As always guys: thank you so much for the love and support.

It means more than you could know. It means everything.

A lot happens in this chapter, so off you go! Start reading!

Steffy and Liam had reunited more than two weeks ago, and everything was all for the best in the best of all worlds. Liam was taking great care of her: he was petting her as though she was the most precious thing on earth, what was the case for him. They were doing really good; their complicity had never been stronger, and they had never laughed so hard.

Liam was super excited about the baby's arrival, which wasn't planned before many more months, but he didn't really give the impression of realizing that. Indeed, three days ago, Steffy had caught him checking cradles on the internet. Her eyes had widened at him and at the screen: she wasn't even two months pregnant, and he was already looking into stuff like that?! Talk about bringing bad luck! Steffy had completely freaked out: people didn't do things like that! They didn't deal with stuff for the baby this early!

Be that as it may, Steffy's pregnancy was still a 'secret' to most people in town. Only Taylor, Bill, Bridget and Hope knew –well, at least as far as the couple knew. It is true than once a Logan knows something, turn around one second and they all know, so… she could only be so sure.

Liam and Steffy had agreed on not telling anyone except their closest family members before Steffy got past the first trimester since after that, it was pretty safe to say the pregnancy would be carried to an end and without problems. Obviously, Steffy had to let Thomas know before her mother's tongue slipped and he heard it from Taylor instead because if that happened, she would definitely not carry this pregnancy to an end. She was planning on telling him; she had just been very busy lately with work –and she decently couldn't tell him between two meetings.

As a matter of fact, Hope and Steffy were just coming from a small staff meeting in Eric's office, during which a certain number of decisions had been made about the campaigns in motion, notably about Hope for the Future.

"So you will send me a report about your impressions on how things went so that I can release a press item here?" Steffy spoke in a questioning matter.

"Yes." Hope confirmed nodding.

"Okay, then I thinks everything is settled here." Steffy concluded. "Have a safe trip and… try to enjoy the city." She said.

The blonde nodded half-heartedly and turned to leave.

"Hope." The brunette stopped her before she had reached for the handle.

Hope reluctantly turned around, but didn't say anything. She merely looked up at Steffy and waited for the latter to talk.

"I really hope that everything will turn out how you wanted to and that the promotion will be a huge success and bring even more fame to Hope for the Future." She wished her sincerely. "Try to have fun, alright? Paris is a beautiful city, and besides, you won't be alone, so try to relax and enjoy yourself." She said to her.

"Thank you." Hope said appreciating Steffy's words, just not knowing how to show in this situation, so she just settled for a small but genuine thank you. "I will."

They stared at each other for a little while, and Steffy warily smiled at Hope, and the blonde responded with a smile just as light before she turned around to finally leave. She opened the door handle and bumped into a body.

"Oh… sorry." Liam apologized, and at his abashed tone, one truly could have wondered what exactly he was apologizing for. He wasn't lacking reasons, really.

Hope broke the eye contact with him. "It's okay. Never mind." She replied.

Liam took in a shaky breath. "How are you?" he asked her.

"I'm good." She answered obviously more to be polite than for something else.

Liam nodded. "How are you?" she asked back, once again mostly by courtesy.

Steffy who had returned behind her desk and was going through some paperwork looked at them from the corner of the eye.

"I'm good." He answered the same.

"Good." Hope said, and Steffy raised her brows at the unfolding of their interaction before refocusing on her paperwork. Well, this wasn't weird at all.

"Um… I have to go." Hope excused herself.

"Oh sure." Liam said fully entering the office and getting out of her way so she could pass. "Sorry again." He apologized once again as she moved past him.

"Never mind; no harm done." She said as she exited the room, and neither Liam nor Steffy missed the irony of her words.

After Hope left, Liam closed the door and advanced further into the office.

"That was…" He started but didn't get a chance to finish.

"…awkward, uncomfortable." The raven-haired completed for him looking up at him.

"Yes." Liam agreed.

She focused her attention back on her papers. "Was that your first time talking since…?"

"Yes." Liam answered before she ended knowing what her full question would be.

Steffy nodded. "Well, you couldn't avoid each other forever." She said.

"I wasn't avoiding her." He countered. "I've been busy." He clarified.

"Right." Steffy said with more than a hint of skepticism in the voice. "Well, you are going to be brought to be around each other, Liam. She's my sister-in-law, and we're all kind of a big family, as messed up as we are, so it would be great if for everyone's sake, you would get rid of all the tension." She asked.

"I left her for you, Steffy, and we're about to have a baby." He reminded. "How at ease did you think we would all be?!"

Steffy raised her head to him her brows knit together, an expression of disbelief over her features. "You didn't leave her for me. You weren't together in the first place. You and I were in a relationship. Then, she found out her brother had lied to her and started making a move on you to win you back. And I hate to break it to you, but things weren't near as awkward when you asked me for a divorce so you could marry Hope ." She reminded him at her turn.

"Well, you're not Hope." Liam said raising his shoulders.

"Thank God for that." Steffy replied pointedly.

He sighed and looked away, annoyed. Once again: his life would be so much easier if those two women just found it in themselves to get along or at least tolerate one another's presence.

"I was going to talk to her, Steffy. I am going to talk to her. I just don't know what I'm going to say to her yet. This isn't easy!" He declared. "But I have every intention to talk to Hope." He promised.

"If that's true, I suggest you figure out what it is you're going to say to her fast…" She said classifying some documents. She sat on her armchair. "…because she's leaving." She finished.

"What?!" Liam asked knitting his brows together in confusion.

"Not permanently. Relax." She reassured him bitterly. "She's going to Paris to promote Hope for the Future." She elaborated.

"Oh…" he let out.

"Yeah, she'll be gone for a week." She informed him.

"When is she leaving?" He inquired.

"Today." She answered simply and his eyes widened at her response.

"Where's the rush?" He asked.

She merely shrugged. "She's got nothing better to do here. Just the time for her and Oliver to pack up their stuff and they'll be gone." She declared.

"Oliver?" Liam repeated in a questioning matter.

"Yes. He's going with her." Steffy responded.

"Why?" He asked his brows furrowed causing Steffy to frown as well.

She looked at him, perplexed. "Have you never been on a promotion trip?" She asked him pointedly before getting up and walking to him. "It demands a lot of organization and work that Hope cannot handle on her own." She explained. "Now be a good boyfriend and greet me appropriately." She told him.

Liam didn't even have the time to reply that she had brought her hand to his scruff and pressed her lips against his.

He put his hand on her hip and greedily kissed her back.

"Hi." Steffy said after she broke away.

"Hi." He said back with a smile mirroring her own.

"So what were we saying?" She got back to the matter at hand.

"I understand that she needs someone to accompany her. What I don't understand is why Oliver has to be that someone. Can't Rick go with her?" He said and Steffy slightly winced at the annoyance she perceived in his voice.

Steffy raised her brows at him. "Do I really need to remind you that Hope and Rick aren't exactly on the best of terms right now?"

"Okay." He said. "Okay, maybe not Rick, but Marcus could have gone with her. And why not Thomas or…?"

"Whoa. Whoa!" Steffy stopped him. "What is going on here? What's your problem if Oliver goes to Paris with Hope?" She asked him.

He didn't answer and simply looked at her.

"Are you jealous?" She asked him, her eyes narrowed at him.

"What?! No!" He said in an almost indignant tone.

"Okay." Steffy dropped it. "Just checking." She said and walked back to her desk. She turned her head to glance at him askance.

She sat again on her armchair and opened her computer. "So why are you here anyway?" She asked him trying her best not to sound annoyed. "I dare to assume that you didn't just come here to inquire about Hope."

He gave her a look. "I came because I wanted to see you." He told her.

"Mmmhh." She hummed, unconvinced, and nodded.

"I was hoping to take you to lunch." He said.

"I can't." She turned down his offer and focused her gaze back on her computer as she logged in. "I have work to do."

"Steffy, remember what…"

"Okay, you have got to stop using Bridget as an authority every time I do something you disagree with." She stopped him before he even had a chance to finish. "I am not overdoing it, but I do have to work, Liam."

Truth be told, it wasn't just about her having to work. Steffy was kind of upset about Liam's not so unforeseen reaction to Oliver and Hope. It was so predictable. She loved Liam, and she found him so special most of the time, but the hard truth was essentially, he was like all the other men: he couldn't stand not being the one. Even though he had ended it with Hope, clearly, definitely, he still needed to know he owned her heart, and Steffy found that pretty lame, but she got it. He was a man.

He walked to her behind her desk and turned her armchair to him. He caressed the side of her face gently and she sighed softly in a mix of delight and annoyance. Why did he know exactly what to do so that she couldn't stay mad at him for too long.

He smiled lovingly at her before retrieving his hand from her face and just standing there. "What do you have to work on?" He inquired.

"A new line." She answered. "…of which I'll be the main model." She completed in a rush dreading his reaction.

He tilted his head and frowned in confusion. "I thought you were going to talk to Eric about your pregnancy." He said.

"I did. I did." She affirmed. "He's super happy for us. He congratulated me like a dozen times. Obviously, he wasn't enchanted by the fact that this pregnancy is an impediment to the re-launch of the Intimacy line, but the business man that he is found some sort of compromise." She explained. "Are you ready? A line for pregnant women!" She announced.

"A line for pregnant women?" He raised his brows at her. "Have you ever done that before?" He asked her.

"No, never. It's a first."

"A line for pregnant women." He repeated once again. He could barely believe it. "But you guys only sell high-fashion clothes." He pointed out.

"Yes, and this will be no exception." Steffy assured Liam. "The clothes will be high fashion. And my closet will remain in that category too. I have every intention to keep wearing designers' clothes 'till the very moment I go into labor." She said.

Liam chuckled. "And you will be the main model?" He made sure.

"Yes." She answered enthusiastically.

"Well… at least, finding maternity clothes won't be a problem." He looked at the bright side.

She beamed at him in response. That was true.

/

Liam was walking towards Eric's office where he had been told Hope was when he suddenly bumped into someone.

"Oh sorry…" He apologized before he looked up and realized who he had bumped into… again. "Hope." He realized.

"Wow. We've seen more of each other in a day that we have in the past week." She noted with a half-hearted smile.

Liam tilted his head in silent agreement. "Actually, I'm glad that I bumped into you." He said causing her to frown. "Well, not bumped, but… I was kind of looking for you." He confessed.

"Uh… I'm kind of in a hurry." She told him. "I have a…"

"…flight to catch." He completed for her. "Yes, I know. I won't be long." He insisted searching her eyes.

She looked at him, still hesitant, but eventually nodded. "Follow me." She said before turning around.

Once they entered Eric's office, Hope put the papers she was holding on Eric's desk and leaned on it.

There was a very uncomfortable silence reigning between them for a moment, and since Liam didn't seem to want to talk by himself, Hope eventually spoke up. "So what did you want to tell me?" she asked him.

"It's not obvious?" Liam replied, and she raised her brow at him.

"I owe you an apology: you shouldn't have found out about the baby the way you did. I'm sorry." He apologized.

"It's fine, Liam." She brushed him off with her hand half-heartedly. Obviously, it wasn't fine. None of it was okay. This whole situation was completely unforeseen, and it was blowing her mind away! She was going through the heartbreak of her life. But hey, she was powerless; and at this point, the best that she could do was put on a blank face and preserve the little dignity she had left.

"You have every right to be mad at me." Liam said.

"I'm not." She responded.

"You ought to be."

"Liam… I'm not." She said conveying with her eyes that she meant what she was saying. "What difference does it make? What would it have changed if you had been the one to tell me?" She asked him. "Nothing! Steffy's pregnant with your child. Period. Whether I heard it from you or I read it in the newspaper really doesn't change a thing." She stated.

"Regardless, I should have been the one to tell you." He insisted and she looked away, annoyed and bored. "And whether you believe it or not, I was going to tell you. I just didn't have the time. I didn't know yet when I…"

Hope directed her gaze back to Liam waiting for him to say it, waiting for those words to come out of his mouth once again.

"…when we last talked." He evaded.

She nodded. "I know." She said.

"You do?" Liam asked.

Hope nodded again. "Yes. Steffy made that pretty clear after I got on her nerves." Hope commented.

Liam tilted his head and narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Uh… I'm not sure I know what we're talking about here." He said, really confused.

"Oh come on. I know Steffy told you." The blonde stated giving him a knowing look.

He raised his shoulders. "She apparently didn't. Tell me what?" He inquired.

Hope heaved a sigh before she answered. "When I overheard her and Taylor…, I kind of just assumed that… she had tricked you." She confessed and she at least had the decency to look at shame.

"Hope!" Liam exclaimed, all prepared to make reproaches to her.

"But I was wrong." She stopped him before he even got started. "And I am sorry." She said.

"It doesn't change what I think though." She specified.

He arched his brow at her questioningly.

"That you're now trapped." She elaborated.

"Hope, no…" He started, shaking his head.

"No, I know that you weren't aware when you made your decision… And maybe, Steffy didn't actually mean to trap you, but it doesn't change the fact you. There's a sense of obligation from you to her now: you are tied to her."

"That's not… the way things are; and it's not how I feel." Liam countered. "Steffy didn't trick me or trap me or whatever. It's true that this wasn't planned, so I get what you're saying, but…it takes two people to conceive a baby. I'm just as responsible as Steffy is."

"That's true." She agreed. "Perhaps, you should have been more careful."

"We should have." He nodded.

"But you didn't." She stated the fact. "And now you're having a child, and you're getting married, and then you're…" She stopped as she caught the look in Liam's eye and the way he lightly raised his brows.

"Aren't you?" She questioned.

Liam opened his mouth, but nothing came out as first. That was simply an unexpected question and something he hadn't had the time to consider. "We haven't talked about that recently." He ended up saying. "I guess we'll see. It's somewhere down the road." He eluded.

"Steffy's pregnant with your child. The right thing to do is to marry her." She said looking anywhere but directly at him.

"Is that what you want?" He asked Hope.

"It's not about what I want. It's the right thing to do." She repeated casually and looked at him this time. "Besides, it's what you would have done if I wasn't in the picture, right?" She asked rhetorically.

Liam didn't say anything. He just held her gaze trying to find the truth in them, the one her mouth wouldn't say. She straightened up and turned around to pick her papers on Eric's desk. "I have to go." She suddenly declared before she started to walk towards the door.

Liam raised a hand before Hope, stopping her. "You're the one travelling. It's not like the plane can leave without you." He pointed out.

"Liam, you said you were sorry. I said I wasn't mad. I don't see what there is to add." She told him candidly.

"The last time we talked, I told you I wanted us to be friends. I meant it. This doesn't change anything. I'm still concerned about you, Hope. I'm still concerned about your happiness and wellbeing."

She inhaled, then, exhaled a deep breath. "Liam, I already told you that I don't…"

"I know." He interrupted her. "I know you don't feel ready for that yet, and I understand." He said to her. "But I'm hoping that with time, you'll come around. We've always been a big part of each other's life, and I don't want that to change." He honestly confided to her.

"Maybe. I guess with time, we'll see." Hope said.

Liam looked at her intently. They stared at each other for a moment, until Hope broke his gaze and attempted to leave. When she was within his reach, without thinking twice, completely impulsively, Liam leaned forward and kissed her.

Caught off guard, she didn't react at first and even kissed him back, but she eventually regained her senses and pulled away after a few seconds.

"What was that?" She asked Liam looking down, and swallowing difficultly.

"I don't know. That wasn't on me." Liam said smoothing his suit, avoiding her gaze too.

"That wasn't on me either." She retorted defensively.

"Fine."

"Fine!"

With that, they both turned to leave and inadvertently blocked the other's way. Liam took a step back and let her go before him. They left the office, but went in opposite directions, both wondering what the hell had just happened.

/

Steffy, Thomas, Liam, and Taylor were all at the latter's house for a small family gathering. Taylor was in the kitchen, cooking, and Liam was at her side, helping her. The cooking was honestly just a pretext to leave the two siblings alone. They both knew Steffy had something important to announce to her brother.

"Stef, what is it already?!" Thomas exclaimed, out of patience. She had been trying to tell him something for twenty minutes now! "You're making me nervous. What's got you so anxious? You're never afraid of nothing!" He remarked.

Steffy sighed and closed her eyes. She opened them again and focused them on her brother. "I'm just afraid that you will get mad at me for not telling you sooner." She confided. "But please keep in mind that this past month has been a rollercoaster for me and I've had a lot to take in, and I can assure you that all the other people who are aware found out by mere chance." She let it all out in a breath.

"Steffy!" Thomas said a hand on her shoulder. "Take a deep breath, and say whatever you have to say." He asked her and removed his hand from her shoulder.

She nodded and did as he said. She took a deep breath before she declared. "I'm pregnant." She announced and watched as her brother's face turned livid. "Liam and I are pregnant. You're going to be an uncle." She stated it differently.

Thomas suddenly turned around and raised his head as if searching something.

"What are you looking for?" Steffy asked her brows lightly creased in confusion.

"Liam." Thomas answered with underlying anger in his voice.

"Okay…" Steffy said still as confused. "Why are you looking for…?" She didn't have time to finish because of her brother's voice who roared.

She winced at his loud voice. "Thomas, why are you…?"

Once again, he didn't let her finish. "You're pregnant with Liam's child, right now?" He asked her.

"Of course!" She answered in an obvious tone, making a face as if to tell him his question was ridiculous.

"And you don't care that half of his mind and heart is still with his Hope?" He inquired.

Steffy nodded putting two and two together. "Okay. I see where this is coming from."

"Oh you do?" He asked with bite.

"Yes! I do!" She answered just as pointedly getting annoyed. She appreciated his concern, but really, didn't he know by now that she was perfectly capable of looking out for herself. "Look Tom…" She called him by his nickname and finally got his attention. "I appreciate your concern, and I understand why you would be concerned, but you have to know things have changed, Liam has…"

This time, it was Liam's entrance in the living-room that stopped.

"Yes?" Liam answered Thomas.

Thomas stood up.

Steffy heaved a sigh looking away. This was going very bad. Of all the scenarios she had envisioned in her head, this was not one of them.

"So you get my sister pregnant, yet, you keep leading Hope on." Thomas accused.

"Thomas…" Steffy pleaded.

Liam glanced at her: apparently, she had told her brother.

"Thomas, I'm not sure what you're referring to, but…"

"Oh you're not sure what I'm referring to? You actually want to deny all the time that you've been spending with Hope behind my sister's back in that same house where you conceived a child?!" His anger flared up.

"Thomas, who I spend my time with and who I see is none of your business: that's between your sister and me. But for your information, I didn't hide anything from Steffy." He answered calmly. "Does she look surprised to you?" He gestured towards the main concerned.

"So that makes it all okay? Going back and forth between two women? Taking them then leaving them, and then taking them back as if they were two yoyos. You think that's normal?!"

Now, Thomas was plain screaming. The only thing reassuring Steffy was the safe distance between the two men. Though, her brother was dangerously getting closer to her boyfriend.

"Okay, Thomas!" She decided to intervene before things got out of hand. "Enough!"

"I am well aware that Liam and Hope spent time together while I was in Paris. I was okay with that. I told Liam that he should use this time advisedly to figure out where he stood, and that required spending time with Hope." Steffy simply explained. "I was away: she saw an occasion; she seized it. I would have done the same thing."

"What is wrong with you?" Her brother asked her narrowing his eyes at her. "How could you plainly give him permission to flirt with her?!"

"I did not! I told him to figure out his feelings." Steffy defended.

"Thomas." Liam tried to get the other man's attention. "I understand that you're just being concerned about your sister." He spoke in an even voice. "But you have no reason to be: I have no intention of hurting Steffy or our child. I am committed to them; I love them." He told him.

"Yeah? What about Hope, don't you love her too?" Thomas questioned.

Steffy glanced at Liam.

"What is going on here?" Taylor barged in from the kitchen, saving her 'son-in-law' from answering a very delicate question. "I could hear you guys screaming from the kitchen." Taylor said.

"I actually have no idea what is going on here." Steffy admitted crossing her arms over her chest and looking away.

"Mom, did you know about this?" Thomas asked his mother.

"I did." Taylor responded.

"Thomas, you're freaking out for no reason." Steffy said, though no one was listening.

"And you're okay with it?! You know what Liam's been up to!" He exclaimed.

"Don't raise your voice to your mother." Liam stepped in.

Thomas directed his angry gaze at him. "Do not tell me how to talk to the women of my life." He said in a warning tone.

"Thomas, I understand what you're going through." Taylor paused. "I've been there." She assured him. "But there has been a change in situation." She told him.

"Why? Because you're pregnant?" He asked turning back to his sister who bore an emotionless look, but he could tell she was mad at him. To be honest, he really could care less. He was her brother. He was doing his job: protecting her. "Why are you doing this to yourself, Stef? Why walk down that same dark path that Mom did?! Why settle for a man who's only with you because of a child?!" He interrogated not thinking for a second what his words may do to his mother standing right behind him.

"Thomas!" Steffy yelled at him, and he realized his mistake.

Thank you so much for reading.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

A lot will happen in the next chapter as well.

Reviews appreciated as always.

Feel free to stalk me on Tumblr for an update.