DISCLAIMER:
I do not own nothing that has anything to do with The Bold and the Beautiful, this is only done out of my frustration and enjoyment. I don't like what's going on on the show right now.
Now, for a while I've been thinking about what would've happened had Stephanie, the Queen of B&B, not married Eric? So this is one of the things that might have happened if she hadn't.
Chapter four.
Stephanie didn't marry Eric Forrester?
"No, I don't want to marry you Eric. Not if the only reason for you to ask is this baby, because I know that there is another woman and I don't want you if the only reason you want to be with me is this baby." Stephanie Douglas places her glass of water on the table and looks away from the man standing on one of his knees, with a little jewelry box in his hand, right by the table in the middle of the restaurant. Eric Forrester looks down in embarrassment and gets of his knees and then walks back to his chair and sits down.
"I really don't understand, I thought this is what you wanted?" Eric stares at the woman sitting in the chair opposite his own.
"Oh, trust me, I want to get married, but I also want to get married based on love, not a business decision or because I have to due to me being pregnant or because my father tells me too. His power over me ended the moment I started college. I'm not scared of him or the rumors that will more then likely start up when I start showing." She leans back in the chair because she's starting to feel uncomfortable sitting in the correct position on the chair. "Now, I wish to go home so if we could pay the check so we can leave I would really appreciate it. I'm really tired and my back hurts, I also have an early morning class and I need to have enough time so that the morning sickness can pass before it starts."
So they skip desert, pays the check and then they leave. When Eric tries to give her a kiss when he drops her off she turns her cheek towards him and then she skips out of the car.
What if...
He doesn't see her at all for the next few days and when he accidentally runs into her at the library of the college they go to, she's in a hurry.
"Hey Stephanie! Can we meet and talk about this? Or do you even want to continue this relationship? Am I even to have a relationship with my child?" Eric has grabbed her arms and is holding on tight.
"I'm in a hurry and I can't talk right now. I'll meet you after my last class today and let you know what I want out of this situation. I need to go now! Bye Eric!" She starts moving away from him, but he doesn't let her go. "Let me go Eric!" She hisses. "I need to go now, I have class in five minutes."
When he doesn't let go of both her arms, she strikes out at him, when her hand connects with his face he flinches back.
"I told you to let me go!" Stephanie´s eyes radiates anger and her fists are clenched. The moment he lets go of her other arm, she turns around and storms off.
What if...
They meet up again about five ours later and when he sees her, he can see that the anger she walked away from him with was still there.
"I have a few things to say to you! Number one. No, I do not want to continue this relationship, especially after what you did today. Number two. If you want a relationship with your child, then you'd better go make one because I'm having doubts that this is your child at all. Number three. I do not want to see your face ever again, we're done and if you ever see me on campus, turn away and leave me alone, do not talk to me in any way. Number four. Go back to Beth, she's a lovely girl and I'm tired of the constant back and forth between us. I'm done." The fire that is present in Stephanie´s eyes makes her look even more beautiful than she usually is. She says Good bye and then she walks away with tears in her eyes.
What if...
About a month after ending it with Eric, Stephanie walked by a cafe and looks inside by chance and locks eyes with a man from her past. She feels stuck to the ground and when he starts to get up from the chair at the table he shares with a few of his friends the eye contact is broken and she starts feeling insecure and begins to walk back the same way she came, she can hear the door bell chime.
"Stephanie! Wait!"
It's almost like his voice paralyzes her because she stops at the first letter of her name and she almost stops breathing. She hears his footsteps coming closer and then she feels his hand on her shoulder. She lets out a breath and slowly turns around. He envelopes her in a hug and feels the bump that the baby inside her belly has created. When she looks into his deep and dark brown eyes she sees the confusion.
"You're pregnant?" She nods her head as an answer to his question. "Is it mine?"
Tears are starting to form in her eyes.
"I don't know. It could be yours or my ex boyfriends, but I'm not certain." She has bowed her head so that he doesn't see the emotions that are causing havoc inside of her. He takes her in his arms and gives her another hug.
"Hey, you wanna go somewhere and talk about this?" She gently nods her head against his shoulder. "Let me just go say bye to my friends, you want to come with?"
She thinks it over, but when she takes just a second to long, he takes her hand and pulls her into the cafe and introduces her to his friends.
"Guys, this is Stephanie Douglas, Stephanie, these are my friends Nicholai, Adam, Devon and Rafe." She waves her hand and gives them a smile. She can see all of them give each other looks and then Rafe decides to talk.
"So you're the girl Massimo here has been talking non stop about for the last five months, he just doesn't stop. It's getting quite tiring actually, but now that I've seen you, it all makes perfect sense." He gives her a big bright smile and then winks at her.
"Really?" She asks in a very small voice and then she turns towards Massimo. "You've been talking about me?" Her voice is a little louder now and it's laced with surprise. Massimo´s face turns a bright red in embarrassment and he nods his head.
"Now, we're going to go and catch up on recent events, so I'm gonna go and I'm taking her with me!" He then once again takes her hand and pulls her with him out of the cafe.
"Hey! Can you slow down a little, you're walking to fast!" She's getting out of breath. He slows down instantly and then he places his arm on her shoulders instead and she's amazed at how well they fit together.
They find a tiny little Italian restaurant a few blocks away from the cafe and have a seat in a booth in the back of the restaurant.
"So, tell me about what has happened in the last four months that caused you to end up a single mother to be." Massimo has reached for her hand as he told her his request. Stephanie gives a sigh and feels her thumb start caressing Massimo´s thumb.
"You know the last time I saw you was when I left your dorm the day after we made love, honestly, I've been trying to avoid you for the longest time. About a week after I met this guy, he's taking a bunch of art classes because he says he wants to design clothes in the future, he kind of swept me off my feet, we spent so much time together that first week and I thought that we had a future together, so I decided to give him a piece of me that not many others have experienced."
Stephanie feels the tears starting to form in her eyes.
"About seven weeks ago I saw him together with a girl, there was no mistaking the intimacy between them, but I brushed it off because of the baby, but after that first time, I saw them together a few more times and when he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him about a month ago, I told him that I didn't want to marry him if he only proposed because of the baby."
She gives a teary laugh."
He wanted to talk about what we were going to do, but when he got a hold of me, I was running late to class and then he grabbed my arms and wouldn't let go, he wanted to know if I wanted out of our relationship and if that's what I wanted, what was going to happen with his relationship with the child. I got so mad at him that when I met him later that night I told him that I wanted out and that I wasn't sure that it was even his baby and since then he's left me alone, but I haven't seen him with her either. So I don't know what happened there and now here I am sitting in a booth with you in a restaurant." She sneaks a glance at his face and sees compassion.
"Well, I've actually been trying to find out where you went after you left me that night, but it was really hard, I mean, I didn't even know which college you went to or even in which state. Me being here in California right now is because Devon´s fiance lives here and they are planning their wedding, I'm one of the groomsmen and as such I'm needed here. I'd still be in Chicago otherwise. I am so glad I found you though."
He gives her a really bright smile that makes her laugh a little through her tears.
"I'd really like to spend some time with you while I'm here. You know, see if there's something there between us."
There were two things neither of them noticed while they were having their conversation. A certain Eric Forrester standing on the sidewalk just outside the restaurant and the way their bodies inter acted with each other. It was like they had been together for years and their bodies just instinctively knew which places to touch and which to leave be. When Eric noticed that they were about to leave, he left as quickly as he could.
What if...
During the next few weeks they spent so much time together that the wedding party started speculating if there was going to be another wedding soon, it also happened to be so that the bump that had graced Stephanie´s belly when she and Massimo met each other again had increased in size and it seemed like, based on their story of how they met, the baby could be Massimo´s.
When Devon and his fiance Alessandra got married Stephanie entered her seventh month of pregnancy, Massimo caught the wedding bug and during the bride and grooms first dance as husband and wife, Massimo gently asked Stephanie if she wanted to marry him because he didn't care if the baby was his or not, he just wanted her to be his wife. He didn't expect her to answer then and there, but she did. She said yes, but she had one condition, they had to get married after the child was born, and it was only because she didn't know if Massimo was the father or not, he would act as the child´s father, but she didn't know if he was for sure.
Just a little prior to giving birth, Stephanie sent Eric a letter asking him if he wanted to do a blood test to see if there was anyway he was the father of the baby. He agreed and a couple of weeks later, the test was taken on a beautiful little baby boy and the two possible fathers. The results only made everything even more confusing as it turned out all three of the test subjects had the same blood type.
What if...
Three months after Rafael Douglas was born, his mother and Massimo Marone got married in an intimate ceremony including Stephanie´s sister and her best friend Claudia from high school, Massimo´s parents and both his siblings, his best friends and a couple of friends that Stephanie had met at college. Massimo had been a little confused when they sent out the invitations because Stephanie had placed her sisters invitation in the envelope that the others were sent in and then another envelope to hide the invitation. When he asked why she did it, she took a deep breath and then she said that she didn't want her parents at her wedding because of how they had acted towards her in the past. As he saw the tears starting to form in her eyes, he dropped the subject because it obviously caused his future wife stress that she didn't need.
What if...
About four years into their marriage, Massimo´s father died and since Massimo was the oldest son, he took over the family business. Four years after that, Massimo had increased the profit so much so that he could delegate some of the work he did to his siblings so that he could spend more time with his family, which by now had increased with two more kids and a fourth one on the way.
On Rafael´s 8th birthday, he got his first tour of the company he would one day take over.
During the last eight years, Stephanie had noticed that even though Rafael looked exactly like her husband, there were some characteristics that reminded her of Eric, neither Stephanie nor Massimo was any good at drawing, Rafael was amazing at it and when he one day came and showed his mother a sketch that he had done, she was reminded of the first time Eric had showed her one of his.
She was about six months into her fourth pregnancy when she decided to talk to Massimo about it. He was just walking through the front door when she called out to him to come to the kitchen and talk to her about something. He walks through the door and walks up behind her.
"Ciao Bella! How are you and baby doing?" He then kisses her neck and she leans back into his arms. She places one of his hands on the right side of her belly and he feels the baby kick.
"Hi handsome! We're good, Rafael, Tomas and Alessandra are good too. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Rafael." She places her head on his chest. "I think we can be pretty sure that he is your son, I mean, just look at him, look at him and his siblings, the colors are exactly the same and he has your eyes. There are some things I've noticed though, he seems to be taking on a lot of Eric´s mannerisms and I really don't think he's going to be that interested in taking over the family company. I think we might have a clothing designer in our pack of kids." She gives him a small smile as she turns around and sees recognition in his eyes.
"Yeah, I've noticed that too. It is a good thing we have Tomas isn't it?" He laughs a little and gives his wife a passionate kiss.
"Yes it is and your brother also has a son that seems to be interested in the company. I mean, he's already involved in the business and he's just 14 years old. I think we have got the future of the company covered so if Rafael wants to go in another direction, he can, right?" Stephanie looks into Massimo´s eyes and sees the sparkling in them.
"Yeah, I don't want him to feel forced to take over the company if he doesn't want to, there are other options to secure the companies future. I think Antonio will be perfect for the company!"
Rafael´s parents embrace in a hug and then they hear little feet running in the hallway and then their three kids comes running into the kitchen. Alessandra was looking like an angel with her blue eyes and blonde curly hair, Tomas´ brown eyes was glowing with mischief and his brown hair was bouncing around like crazy, when he was younger his hair had been the same blonde color his sister had at the moment and for the first year and a half of his life, his eyes had also been blue, just like his mothers, his sisters eyes were starting to show the transition from blue to brown as well with the specks of brown in her eyes that started to appear two months ago. The Italian genes were strong in all three siblings.
What if...
When Rafael graduated High School, he had already started his own design company as a part of a class he had taken and when it took off, he saw no reason for it to be ended when he graduated. He had made sure that it was not a part of his fathers company and that his success was not based on who his parents were.
By the time he was 29, he had already sent a dress to the President of the United States wife for her to wear during a dinner with some of the worlds most influential leaders. His two sisters were also involved in the company, Alessandra had taken over the financial part of the business and Stephania were doing everything that had to do with PR. Tomas had gotten more involved in his fathers company when Massimo had declared that he was going to cut down his hours in order to spend some time with his wife, right now Tomas was just a year or two away from taking over the company with his cousin Antonio.
On Rafael´s 35th birthday, he met someone he would intertwine his life with for many years to come. She had graduated from Medical School two years ago and was now trying to figure out what she wanted practice when she was board certified doctor. She had a few ideas, but one of them had a bigger pull, oncology, due to the fact that her mother was dying of cancer when she had first started college, but then she had been the victim of a car explosion some years ago so she wanted to honor her mother.
When the two met, she was celebrating being out of debt to her ex husband that had helped her through medical school at a restaurant with some friends of hers. Her dark brown almost black hair flowing down her back with a clip holding a few pieces out of her face on the back of her head and her pale blue eyes shining with glee that it's finally over.
Rafael and his siblings had to walk right by the table that the woman and her friends were sitting at and when she laughs and he turns to look at her, it's like he get's the wind knocked out of him. She lifts her glass and winks at him.
"I'm celebrating the end of my marriage! We might get a little loud! I hope you don't mind!" Then she winks at him again and then nods her head at Stephania as she's come to get her held up brother and they go to sit down a few tables away from the divorce celebration. But he just can't keep his eyes from looking at the woman.
"Who do you think that is?" He asks his brother.
"Oh, you mean Taylor Hayes? She's a resident at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital. She was the doctor who helped me get rid of the pain in my knee, she's also the doctor who helped Agnezca find out she had cancer and worked up a treatment plan with her oncologist. She's the reason my wife is still with us right now. She's one of those doctors that give her all to her patients and really wants to help." Tomas actually have tears in his eyes while talking about his wife. They sit down at their table and Rafael can't stop turning his head to look at the gorgeous brunette a few tables away.
Taylor has spent the last few minutes trying to figure out where she's seen the other guy who came in a few minutes ago and then it clicks, so she gets out of her chair and walks over and taps Tomas on his shoulder.
"Hi Tomas! I just wanted to know how your wife is doing? I haven't seen her in a while and I know there are only two reasons for that. Full remission or she didn't make it." Tomas gets out of the chair he's sitting on and gives Taylor a hug and his eyes are sparkling. "Well, based on the look in your eyes I'd say she's in remission!" She gives a laugh and Tomas get's another hug.
"So, how have you been? I heard something about celebrating a divorce?" Tomas asks.
"Yeah, well, the divorce has been final for a year or so, I just recently paid back the rest of all of the money he paid to help me through med school and now I won't have anything to do with him for the rest of my life and that is worth celebrating!" Her eyes sparkle and there's no denying she's excited about it. "I'm going to focus on my career and get my boards done to get my certification during the next few years. After that anything can happen! Anyway, I'm going to go back to my friends. I hope you have a wonderful evening, I know I'll be having a good night!"
As she's walking away, Rafael look at the way her hips move in the dress she's wearing and all of a sudden he feels someone poking his arm and when he turns his head to look at his sister, she gives him her signature 'What are you doing'-look.
"I'm just looking, she's just gotten out of a relationship and she's not ready for a relationship, serious or otherwise. She's got a great body though, if I put one of my designs on her, they would look absolutely great on her. I think I'm going to design something for her." Alessandra could see the wheels turning in her brothers head and the moment it clicked.
"Yeah,let's say good bye to Rafael now!" Alessandra says with her usual 'I'm so tired of things not going the way I've planned because Rafael finds something else to do in the middle of it all'-voice. Stephania turns her head to look at her sister.
"Why? Where's he going?" Stephania looks surprised.
"Back to the office I would assume, he has gotten this idea in his head that he's going to design a dress or something for Taylor and the inspiration just hit and you know what happens then!" Both sisters nods their heads.
"Well, I know what happens. I guess we'll enjoy your birthday dinner without you then. Good luck with the design! Can we see it before you give it to her?" Tomas says even though he knows that Rafael would always show his siblings what he's designed before the world get's a hold of it. Rafael nods his head and then walks away.
Exactly two weeks later, a delivery man knocks on Taylor Hayes door with a white cardboard box in his hands. When she opens the door, she looks slightly surprised.
"Yes, how can I help you?" She walks out the door while she pulls her cardigan in closer to her frame and closes the door behind her.
"Are you Taylor Hayes?" The delivery man asks.
"Yes, I am. What can I do for you?" She then notices the box he's holding. "Is that for me?"
"Yes, it is mam, I've been sent my RM Creations to hand deliver this box to you on order from the CEO and owner himself." He then hands over the box. "I hope you look good in it!"
She accepts the box, opens the door to her house and walks inside to place the box on her kitchen table, opens it up and finds a spaghetti strapped long tightly fitting sequenced purple dress that looks to be her size. When she puts it on a few minutes later, it fits her like a glove. So she brings her phone book out and finds the number to RM Creations and dials it. It takes a few minutes for someone to pick up.
"RM Creations, you´re talking to Stephania Marone, how can I help you?" The lighthearted voice on the other end reminds Taylor of one of the girls she saw out with her siblings a couple of weeks ago when she celebrated the end of the tie she had to her ex-husband.
"Hi, this is Taylor Hayes, I got a package a few minutes ago from your CEO and owner and I'd like to thank this person." Stephania´s eyes lights up.
"Hi Taylor! This is my brothers company. Did you like the dress? Did it fit right?"
"Yes, I do like the dress, I have an event coming up and I was going to go shopping later in the week, but now I don't have to. It fit like a dream and the color is amazing!" Taylor sits down on her couch wearing her sweats. "I didn't know Rafael works in the fashion industry."
She didn't exactly know how it happened, but it almost felt like she and Stephania had been friends for years, they talked for the next half hour about everything and nothing. Then Stephania remembered that Taylor hadn't called to talk to her.
"Oh, right, you didn't call to talk to me, I'll send you through to my brother! Maybe we can meet up later or something for lunch or dinner or drinks?" Stephania says with hope in her voice.
"Yeah, I'd love that!" So she gives Stephania her phone number and waits to be forwarded to Rafael.
"RM Creations, Rafael speaking. How may I help you?" She hears him answer and there are shivers going down her spine.
"Hello Mr Marone, I'd like to say thank you for the dress! How did you know purple was my favorite color?" Her eyes are sparkling and her fingers are playing with the chord of the phone while they're talking.
What if...
The relationship between Taylor and the Marone sisters only grew stronger after that, put in Agnezca and they were quite the little foursome. The thing that most hadn't thought would ever happened had also taken place. Mrs Marone actually liked another woman that her daughters and daughter in law had build a friendship with. Agnezca had been in the family since Tomas started high school and the love that they share had been evident already back then, but all the girls previous friends had been getting the 'I don't like you very much'-look that their mother gave people she didn't approve of, Taylor however had captured the heart of Stephanie Marone and that was a feat few could conquer! Another thing that had surprised most of the people involved was the fact that Taylor´s brother Zach had gotten a similar welcoming when Stephania revealed that she had started dating him.
Two years after the first time they met to the minute, Rafael asked Taylor out on a date for the first time. Two years after that, they got married, eight and half months after that, they were blessed with their first child, a son they named after Taylor´s father Jack and Rafael´s mother. Jackson Stephane Marone. When their son celebrated his first birthday, Taylor gave Rafael the surprise of a lifetime. She was pregnant again. With triplets. Maria Stephanie, Zacharias Tomas and Sharon Ashley were born on a beautiful fall morning in 1989.
AN:
This chapter is getting way to long... The plan was to include what happened with Eric, Beth and Stephen as well, but it's at eight pages right now and I know that it's hard to read long chapters of a story.
I'm gonna continue this in another one shot as a companion piece.
