Heart to heart and lots of fun!

Taylor and the kids were sitting comfortably together. At first, they excitedly talked about the fashion show and their success. Taylor had already been informed about it. Of course, she had followed all the reports online. When she wanted to know how things were going at Forrester Creation in general, Thomas and Steffy remained silent. Taylor suspected she had hit a sensitive point. Finally it bursted out of Thomas.

"To be honest the mood sucks. If it weren't for our family heritage and our company, Steffy and I would be long gone." Taylor looked at him, startled. She hadn't expected it to be this bad.

"Excuse me? What's going on? Now tell me!"

Thomas didn't want to say anything more about it, the subject made him extremely uncomfortable. Steffy noticed her brother's discomfort and jumped in.

"It's all not so easy after the whole unfortunate story with Brooke and Thomas. Brooke isn't ready to forgive Thomas one bit and she doesn't like me anyway. We've both been declared as persona non grata. She and her followers, Rick and Hope are doing everything they can to get us out of the company. First they demanded from Dad to fire Thomas immediately, and they wanted me out as well."

Taylor was shocked at her daughter's descriptions.

"Oh my God! And how did your father react?"

"Dad was totally awesome. He and Granddad took our side, thank God, and sided with us. They both felt that termination would be too drastic." Taylor was deeply relieved to hear this.

"Dad has really changed. He cares about us like he hasn't in years. When Brooke came in with her demand, at first I thought now it's all over. But he really stood up to Brooke, I didn't think he was capable of doing this."

"Does that mean he forgave you for that stupid lie?"

"At first he was still very angry, I mean I know myself what a big mess I made there, but he limited my punishment by canceling the Taboo line and for the next time taking away any responsibility for an own collection from me. I am now mainly working with Steffy. But that's fine with me."

"Well I still think that's pretty harsh but of course a lot fairer than throwing you out the door."

For a moment everyone was silent, then Steffy gathered her courage to ask a question that was very important to her.

"Um I know it might be a bit blunt but while we're talking about Dad, how do you actually feel about him and the whole situation now?" Taylor took a deep breath, she had prepared herself for this question. She tapped her hands on the empty seats next to her, signaling Thomas and Steffy to join her.

"You know, I've had a lot of time in the last few weeks to think about everything that happened, about the last few years, and I've realized a lot of things. As for your father, it's obvious he wants to live with Brooke, he loves her and they have a family together and I respect that. I have finally realized your father and I will never be a couple again. We once had a wonderful time together and we once loved each other very much and out of that love you were born, but our time has been over for a long time. However, I want you to know, even though your father and I won't be living together and we won't be a family in the classic sense anymore, we love you both and you can count on each of us one hundred percent and I think that's the most important thing."

"Does that mean you don't have any feelings for him anymore?"

"He is still one of the most important person in my life and probably always will be, but I can say I am no longer in love with him. I have closed this chapter."

"So are you going to avoid him from now on, or do you think at some point a contact will be possible again?"

"Of course! The fact that I don't want to talk to Ridge or the rest of the family right now doesn't mean I don't like them anymore or that I want them out of my life. It has more to do with the fact I need to redefine myself first. I have to find out who I really am without everyone pulling at me or wants to squeeze me into some specific role. But I hope at some point there will be a chance for us to deal with each other again in a normal way." Thomas and Steffy were satisfied with this answer for this moment. They both snuggled up to their mother and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Taylor put her arms around them and hugged them both tightly.

At that moment, Steffy's stomach began to growl terribly. Thomas and Taylor started to giggle.

"Sorry, but I'm so hungry. Please mom say you prepared something extra yummy!" Taylor gave her daughter a nudge on the nose.

"You really think I'm going to invite you guys over and then leave you to starve miserably?! I've prepared a lasagna, we just need to heat it up quickly."

"Yeaaaahhh!" Steffy and Thomas cheered like little kids.

Shortly after, they were sitting down to eat. Steffy and Thomas were chowing down as if they hadn't eaten in months.

"You know mom. Thomas and I have started cooking now and we are getting better and better but there is nothing like a home cooked meal alla Mommy."

"I love you too Sweetheart!" Taylor's heart glowed at that comment. As they ate, they continued to share news. Taylor talked about her new job and the people she had already met. A little curious, she asked.

"And are your father and Brooke married by now, or are they still planning the glorious event?"

"To be honest, we don't know. In the beginning they talked a lot about the wedding but then... The two of them had a really big fight over the attempted termination. According to Dad, they reconciled but since then it seems to be something is wrong. Anyway, neither Dad nor Brooke look particularly in love or happy lately."

"Oh really?! Well I guess that's about to change pretty fast. I mean, we've been through this before. First it's drama and then out of nowhere it's all sunshine again."

"Yeah you're right!" Steffy made a screwed up face. "Obviously they both need this up and down, as a special kick."

After lunch, they all felt a little exercise couldn't hurt them. They went to the nearby park. Relaxed and in a good mood, they strolled through the grounds. On a lawn Thomas found a frisbee left behind, he and Steffy started throwing it to each other. Steffy hurled the Frisbee to her mother.

"Come on mom, join in!" Taylor looked at her daughter like she had lost her mind.

"Have you gone crazy Steffy? I'm not going to make a fool of myself here in public."

Thomas winked at his sister. He knew how to handle his mother.

"Give it a rest Steffy, Mom wouldn't catch the Frisbee anyway."

"Excuse me? I think my hearing is going bad."

"Well you're not the youngest anymore and the older you get the slower your capacity of reaction gets." Taylor could not let this stand. She grabbed the frisbee and stormed out onto the lawn with energetic steps.

"I'll show you my slow reaction in a minute." The siblings grinned at each other; sometimes it was too easy.

That evening, they made themselves comfortable in the penthouse. Wisely, Taylor had procured some DVDs, so they spent a relaxing night watching movies.

The next morning, Taylor was waiting for her children to join her for breakfast. Both of them got big eyes when they saw the table. There was everything their hearts desired. Both agreed this was far better than any hotel buffet. Afterwards, they set out to explore the city. They walked through downtown and strolled along the shopping mile. In the afternoon they rented bikes and rode to the coast along the Golden Gate Bridge. They took lots of photos with the bridge in the background. They kept coming up with new crazy ideas to pose and they had a lot of fun looking at the pictures afterwards. Thomas felt a little sting in his heart when he realized he wouldn't be able to show the pictures to anyone at home.

Back in the penthouse they started the preparation for the barbecue. Thomas was appointed grill master and took care of the sauces while Steffy helped her mother with the salads and side dishes. Susan came and contributed a homemade panna cotta as a dessert. Steffy and Thomas were very excited to meet their mother's new BFF. They liked each other right away. It was an enjoyable evening. The kids loved Susan's informal and relaxed manner.

The next day was the last day of their visit. They were having breakfast when suddenly it started to rain. No one felt like going out. Steffy grabbed the remote and found a channel showing cartoons. As they all snuggled together watching TV, Taylor had some flashbacks. She remembered when the kids were little, they had often lain together on the bed or couch and watched cartoons.

The next day, it was time for Steffy and Thomas to fly back to Los Angeles. Duty called. Neither of them were in the mood to go home again. They had enjoyed the carefree time with their mother way too much. Taylor came to take them to the airport. She also found it hard to say goodbye. It felt so great to have her children around her again and she was reluctant to let them go. The mood on the drive was rather sadded and at the gate everyone had to pull themselves together not to cry. Taylor hugged her children tightly.

"Okay let's make this short before I really start weeping. Take care of yourselves, don't let anyone get you down, and come visit me again very soon!"

"We will Mom, promise." Steffy had one more thing to do that she had been avoiding all weekend.

"Dad found out that we were going to see you and he told Grandpa and Grandma. Grandma gave me this letter for you."

"Oh okay fine!" Taylor accepted the envelope and dropped it into her purse. One last time she hugged them both before they boarded the plane. A few tears rolled down her cheeks. With a heavy heart, she turned around and headed to work. Before entering the office, she wiped away her tears and put on new makeup. She was relieved to be able to throw herself into work to distract herself from her pain. However, it hit her again with full force when she came home later this evening. The apartment seemed so quiet and deserted. She turned back and decided to pay Susan a visit.

Steffy and Thomas spent an uneventful flight. They talked about the weekend. They both agreed San Francisco and the fresh start seemed to do their mother good. They hadn't seen her so relaxed, confident and content in a long time.

"It really seems like she finally put Dad Brooke and all this back and forth behind her."

"Yeah I think so, I mean she was practically completely unaffected when we told her that Brooke and Dad were apparently having a crisis."

"I've noticed that too, I just don't know yet whether to be happy about it or not." Thomas gave his sister a sympathetic hug.

"I know I feel the same way, but we also have to finally realize our parents will never get back together, but Mom was right, the most important thing is that we have them both and hopefully for a very long time."

"I know, but it's still not so easy to give up a dream!"

After they landed, they drove home, unloaded their luggage, changed clothes, and continued on their way to Forrester Creation.

"I don't feel like going in there at all!" gave Steffi almost defiantly.

"You think I do, especially I don't even know what we should tell them now?"

"Well, the truth and preferably as little as possible."

"God I hate this!" Thomas rolled his eyes and the two entered the building, which was so familiar to them, with a queasy feeling. First they detoured to their grandfather's office to check back in. As a coincidence their grandmother and father were also in the room.

"Hey we're back!" Ridge was happy to see his children again, even though they had only been gone a few days, he had missed them a lot.

"Hey there you guys are back, it's good to see you again!" He warmly embraced them both, Stephanie and Eric also came forward to hug and welcome their grandchildren. Stephanie could no longer contain her impatience and curiosity.

"Go ahead and tell us! How was it? How's your mom?"

"It was great, just perfect! Mom is doing really well, she has a great apartment, she's happy with her job and everything, and she made a cool new friend. She's very different from mom in her way, more of a chilly, funny person". Steffy couldn't stop gushing about the weekend, not even noticing the disapproving and irritated looks from her grandmother and father.

"Did she say anything about when she plans to come back home?" Thomas and Steffy looked at each other and sighed. They had seen this question coming.

"Mom is happy with her new life and she certainly isn't going to give that up just to get back here."

"Steffy is right, she has built something new for herself and she is enjoying her life so why should she come back?" Steffy and Thomas didn't feel like having this discussion at all, so they quickly said their goodbyes and mentioned they had to get back to work.

After they left the office, Ridge and his father gave Stephanie a desperate look. She didn't understand what she had done this time.

"What's wrong?"

"You just can't leave it alone mother, do you?!" Ridge now also started to leave the office and return to his work. Stephanie didn't understand what was going on with her family, was she really the only one who wished to have Taylor back home?

She sought out her grandchildren in their office. Steffy and Thomas were less than thrilled, but quickly realized they couldn't escape the situation.

"So your father is not here now, so I want to know the whole truth. Did Taylor talk to you about the situation, about your father?"

"Yes she did, we had a very honest open conversation. Mom has finally come to terms with the fact that Dad is with Brooke and they could be married at any moment, she has accepted it and she is adjusting to a life without Dad. She's realized her time together with dad is over, she said dad will always be one of the most important people in her life, but she's not in love with him anymore."

"And did you buy that, I mean she's said that a number of times."

"This time she meant it, it sounded a lot more convincing and energetic than before. Mom has really drawn a line behind her relationship with Dad and we all have to respect that. We even casually told her that things seemed to be a little bumpy with Dad and Brooke right now, but that didn't really seem to impress her much. She didn't show much of a reaction to it, she just said in a pretty indifferent tone, this is typical for Dad and Brooke."

"Well if you ask me, I think this time it's more than a little bump on the road, I wouldn't be surprised if sooner or later it will be over between your dad and Brooke for once at all.