Rape of Trust

Chapter 1

The board room of Forrester Creations was filled with the higher ups in the chain of command of the company ,not for a meeting reviewing the numbers for the upcoming fiscal calendar (that had been done earlier in the week) but for a baby shower for Caroline Forrester, lead designer and young bride of CEO Ridge Forrester. Pam was running around making sure the cake was in place and her lemon bars were the right temperature as she had intern, and younger sister to the former face of Forrester, Nicole Avant handing out the baby themed hors d'oevres to the various guests who were in clusters around the room. Steffy was sitting on the edge of her father's desk near her grandfather, Eric, with her boyfriend, Liam. Ivy was in a corner with her own boyfriend, and Liam's brother, Wyatt along with his mother, Quin and her husband Deacon (who had no idea why he was there except that his daughter, Hope, had begged off the party for some photo shoot and convinced him to bring her gift). Brooke Logan watched it all as she leaned against the back wall of the room drinking a glass of what appeared to be sparkling cider while she eyed up her multi time ex, Ridge, who was chatting with his nephew Zende and her nephew, and Forrester head legal counsel, Carter, while her son Rick, watched his ex-wife talk to her uncle Bill and his wife Katie, as Maya glided across the room to him, as if the fact that they could never have children and this farce was being thrown in their face was something that should be ignored.

"Don't you think it's time you started opening your gifts?" Brooke suggested as she leveled herself off the wall, calling attention to herself as she stood straight and tall in the position of power she had made sure she had taken up in the room.

Caroline cocked her head to the side: "there's no hurry, is there?"

"Well, I have to pick up RJ from his soccer game and I want to see your reaction to my gift," the older blonde replied breezily as she put her glass on the edge of Ridge's desk.

"Why don't you just bring him back here with you, Logan?" Ridge suggested as he moved to his wife. As much as he and the other men had complained about being here for this, they were enjoying each other's company on a nonprofessional level… for the most part.

"He'll have a ton of homework. Besides do you really think his first adult party should be a baby shower?"

Caroline sighed as she shifted in Ridge's arms and the other guests shifted uncomfortably. "It's ok… I mean, RJ comes first. And it's not like we have to call an end to the party when the gifts are all open. I mean Pam made all this food for us. We can stay and eat and talk…" she started to babble.

Ridge just shook his head as he leaned over and kissed her forehead: "whatever you want. It's your day."

"Our day," Caroline replied happily as she looked lovingly up into his eyes.

"Right…"

Caroline rolled her eyes as she went to sit in the Pam decorated and appointed Mommy Chair while Ridge stood behind her, refusing to sit in the matching Daddy seat. Caroline looked back giving him an amused look, which he returned as he bent down to kiss her, causing Bill to mutter an expletive which in turn caused Katie to elbow him in the ribs. Steffy jumped down from her seat on the desk taking up the task of present monitor (her Pam assigned duty since Caroline's mother Karen was unable to fly out due to the weather), while Ivy crossed over with a pad to write who had gifted the couple with what (especially since other members of the FC staff had sent gifts when they heard about the party from the motor mouth interns and Donna.) Katie went over to keep the gifts organized and Quinn went over to help with the wrapping paper.

"Someday this will be us. Surrogate or adoption we'll have our family too," Rick whispered into Maya's ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist in their place in a corner.

She looked up to him and smiled: "Love always finds a way," she replied as she snuggled into his hold and turned her attention across the room as Steffy took the two gifts from Brooke and the one from RJ from the pile: "Smaller one first," Brooke directed, causing Steffy to shoot her a 'really?' look and start wondering what her former step-monster was up to. It had been a while since the last Brooke Logan stunt and she'd been almost too calm about the whole new Mrs. Ridge Forrester situation.

"Here's your first present," Steffy said as she handed it cautiously to Caroline and shot her father a worried look. He only shrugged and rubbed his wife's shoulders, a perpetual smile plastered on his face.

Caroline carefully opened the paper causing her uncle to tease her: "just tear it off," he called over from his spot causing various members of those assembled to laugh.

"Hush you!" Caroline shot back as she gave him a mock glare and earned an indulgent smile from the Spencer patriarch. "It's the first gift and I want to save the paper for the baby book," she explained causing Brooke to roll her eyes. "Oh, how cute! Onesies!"

"Why don't you read them? I had them specially designed for you," Brooke suggested with a slight smirk.

Smiling, Caroline, turned the first one over Whose My Daddy? it read. Swallowing hard as she paled she turned to the next one as Steffy looked over her shoulder and Ridge started to turn red: And Maury saids the Daddy is… "What? I don't understand…" Caroline gasped as she looked back with fearful eyes to a furious Ridge and over to a righteous Brooked. "Why would you do this?"

"Because you deserve to know the truth," Brooke said as if it was obvious.

"What? What is this supposed to mean?" Caroline asked as she pushed up to her feet and the chair overturned and the offending items dropped to her feet as Ridge jumped back. "How do you know? How could you be so mean?"

"Really? YOU'RE blaming me for this?" Brooke asked.

"Brooke, shut up! Just leave it!" Ridge angrily entreated her, his arms hanging lifelessly at his side.

"Oh come on, Ridge! Just admit you had a vasectomy and that you can't father a child and we can all move on from all the lies you two are spewing of how you're this perfect couple!

Caroline turned around and looked at Ridge in confusion as tears glistened in her eyes and the room watched in shock, except for Bill who was being held back from going after Ridge by Katie who was trying to convince him to let them talk it out like he would've wanted to when Ridge busted up his wedding to Brooke. "You… you had… but you said…" she stammered as she shook her head.

"I went to a doctor the day after we got married," he answered truthfully as he took a helpless step towards her.

"The lock on our future," she whispered as she looked at the buttons on his shirt, refusing to meet his eyes.

"I wanted to get it reversed. He did tests and he said I couldn't. I was supposed to have them redone, but then you told me you were pregnant," he said softly and reached out cautiously to cup her face in his hand and slowly lifted her head up so he could look her in the eyes. "You were so happy. I couldn't ruin it. And I knew you didn't cheat. We were always together… the only time we weren't was the night I let you go…."

"It wasn't…. It wasn't like you think…. I didn't just find the first guy out there," Caroline started to explain as she brought her hand up to grasp hold of his wrist.

"It doesn't matter."

"But you have to understand…" she said, now almost clawing at his arms, her breathes coming out in huffs. "I went to the hotel and took a couple of pills. Then starting drinking… I was supposed to be alone… I wasn't going to do anything stupid; although I guess I did.

He came to talk.

We talked about work. What happened. Drank more. I think I remember kissing him… I don't really know if I do or if it's from what he told me," she said as the room grew deathly quiet, Ivy and Steffy sharing an all too knowing look as Katie quickly got her agitated husband out of the room and into his Caroline's office before he blew up in front of his already shaken niece. The other men didn't know where to look but their hands were fisted as Nicole stared while Maya covered her mouth to hold back her gasp as Rick tightened his hold on her. "I woke up in bed with him. I thought it was you at first… I remember I called your name, then he turned over…" she said her words tumbling over each other as Ridge forced himself not to go rigid in her hold. "He told me we had slept together and I was horrified. I wouldn't have done that to you. I still wanted to be with you. You have to believe me. That wasn't what I wanted or planned on," she insisted as she sagged against him, only his quick reflexes let him lower both of them to the floor. "It was just a drunken one night stand. I swear Ridge that was all it was," she cried into his shoulder as she burrowed further into his hold wanting all of what was happening to go away and for her to be able to just disappear.

"It was a lot more than that," Steffy said as she wrapped her arms around her torso trying to hold her own anger in.

"No. No. I wouldn't… I swear…." Caroline sobbed as she shook her head and lifted it slightly from her husband's chest and turned slightly towards her stepdaughter.

Ridge swallowed against the lump in his throat as the men in the room migrated towards their woman and the single ones to their friends, leaving Brooke horrified and alone. "I don't think that's what she means…." he whispered into his wife's hair, trying to keep his own anger and hurt for her in check. "Why didn't you tell me? You didn't have to carry this on your own…" he told her as he tightened his hold on her.

"It was a one night stand. What else could it be," she asked lifting her head from her husband's chest and seeing the looks she was getting from those closest to her. "No… No!" she adamantly refused shaking her head as she pulled back and looked her husband in the eye. Yes, she had momentarily considered the fact that it might have been sexual assault, but she and Thomas had cleared it up, hadn't they? He wasn't that guy. She had to make them see that. "It wasn't that. He even asked me if I thought he was that guy. I told him no," she told Ridge resolutely.

"If the guy had to ask, then he is," Nicole said from next to Zende, only a few feet away, but her voice strong and just as adamant.

"No. He's a good guy. A friend. Someone I trust…" she insisted shaking her head as she leaned against Ridge and looked around the room at her friends and family wanting them to understand that because of who it was it couldn't have been that.

"Tell me who," Ridge probed as he shared a look across the room with his daughter. From what she had said so far it was clear that the person worked at FC and they would not allow that type of behavior. If Caroline wanted to keep this between all of them then so be it, but who ever had hurt her would be out and faced with not only the Forrester men, but the Spencer ones as well. Hell it might be one of the only things he and dollar Bill ever agreed on. Steffy swallowed against the lump forming in her throat and gave a slight nod knowing what her father intended. She was in full agreement.

"It doesn't matter. It was just one night… we promised not to tell," Caroline admitted brokenly as she looked down at where her hands were worrying the buttons on his shirt... "It wasn't…" she swallowed. "It couldn't have been," she said looking down.

Ridge let out a frustrated sigh as he looked down at the top of her head: "let's get off the floor," he said simply as Liam and Wyatt came over to help their cousin up and over to a seat at the conference table and Ridge stiffly went over to Brooke: "Are you happy now?" he asked his ex. "Is this what you wanted?" he pushed as Ivy got Caroline a glass of water and Nicole brought her over a plate of food, but as she caught sight of the onesies that started the exchange she broke down into tears.

"I didn't know. How could I?" Brooke tried to defend herself her eyes conveying her own mixed feelings over the situation.

Ridge shook his head as he ran his hands through his hair: "I told you those things in confidence and you use them against me? Against my pregnant wife? What the hell were you thinking?"

"Ridge I…"

"You know what? I don't care. Clear out your desk. If you still want to work for the company you'll be on a plane for the European Division tomorrow morning!"

"But RJ and…"

"I'll be here for RJ. This isn't up for debate."

"Eric won't agree to this."

"Eric won't agree to what?" the man in question asked as he came over to the duo.

"That if I want to continue to work for Forrester I need to be on a jet tomorrow morning leaving RJ behind and giving up my job and life here."

"Who'd take over Brooke's position, I don't want this to just be a reactionary decision on your part, son," he said causing Brooke to smirk and cross her arms over her chest victoriously.

"Thorn. Bring him back and make this office a true family affair," Ridge answered evenly.

"I like that idea. All right. Not that you need my ok, but do it," he said as the door to the office opened and Thomas burst in full of energy from his meeting with a buyer.

"Hey, what's going on? I thought this was a party?" he asked a perplexed look causing a v to form on his forehead as he came further into the room and the door slammed behind him, causing Caroline to look up.

"Brooke blew it up," Nicole started to explain bluntly as Ridge crossed back to his place behind his wife, his hands instantly going to her upper arms as he caressed them softly up and down to calm her, pausing slightly as she tensed further. "Then we found out some secrets. Your father's vasectomy and the fact that Caroline was rape."

"What? Back up… Caroline?"

"Was raped," Steffy said as she took a seat on the edge of the table only a few inches from her stepmother. "Bastard did it when she was drugged and drunk."

"No… That's not what happened…." Thomas said as he walked towards the conference room table.

"How would you know?" Steffy asked, as Caroline's eyes widened in horror. "Thomas stop! It doesn't… I didn't…."

"We agreed that that wasn't what happened. You were mine that night," he blurted out.

"What did you just say" Ridge asked stiffly as he glared at his son and pulled away from his wife. His hand forming a fist even before the words started to fall from his son's mouth.

"We were drunk. I didn't know she took the pills. We slept together. It wasn't…" he started but didn't get any further as Ridge lunged at him and the two started to fight to everyone's horror. At first no one moved; frozen by the revelation that Thomas was the one who had in his mind had a one night stand with the blonde and the other's had sexually assaulted or raped her. Caroline was the first to move; begging them to stop. An arm thrown out and wide knocked her back and down, causing others to start to jump into the may lay. Rick and Carter grabbed hold of Thomas and dragged him out of the room as Zende held the door, muttering about getting rid of the garbage as Liam and Wyatt got a hold of Ridge and managed to hold him back. Steffy and Ivy were at Caroline's side as her cries grew harder. As the girls tried to help her to her feet she doubled over in pain, causing Ridge to rush to her side and Eric to call 9-1-1 as Bill and Katie returned to the room….