He had exactly three more shifts left as Santa Claus. It seemed like, when he got the job, he was counting down to the Christmas season. Now, it felt like he was trying to do what he could to slow time down. This place was going to be madness tomorrow and Monday. The last two shopping days before Christmas made it almost impossible to park at the Mall. The part of him that had been going into work early since he got home was suddenly coming in handy.

The lines weren't as long. The people crashing into the Mall at the last moment weren't families as much as they had been earlier in December. As you got closer to Christmas, it was usually parents running into the store solo to pick up a few last minute gifts. There were still kids coming in, but not as many. That stretched out the days. It made the eight-to-ten hour shifts Eric was working seem longer.

"Hey Santa." Shelly Wessler came walking over to Santa's chair and leaned on the side of it. "When was the last time that you saw a kid today?"

"Must have been a half hour." Eric groaned and rolled his eyes. "I keep thinking your Mom is going to come out here and tell me that there's no point of having a Santa and I better stock shelves."

"Not likely." She laughed. "I can't see my Mom wanting kids to see Santa stocking shelves. "Especially not this close to Christmas. That was the one thing I never understood as a kid. What was Santa doing in a department store two days before Christmas Eve? Shouldn't he be reading that list and checking it twice?"

"I'm not sure it helps to actually make Santa, you know, logical." Eric grinned and shook his head. "Then we get into the eight flying reindeer thing."

"Yeah, well, I think you made this Christmas special for a lot of people." She gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. "You were our own little Miracle on Main Street this month. With things slowing down, the layoffs out there, the gas price shock. This Christmas had the potential to really suck. But, I don't know, it's like you made people believe."

"You're not going to tell me that I made you believe in Santa Claus, are you?" Eric laughed as he shifted in his chair.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far." Shelly giggled. "But when my Mom told me that you won the GTO in the raffle, I couldn't think of anyone who deserved it more. What did you end up doing with it? I saw you're still driving the station wagon into work."

"I'm giving it to Red for Christmas." Eric answered as he saw a few families start to amble down the main aisle of the store toward Santa's workshop. "Right now, it's living in a visitor's parking spot at Jackie's apartment building."

The line started to form and Shelly stopped leaning on Santa's chair. "Well, it looks like we have some more visitors to Santa's workshop." Shelly stepped gracefully down the two steps that raised the workshop up off the store's floor. She pulled back the velvet rope that closed off the line when no one was standing in it. "And who might you be?"

"My name's Jerry." The little boy looked up at his image of Mrs. Clause with a shy smile. He boasted a mop of chestnut brown hair and couldn't have been more than six years old.

"And do you want to see Santa, Jerry?" Shelly bent down with her hands bracing her on her knees.

The young man nodded his head enthusiastically. Shelly took him by the hand and led him up to Santa. One thing that amazed Eric over the last month was how many parents would just hand their children over to another adult dressed up as Mrs. Clause or one of Santa's elves. As they got close to Santa, Shelly would grab the kids under their arms and hoist them up on to Santa's lap.

"Mrs. Clause tells me that your name is Jerry." Eric stated in his best Santa Clause baritone. "What brings you to Santa's workshop?"

"I wanted to thank you, Santa." The kid answered and Eric was instantly taken aback. Kids did not show up to Santa's workshop to thank Santa for things.

"Well, Jerry, you're quite the nice young boy." Eric gently pinched the young boy's cheek. "What are you thanking Santa for?"

"You brought my Dad home." The kid answered quietly. Eric wondered to himself for a second, and took a quick glance over at the line in front of Santa's workshop. He didn't notice it at first because it looked just like another overcoat. But when he took a second look at the boy's father's shoulders, he saw a couple silver button-like decorations on the shoulders. That's when he realized that the boy's father must be stationed at Fort McCoy.

At the same moment, the store's intercom system which played WFPP all the time now that they switched over to Christmas music 24/7, started to play Elvis' version of I'll Be Home for Christmas. It was hard not to get a little teary-eyed in a moment like that. But even as he felt a lump swell in his throat, Eric forced it down and tried to push the emotion he felt into the twinkle that Santa Claus was supposed to have in his eye.

"Well, it seems like you've been a really good boy this year, Jerry." Eric bounced the kid a couple times. "What can Santa bring you for Christmas now that your Daddy's home?"

"I guess I could use some new Hot Wheels." The kid stuck out his lower lip. At that, Eric let rip with his well-practiced Santa Claus laugh and gave the youngster a pat on the shoulder. He'd gotten practised at this over the last couple weeks. Now, he could tell just by looking over at the parents when the kids said what they wanted, whether it had already been purchased or not. It always changed how he responded as Santa.

"Jerry, I think Santa can make that work." Eric pushed his grin out about as far as his cheeks would go. Little Jerry flung himself at Eric and gave him a hug before jumping out of Santa's lap. One of the elves took the kid by the hand to get him a candy cane. Eric gave his knees a pat and let out a mighty Ho-Ho-Ho. "Mrs. Claus, can Santa see you for a second?" Eric pointed at Shelly who slowly came walking over to Santa's chair. She leaned over Eric so he could whisper in her ear. "Take a look." He pointed over at the emerging lineup.

Sure enough, almost to a one, they were the families of service people. He figured that a regiment based out of Fort McCoy must have been rotated home. "Now, that's Christmas." Eric whispered and Shelly couldn't help but smile. It wasn't the first time over the last few days that she'd felt a little envious of Jackie Burkhart.

BAD-TIME-TO-BE-IN-LOVE-THAT-70s-SHOW

Jackie sat at a table in the Hub idly playing with her French Fries and staring down into a pool of ketchup. Unbeknownst to anyone, she had ended up driving to Oshkosh today to meet with Ted Grant about a job. Their station was revamping their morning show and they were looking for a new reporter for human interest stories. Her performance at the Winter Carnival parade had been enough to get her a job interview at the network.

The whole drive back, all she could think about was how much she aced that interview. It had gone about as well as she expected. She felt like she was guaranteed the job. It felt like, he future was now starting to move and it scared the hell out of her. It had been one thing to be an elf in Santa's Workshop, developing feelings for a long-time friend who was playing Santa Claus. It felt like she was going to be another one of those girls that never left Point Place.

And now, even with the possibility open, she wasn't sure she wanted to leave. She could still live here. It wasn't that far a drive into Oshkosh and as a field reporter, she wouldn't necessarily have to be in the studio every day. At least that's was Ted had told her today. The role they envisioned was someone who did the feel-good stories on Church soup kitchens, charity drives and cute animal stories.

Donna walked into the Hub and saw Jackie sitting by herself. That wasn't the Jackie Burkhart that she knew. Jackie never liked doing anything alone. She thought it made her look like a loser. But, there she sat just sort of dragging a fry through ketchup.

"Are you lost or something?" Donna walked up to the table and pulled the chair out. "I don't think I've ever seen you in here without one of the guys."

"Was the only place I could think of going to just think. Didn't want to go to the record store because I didn't want to run into Hyde. Didn't want to go home and sulk and the Forman's basement was out of the question." She popped the fry into her mouth. "Donna, I think I got a job today."

"Cool. Where?" Donna snaked one of Jackie's fries.

"Channel 8 up in Oshkosh." Jackie sucked air through her straw at the empty pop sitting on the table. "After what happened at the Winter Carnival last week, they wanted me to think about joining their new morning show as a human interest reporter?"

"So, you're going to be doing the County Fair and Carnival beat?" Donna peaked an eyebrow with her question. "That's cool. You always talked about wanting to be a weather girl, I guess this is a step, right?"

"I guess." Jackie shrugged. "I've just got a lot on my mind right now and it feels like everything is up in the air at the same time. It would just be nice to finish something, you know. Get it settled before you had to deal with the next thing."

"Oh my God!" Donna almost bounded out of her chair. "This is about a guy!"

"It is not." Jackie protested, though even she'd admit her protest lacked her usual edge. "I just was getting used to thinking about the rest of my life the one way and it all just changed."

"This is totally about a guy." Donna was smiling with anticipation. "Is it Fez? I mean, I know the two of you live together and I figured that something might happen."

"Ewwww, No" Jackie's look of revulsion was hard to disguise. "It's not Fez. How could you think that? Fez is so….so…so Fez."

"Well, who is it?" Donna nudged her. "It's not Hyde. Kelso's in Chicago. Is it some guy you work with at the store?"

"You could say that." Jackie demurred. She was hoping that a little bit of information would be enough to make Donna stop.

"So, who is it?" Donna kept pushing. "Are we going to get to meet him?"

"I don't think it's that serious yet." Jackie answered, still idly playing with her food.

"Oh, that makes sense. You just got a job that sounds like one you've wanted literally since I've known you and you're in here thinking about the guy that you're not serious about." Donna's tone was slightly mocking. "Come on, who is it?"

"It's none of your business." Jackie snapped. "I'm trying to figure out what's going on, okay? Making jokes isn't helping."

"I know, I'm sorry." Donna snuck another fry. "It's just, the only time that I've ever seen you this messed up by a guy was when you and Hyde were serious. So, I guess I'm just curious. Also, can't you take the job and see the guy? Why does it sound like you're trying to pick between the two?"

"I don't know, probably because every boyfriend I've ever had has cheated on me." The reality of that statement sunk in as it passed through her lips. "And as much as I want to think that this is different, I have no way of knowing that. And we'll be working in two different cities and…"

"And how long have you been seeing this guy?" Donna shot back. The way Jackie was talking, it sounded like things had gotten pretty serious. But she was sure she'd have heard about it if it had been going on that long.

"Um…" Jackie thought back to their first kiss as they twisted clumsily across the carpet of her apartment to Styx. "About a week. Maybe a little longer."

"Yeah, but you've known the guy for longer." Donna asserted. "I can just tell." There was a pause. "It IS Fez!"

"Is not." Jackie fired back.

"Is too!" Donna insisted. "There's literally no other way you'd be this hung up on someone that you'd known for a month."

In a way, Jackie was offended that Donna didn't even seem to be considering Eric. Was the idea of the two of them really so impossible to everyone that they knew? She wondered if Eric had a similar conversation with Steven. What would is reaction be? For now, the only protest she could offer would just grow in volume. "Is not!"

"Come on, it totally is." Donna's superior smile grew brighter. "It's Fez."

"It's Eric." Jackie shot back on impulse. And Donna's eyes nearly shot out of her head. It was in that second that Jackie realized that Donna, supposedly her best friend, really hadn't considered this possibility. She wondered why. Did Donna think Eric was always going to come back? Did she think the two of them hated each other in such a real way they'd never get past it?

She watched as Donna's lower lip trembled. The questions in her eyes seemed to shift back and forth between the human need for greater detail and a basic refusal to accept the new situation. "What?...How?" Donna sputtered. "Eric?" His name came out almost in a whisper.

In her mind there was a flashback to the scene that she witnessed from the Formans' driveway back at Thanksgiving. What at the time looked like suspicious, but harmless, playful fun now took on a different meaning in her mind. She thought about the two of them. The changes in their personalities over the last year had definitely made them more similar. Jackie had come down out of the clouds a bit. In a way, she'd been mugged by reality. Eric had come back from Africa more grounded and far more focused than he'd been when he left.

"I…I…how?" It was like the objection was caught in her throat. At one time she wanted to feel angry and knew she had no grounds to justify her anger. Was it Jackie's fault? But how could it be? After all, it had been months since she and Eric had broken up. Donna had even dated Randy in the interim. "Eric?" The simple question came again.

"Yes, Eric." This time Jackie decided to answer her. "He's such a good guy and he's such a sweet guy. And since he's been back, I don't know. It's like he knows what he wants. It's kind of nice to be on that list." But she didn't feel like she had a permanent spot on that list. After Steven, and especially Michael, she knew the impermanence of male affection.

"Yeah, I mean…" That was all Donna got out. "I think I've got to go."

BAD-TIME-TO-BE-IN-LOVE-THAT-70s-SHOW

Eric pulled the Vista Cruiser into the driveway just in time to see Hyde sticking halfway out of the fridge that Red kept in the garage. "Hey, man, what are you doing out here? It's freezing." Eric slid out of the car and walked over to Hyde.

"It's the safest place for Red and I to keep the bourbon ever since his heart attack." Hyde wiggled the bottle at Eric before taking a swig out of it. "Gets cold enough out here that you don't even need ice." Hyde took a seat on the hood of the Cruiser. "Want a swig?" Hyde pointed the butt of the bottle at Eric.

"Sure." Eric spun the cap off the top and pushed the lip of it to his own. "Man, it doesn't even burn when it's that cold."

"I know. It's great." Hyde took the bottle back. "So, two more days as Santa Claus, huh?"

"You knew?" Eric almost fell off the hood.

"Of course I knew, man." Hyde took a swig. "How many times did you think you could come home smelling like pine needles and cinnamon before someone was going to clue in? Also, there were a few times that you came home with some leftover costume glue on your chin."

"Man, I can't keep a single secret in this house." Eric hung his head.

"Where's the dill-hole?" Rang over the hedge that separated the Forman House from the Pinciotti House. And both Eric and Hyde's heads bolted up. Donna came storming up the driveway. Eric slid off the hood.

"What's going on?" Eric came face-to-face with Donna.

"Since when are you dating Jackie?" Donna dove right into the argument.

"Dude, you're dating Jackie?" Hyde stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "A little friskiness going at Santa's workshop after hours?"

"You're okay with this?" Donna looked around Eric at Hyde. "And what the hell do you mean friskiness going on at Santa's workshop?"

"Forman knows what he's getting himself into." Hyde shrugged. "Also, he's been working as Santa Claus down at the department store. Jackie's been one of his elves."

"So, it's true." Donna folded her arms.

"Why do you care?" Hyde decided to intervene. "You're going to Marquette next month anyway."

"Yeah, well." A stream of uncried tears were hanging around in Donna's eyes. "I don't know, I just didn't expect things to change this fast."

The silence hung around between the three of them. In a lot of ways this felt like the last Christmas for a lot of things. It was definitely more than just the last Christmas of the Seventies.

"Tell me about it." Hyde was the first to interject. He popped Eric on the shoulder. "So, Santa, how long have you been messing around with the Elves."

"Shut up, man." Eric chuckled.

"About a week." Jackie came walking up the driveway, having left the Hub just after Donna did. She tucked in under Eric's one arm, taking a bit of a protective stance with him. "After all, everyone gets to fall in love with Santa at Christmastime." She gave him a gentle pat on the chest.

"Well, on that note." Hyde took another swig from the bottle. "I'm heading to bed. Store's going to be insane next two days."

"Yeah." Eric nodded. "Hey, I hope you can be happy about this." Eric gestured toward Donna as he gave Jackie a quick squeeze.

"Maybe in time." Donna answered. "Probably a good thing I'm headed to school soon." There was a sort of pulling apart as Eric and Jackie turned in toward the Formans' house and Donna headed back over to her house

Once inside, Eric and Jackie stood in the kitchen splitting a carton of egg nog. "How did you know she'd head over here?"

"Gut instinct." She answered. "I think if I was at risk of losing something I'd always been able to count on, I'd probably react the same way." There was another pause. "So, I interviewed for a job with Channel 8 today."

"That's great." Eric enthused. "Red said this was the first time he was able to watch the replay of the Winter Carnival parade on television without wanting to throw something at the set, so…."

"Guess I did a good job then." Jackie grinned. "It's up in Oshkosh and I was just worried what with this thing with us just getting started and you going to school…"

"Not until next fall." Eric answered. "We'll figure things out by then."

"I guess." She smiled genuinely. "Now, I just have to figure out what I'm doing for Christmas. Fez and I kind of have this Charlie Brown tree in our apartment. But it's not like what it was when I was a kid."

"Hey, I have an idea." Eric snapped his fingers. "I've got to go over to your place and get the GTO on Christmas Eve anyway. Why don't I come over and get it, we'll sneak you into the house and you can do Christmas over here?"

An awkward silence passed between them. On the one hand, she felt a kind of warmth that came from the natural almost nonchalant way he extended the invitation. On the other, was the mounting sense of expectations that she could feel from having to deal with Red and Kitty on a more regular and entirely different basis.

"And your parents are going to say what on Monday morning when they wake up and the two of us come walking downstairs?" Jackie thought this was the best way to attack the question.

"My mom loved having you over for Thanksgiving." Eric answered. "She talked about it for weeks."

"And Red?" Jackie peaked one eyebrow.

"Will be fine once he sees the GTO." Eric answered.

She took a deep breath. It was easily the best invitation she was going to get. But it felt like a lot. And she wasn't sure she was ready. But she knew that Christmas would be better with her Santa Claus than without him.

"Alright." She answered with a short, sweet smile. "Let's do it."