in New York City, and what music is going to be popular. Basic record store talk. Jackie was tuning them out, mostly, thinking about the dog they had seen earlier.

"So, Jackie, how's the wedding going?" W.B. turns to ask her, hands folded in front of him on the desk. She perks up at the word 'wedding'. "I heard you've been awfully busy."

"That I have, Mr Barnett" she grins, ready to talk about her wedding. "I've got mostly everything arranged for our special day."

"Jackie, dear, call me W.B., we're family now," he lets out a bellowing laugh.

They continue to discuss the wedding for the next couple of minutes, most of the talking done by Jackie. She shares just about every detail, down to the color socks she wants her guests to wear. She just wants everything to be just perfect.

Their conversation ends on a good note, with W.B. letting Jackie know if she needs any help at all, just to call him. He will be there for them, no matter what they need. They leave, satisfied with everything they went over with him. Jackie was glad she was gaining W.B. as a father in law, not only because he came from money (which was honestly an afterthought for her), but also because he was just a good man. That was something she needed, as she couldn't say the same for her own father. Jackie and Hyde walk down the familiar block again, passing the adoption center as well.

"Steven, we have to stop in there!" she says, already opening the door and dragging him inside as well. He stands by the door, watching the room.

"Hi! Do you need any help?" the girl at the counter greets them.

"I want to see that lab you've got right at the window," Jackie says, upset to see that the kennels are in a separate room.

"Of course, right this way," the girl comes out from behind the counter and leads Jackie to the next room. Hyde follows behind them, standing by the door as the girl opens the kennel for her. The pup almost instantly jumps into Jackie, standing on his hind legs.

"Oh, you're such a sweet boy!" Jackie pets the dog, entranced by the animal. "Steven, we need this dog!" she pouts again, holding onto the dog. "Please?"

Hyde approaches them, and the dog does the same thing to him, placing his front paws on his chest while standing on his hind legs. As the dog jumps back down, he sits down in front of them, tail wagging, tongue hanging out of its mouth. Hyde hated to admit it, but he kind of wanted this dog, too.

"Steven, look, he is such a good boy!" Jackie bends down to pet the dog once again. Hyde crosses his arms and debates his options here. Say no, and deal with the wrath of Jackie? Or, say yes and go home with a pretty cool dog? The answer seems obvious to him.

"Fine. We can get the damn dog," he says gruffly, not wanting to let down his zen exterior.

"Oh, Steven, I knew you would say yes!"

ʚ ɞ

Kitty spent the whole day preparing food for the dinner she had promised herself. She roasted a brisket, hand-mashed mashed potatoes, a ton of sides, and whipped up a cheesecake just for the occasion. Just as the clock hit 7pm, she finished setting the table for her big meal.

"Hey there, hi there, ho there!" Bob calls out as he bursts into the kitchen, ready for this meal just as much as Kitty was, but for a much different reason. Kitty wanted to see the kids again, Bob just wanted to eat Kitty's homemade cooking. He loved that woman's cooking so much, he honestly debated fighting Red for his wife. Bob loves a good meal.

"Oh, Bob, you're here just on time!" Kitty claps her hands together at the sight of her neighbor. Donna is right behind him, sliding the door shut behind them. "Hi, Donna. I'm so glad you guys were able to make it!" She leads them into the dining room. "Sit wherever, no assigned seating!" She laughs her laugh. Just as the Pinciotti's are seated, the front door swings open, and Jackie and Hyde enter the Forman abode. Jackie's holding a tin pan covered in foil.

"Kitty, the rest of them are here!" Red calls to Kitty from his seat in the living room. There was some sort of game on the television and he wasn't quite ready to turn it off.

"Red, turn off that damn TV and get in here!" Kitty calls back, deciding for him that he was ready to go. She enters the living room through the den, thrilled to see that they have arrived as well. She's even happier to see that they brought food as well. "Oh, Jackie, Steven, I am so glad you are here!" Kitty places a small peck on both of their cheeks and takes the pan from Jackie. "What do we have here?" She says, lifting the foil to peak inside.

"Oh, we had some corn in the fridge and just decided to grill it up for your dinner. No big deal," Jackie tells her, flicking her wrist to show it was no big deal. "It was going to go bad if we didn't use it."

"Well, isn't that so thoughtful of you guys!" They follow Kitty to the dining room to see that Donna and Bob are already there. Hyde nods towards Donna, glad to see that she came. He wasn't sure as he knew that Donna and Kitty weren't on the best of terms.

Eric shuffles down the sets and enters the dining room, surprised that it is already filled. Hyde turns around to see him standing in the doorway, and can't help but to slap him on the shoulder.

"Forman! How've you been!"

"Same old, same old." he moves past Hyde to sit down beside Donna. He had a ton to fill Hyde in on, but not right this instance. Donna was the first thing on his mind. Eric leans over and kisses her cheek softly before pulling his chair in. Donna blushes, bad. This small sign of affection did not go unnoticed by their friends, both of them making mental notes to address it later with them.

Kitty enters the room once again, this time carrying the serving dish full of brisket.

"Now, everybody, dig in!"

The room is silent as food is distributed around the table, each person making sure they get a portion of what they want. Most of the time, they were waiting for Bob to pass the next dish along to the next person. Once everybody is settled and has what they want, a few minutes pass before another word is spoken. Kitty is the first one to say something.

"Y'know, we'll have plenty of dinners like this one with the grandbabies!" she beams, laughing to herself. "I can't wait for grandkids!" she claps her hands together again. They don't know how to react to this, none of them planning to have children for at least another couple of years. "Well, Jackie, Steven, since you're getting married, you're gonna have kids, soon!"

Crap, why did she have to call them out! Hyde clears his throat, he wants to be the one to tackle this question.

"Actually, Mrs Forman, me and Jackie aren't sure when we're gonna have kids." Hyde is trying to keep it short and sweet, not wanting to upset her.

"Well, it's going to happen soon. That's what married people do!" she laughs again.

"Y'know what, you're right Mrs Forman. We'll get back to you on that," he tries to agree with her hoping it will get her to stop pushing. Instead, she turns to Eric.

"Sweetie, when do you plan on starting a family?" Eric is mid-chew and starts to cough up his food, not expecting her to ask him as well. He chokes down some water to try to answer her.

"Mom, I just got back!"

"So, you're back! It means you're ready to settle down."

"I need to go to school first, try to get a job?" he tries to explain to her, wanting to end this conversation quickly. He doesn't want to talk to his mom about this, especially right beside Donna, who his mother has not brought up.

"Well, you're going to meet a girl that you love, and you're going to want to have kids with her. Who knows, you guys could meet tomorrow!" Kitty continues to push. Donna has to bite her tongue, clearly upset that Kitty is not only being so insistent about babies, but that she didn't even want to consider that her and Eric would have a family together. Red notices Donna's bitter expression, and the last thing he wants to deal with is a fight at the dinner table.

"Kitty, honey. Enough with the baby talk. They'll have kids when they're ready," he says, effectively ending his wife's pestering.

Meanwhile, Bob didn't hear any of the conversation. The brisket is just too good, he can't focus on anything else.

ʚ ɞ

After dinner, Eric and Donna find themselves back in the Forman driveway, learning against the Vista Cruiser.

"Your mother really gets on my nerves," Donna is the first to speak.

"I know, and I'm sorry," he moves so his side is leaning against the car and he is facing her. "I'll talk to her about it."

"I don't need you to fight my battles for me, Eric." He shoves his hands in his pocket, not sure of what else to say. She sighs, realizing that it made him upset as well. "I'm sorry, I'm making things worse."

"Donna, it's okay. I understand." he holds onto her forearm. "Let's just forget about my mother." he tries to reassure her. He looks down at his feet, desperately trying to find something to change the subject to. "Hey, it looks like my dad put new tires on here."

"He did, he ran over a nail." she grins. She knew what he was doing, and she appreciated it so much. "He swore it was you. Eric, this happened last month." she chuckles.

"Dammit. I can't believe I managed to get a hole in his tire while I was on a different continent!" he jokes along with her, happy to see that her mood has changed. "We've had a ton of memories in this car," he says, reminiscing on their past.

"Our first kiss, our first break up.." she says, thinking back with him.

"Our first 'I love you's".

"No, it was my first 'I love you'! It was your first 'I love cake'!" she says, poking a finger into his chest in a playful yet accusing manner.

"Ok, fine. It was your first 'I love you'". He grins. He has successfully pulled Donna out of her bad mood. He's almost like a professional in the art.

"God, so much has happened in this car." Another moment of silence falls over them, this time Eric is the first one to speak.

"Yes," he says bluntly. She turns to also lean on her side, facing him head on now.

"Yes?" she asks him. "Yes to what? I didn't ask you anything." He now has a smirk on his face.

"Yes to being your boyfriend." The smirk on his face turned into the big smile he was sporting earlier that morning. A smile grows on her face as well, it clicks in her head what he was actually saying. She reaches out and places both hands on his cheeks, pulling him in for yet another kiss. They hold this one for longer than the one earlier, as they were now officially boyfriend and girlfriend again.

Kitty is looking out from the kitchen, putting away leftovers from the dinner.

"Looks like Eric and Donna are back together," she says to Red, who is eating a slice of cheesecake at the kitchen table.

"Finally, the boy can stop pretending he's not fooling around with the neighbor girl," Red says, not looking up from his plate.

Donna pulls back from their kiss and smiles at him once more. She moves her hands down his arms and grabs onto his wrists.

"What do you say we go over to my place and you can spend the night?" He gets a devious look on his face, thinking he knows what it will lead to.

"Are you sure? I think I can remember what happened the last time we did that."

"No, just to cuddle, like we did way back when. I miss feeling your arms around me." she grins, letting go of his wrists.

"Donna, in the wise words of Kelso, why cuddle when you can do it?" he asks her as they begin to walk back over to her house. She turns around to look at him, a smile on her own face.

"You're such a dork."

"Yes, indeed. But, I'm your dork."

"Yes, yes you are." she beams.

A/N

This chapter is the longest one so far, which is sort of ironic since it was the hardest one for me to write.

Title and Lyrics credit to Paul Young.

As always, feedback is appreciated.