Safe haven!

Both Susan and Rosa kept quiet and didn't tell anyone what Taylor and Ridge confessed. Susan still had Taylor's threat in her ears. She knew Taylor. She would be very disappointed, if she told anyone about the conversation. Not wanting to jeopardize her friendship with Taylor, she preferred to keep her mouth shut. Rosa also kept her information to herself; she was a person who did not like to interfere in other people's lives. Besides, she was convinced that Ridge and Taylor would find their way to each other anyway.

Even if Susan and Rosa didn't tell anyone, Taylor and Ridge's feelings were more than obvious to everyone in the clique. Secretly they were all really just waiting for the news that it had finally happened. Ridge and Taylor, however, were both still very careful not to reveal their true feelings in front of each other. Each of them, for their own personal reasons, had too much respect for making the decisive move. Everyone shook their heads in amusement when they saw the dance they were doing around each other, each trying to draw the other out.

Taylor tried to attract Ridge's attention by wearing jewelry or clothes he had given her, which she had avoided until now. In addition, when they went out for dinner, she was always dressed to the teeth. She started to wear the perfume she had used in their marriage. She invited him to her place for dinner more often and cooked all his favorite dishes. She purposely prepared more so that she could give him a portion to take home. If they were on the tennis court together, she deliberately played dumb, claiming she was out of practice. Stacy, Rosa and Susan giggled. Taylor was using every trick in the book to get close to Ridge and it was working. Ridge was all too happy to play her coach.

He himself was not idle and gave her even more attention than before. Regularly he sent her flowers with dear little sayings. He was just always careful not to send red roses, that would have been too obvious. When he brought her home, he accompanied her to her apartment door. In the past, he had only let her get out of the car outside the house. On outings and activities he paid for her and was pleased when she didn't protest. Not long ago, she had made a point of paying for everything herself. When she visited him at the boutique, he liked to pretend he was all tense from work, hoping she would massage his shoulder as she used to. He accompanied her to a party at the orphanage. For one thing, he was curious to see her in 'action', because she talks a lot about her volunteer work. On the other hand, he wanted to show her that her interests were as important to him as his own.

One day, they all agreed to meet at Stacy's house. Stacy was a longtime work colleague and friend of Susan's. Stacy had recently moved to a larger apartment and for today they had all promised her to help her move. Susan rang Taylor's doorbell to pick her up and was more than startled when her friend finally appeared at the door. Taylor looked terrible, her nose all red and swollen, her eyes small and shiny with fever. She was shaking all over.

"Oh dear, you've caught a cold, if it isn't a flu. Off to bed now!" She helped Taylor, who was dizzy, to get into the bedroom. Susan immediately wanted to cancel her help with the move and stay with her. But Taylor said that was out of the question. It was bad luck enough that she would be out.

"You can go ahead. Stacy needs every hand, and I'm not a baby anymore.

"Are you sure? I hate to leave you alone."

"Now get out of here. I want to sleep anyway, I can do that by myself."

Reluctantly, Susan left Taylor alone. Ridge immediately asked where Taylor was when she showed up alone. Ridge was deeply concerned when he heard she was sick. He reached for his phone to call her, but she did not pick up. Susan said she was probably asleep. Ridge's worries increased.

"I'm going over there and see how she's doing."

"Don't you think that's a little over the top? It's just a cold, besides Taylor is a doctor, she'll know what to do," Marc interjected.

"What does that have to do with it? If you were sick and feverish, would you like it to be lonely and abandoned in your bed?" Ridge grabbed his jacket and was gone. Everyone looked after him half amused, half admiring. His infatuation was all too apparent, but they actually liked that he wanted to take care of her.

Before Ridge drove to Taylor's, he stopped at the supermarket and bought lots of fruit and soup and other stuff. Then he knocked and rang the doorbell. Taylor, who had just fallen back asleep, scowled and got up. She assumed it was Susan, who had returned after all. Exhausted, she dragged herself to the door.

" I told you I could...Ridge? What are you doing here?" She was more than surprised to see him. Moreover, she was uncomfortable standing in front of him only in her negligee and open robe.

"What am I doing here? Stupid question! Taking care of you!" "That's really not necessary." Taylor tried to brush him off, but secretly she was immensely pleased that he was there. "Don't argue with me, now hurry back to bed!"

"I haven't heard those words from you in a long time!" teased Taylor him. Ridge just shook his head with a laugh.

"I'm not going to say anything about it right now, I'm going to assume it's just your fever delusion!" He helped her into bed and tucked her in thoughtfully. Quickly she slept soundly. When she woke up again, the whole apartment smelled like soup. Ridge appeared in the bedroom with a tablet.

"Ah very good, the patient is awake." He placed the tray with the soup in front of her.

"Thank you, that's so sweet of you to take care of me."

"You're welcome. You'd do the same for me in reverse, wouldn't you? How do you feel?" Taylor was about to answer, but got a horrible coughing fit. "Okay, that's answer enough. Here I squeezed you an orange juice and even strained the fruit pieces first. I know you don't like those.

"Wow, if I had known what an attentive nurse you were, I would have gotten sick sooner."

"Feel free to hire me for the next few days."

"Admit it. You just don't want to carry boxes."

"You just always see right through me Doc!" Ridge winced, Taylor smiled broadly at him and started to eat her soup.

Over the next few days, Ridge devotedly cared for Taylor, making her cold compresses for the fever and providing her with whatever she needed. While she lay feverish in bed, he read aloud from the novel that lay on her nightstand. Taylor enjoyed his presence. She could listen to his voice for hours. When she slept, Ridge secretly held her and stroked and played with her hair, watching her. At such times, he would have preferred not to let her go ever. Step by step, Taylor got better. Ridge, however, forbade her to waste even a thought on work until she was fully recovered. They played cards or chess. They watched movies, she always cuddling up to him while he put his arms around her.

On Friday, Taylor finally woke up fever-free and without a cold, only the cough was still there a little. She felt like she had been reborn, but Ridge cautioned her not to overdo it and to take it easy.

"Luckily, you still have until Monday to rest and I will take good care of you!"

"But I have to go to the orphanage on Sunday, and if you're going to be a pain in the butt." Ridge didn't like hearing that at all, nothing against her volunteer work, but working there was not relaxing.

"Are you sure you're fit enough yet? I mean working with the kids is always exhausting, isn't it?"

"But I have to go! I promised the kids I'd redecorate the playroom with them, and they'd be terribly disappointed if I would cancel it. I just can't do that to them. Besides, I'm fine, just a little cough."

"Well, suit yourself, but I'll drive you there and I'll pick you up again. Afterwards, we can have dinner together."

"Fine by me, you don't usually give me a break anyway."

So on Sunday, Taylor let Ridge chauffeur her to the orphanage. Before she got out of the car, he asked her again if she had everything with her:drink, her cough drops, etc."

"Yes, I have everything."

"Take care of yourself and don't overexert yourself!"

"Yes daddy, I will!" She grinned cheekily at him, he tried to look sternly at her but couldn't hide his grin.

"Get out of here!" Laughing, Taylor got out of the car. Before disappearing into the house, she turned around again.

"And don't you dare call every 10 minutes to ask how I'm doing!"

"How about 20 minutes?"

"Ridge! I'm warning you!"

"It's okay, you'll have your peace from me for the next few hours." Later, he came to pick her up. Taylor was in a good mood, but still a little tired.

"That was so much fun, but you were right. It was a little exhausting, too, but I'm fine." Ridge looked at her with concern at first, but when he saw her face, he smirked.

"I thought you were going to redecorate the playroom!" You look more like the kids decorated you." Taylor looked in the mirror and noticed she still had paint splatters on her face and neck.

"What a bummer, this paint isn't coming off at all. I've already just stood in the bathroom by the mirror for half an hour to wipe the worst of it off." She grabbed the water bottle, wet a tissue and started rubbing the paint off. Ridge asked her what she had an appetite for.

"Well, after all the fruits, vegetables and soups you've been feeding me the last few days, I've got an insane appetite for meat. Let's go to that steakhouse we've been to before." Ridge liked the idea and headed out. When they stopped in front of the restaurant, Taylor asked him first.

"Do I have any paint left anywhere?"

"Let me see." Ridge took her chin in his hand and turned her face in all directions, getting very close. Taylor felt her heart begin to beat faster and a nervousness rise inside her. He reached for her handkerchief and very gently started to wipe off the rest of the paint in a few places. Taylor felt herself getting all warm. For a moment they looked directly into each other's eyes, then Ridge cleared his throat, Taylor turned away bashfully.

"Let's go, I'm starving." Ridge froze at first, until he finally pulled himself together and followed her. There was an unfamiliar silence between them as they ate. No one really knew what to say.

The steakhouse was by a pier. After dinner, they walked along there. They looked out at the water, where the sun was just setting. Arm in arm, they watched the spectacle. They looked deep into each other's eyes and this time they did not avoid each other. They kissed, softly and tenderly at first, then more and more fiercely.

"Taylor, I love you! I love you so much!

"I love you too Ridge! Again they sank into a kiss. When they came back up, they looked at each other with a little uncertainty. They sat down on a bench and he took her tightly in his arms, playing with her hair. She stroked her fingers across his face.

"Ridge, I have to ask you this now. It's very important, please be honest! Are you sure about this? Is it really me you want?"

"Yes!" he said without even a moment's hesitation. "I'm as sure as I've ever been. I know why you're asking what you're thinking about, or better yet, who you're thinking about. You know, you were right. All these years I have loved both of you, Brooke and you. I always made you feel like you had to fight for my love. Believe me, today I am deeply ashamed of that. I want things to be different this time. You have always been my safe haven, you have always said to me that the only thing you want is for me to be happy. I say the same thing to you now. All I want for the future is to be your safe haven. I want to be the one you can always count on, who will always be there to protect you." Taylor swallowed hard. She was so happy, so touched.

"You have no idea how long I've wished to hear those words out of your mouth. I know you mean it sincerely. In the last months there were so many situations where you were there for me and whenever we were together, with the others or alone, I always felt so safe with you lately, so at home. I think we should leave the past in the past and focus on the now. This is a whole new chance for us."

"You're right about that, I don't think this is a new chapter in our very complex history, but rather it's a whole new book, a whole new story." For a while they just lay in each other's arms in silence, enjoying their closeness. Suddenly, Ridge noticed Taylor shuddering. She was wearing only a thin top; she had left her jacket in the car.

"Hey, you're freezing. We should probably go, or you'll end up getting sick again."

"I don't want to go, I never want this moment to end."

"Then at least take my jacket." He took off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulder. Gratefully, she slipped into it.

"Mmm, so nice and warm, perfect!" She didn't just mean the jacket, she meant everything. This moment was just perfect!

The next morning Taylor woke up very happy, still in bed she reached for her phone to call Ridge. At that moment, it rang. In shock, it fell out of her hand.

"Hey, darling!''

"Good morning, did you know it was me or do you call everyone on the phone like this?"

"No, just very specific men who call me at the crack of dawn."

"Oh, did I wake you up?"

"No, no. I was already awake, I was just about to call you."

"Oh, so you were going to wake me up?!"

"Touché!"

"I just wanted to know if you slept well?"

"Fine as Sleeping Beauty! Although she probably didn't have this magical dream as I did."

"Oh, that sounds interesting."

"Forget it. Not a word passes my lips, you know when you tell your dreams they don't come true."

"Now don't tell me you believe in those fairy tales, well I would have thought you would be more reasonable and rational."

"I'm just a woman too!"

"Indeed, I wouldn't have thought of that." They both laughed. "Is it still on that we'll see each other this afternoon?"

"Yes, I'll be done with work around two, then I'll drive home. So around four I'll be at the boutique ok?"

"No, not ok. That's still far too long."

"You'll be fine."

"Yeah, I can always flirt with a few customers."

"Don't you dare! I'll sic Rosa on you!"

"Oh, God, please don't! I'll be a good boy. I'll see you later. I love you!"

"I love you too, bye!" Elated and full of energy, she climbed out of bed. She was having a hard time concentrating at work today. Her mind was always somewhere else, all her colleagues noticed her absentmindedness, but they said nothing.

At noon, she met with Susan. She also noticed Taylor's dreaminess. After she had not reacted to a story for the third time, she had had enough. She stepped on her foot with full force.

"Ouch, are you crazy! That hurts!" Taylor rubbed her sore foot.

"I just wanted to see if you were even here or in which spheres you were in."

"Of course I'm here, I heard everything you said."

"Yeah right, what's going on with you anyway?" Taylor didn't dare look at Susan and avoided her. Susan had a suspicion.

"Taylor look at me, look me right in the eye. Does your daydreaming have anything to do with Ridge?" Taylor turned bright red abruptly. She stammered.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, he's been so caring about you all week, and you were together last night, correct?" Susan saw Taylor grin mischievously. "No! Did you…?"

"What, no, no! We had dinner last night and then we went for a walk and then..." Susan looked at her tensely. "It was such a magical moment. We..the sunset..we kissed, I mean a real kiss." Susan's mouth dropped open.

"Finally! Does this mean you guys are now officially involved?

"Looks like it. It was just magical, we sat on the bench for hours, talking and just holding each other. It was so overwhelming."

"Ohh I'm so happy for you, for both of you! You deserve it and I'm sure you'll be very happy together." Joyfully, she took Taylor in her arms.

"There's nothing I want more. Although the whole thing is a little bizarre. I moved here then to forget about him for good and get him out of my system. Then just when I've succeeded, he shows up and creeps back into my heart and now 'bam' "

"Aw, the main thing is that you're both happy!"

Ridge found it equally difficult to concentrate on his work. He had his drawing pad in front of him and was working on new designs. Rosa, who needed some signatures, approached curiously. When she saw his sketch, she laughed out loud.

"What's that supposed to be?"

"Are you blind? You can see that! That's-" Ridge stopped, what originally should have been a beach dress was a perfect portrait of Taylor's face.

"I know what that is, or rather who! When are you going to talk to her?"

"It's really none of your business, dear colleague, but actually I did it." Rosa stared at him in disbelief. "No way? Seriously?" Ridge told her about last night and the walk and how he finally won Taylor over. Rosa was completely blown away, super happy for her friends. "This is so great, I think you guys are perfect for each other."

"We'll see, we want to take it slow. But if you ask me..."

"What then?"

"Then I'll never let her go!"

It was five after four. There wasn't much going on in the boutique. Rosa watched in amusement as Ridge ran excitedly back and forth, peering out the shop window again and again. "My goodness, relax! She'll be here soon." Just then the door opened, but it wasn't Taylor, it was Ted, returning from a meeting. He looked amazed at Ridge, who had been startled at first when he heard the door ring and was now walking around again, disappointed. Ted walked up to Rosa.

"What's the matter with our boss?"

"Oh, he's waiting for his sweetheart, who has kept him waiting for five minutes now.''

"Meanwhile, it's been seven minutes!"

"So what?" gave Ted, unimpressed. "My mother always said to my sister, a woman should be at least ten minutes late to make the men squirm a little." Ridge gave him a scowl, then the door opened again, and this time it was Taylor.

Ridge took her stormily into his arms and kissed her.

"Hey, there you are!" Taylor hugged him tightly and returned his kisses.

"Have you been waiting for me impatiently?

"No, of course not! I was just in a meeting with Rosa and Ted. I didn't even realize it was so late." Rosa turned away and bit her tongue to keep from laughing. Ridge took Taylor in his arms and together they walked to her car. He pulled her to him.

"I'm glad you're finally here! I missed you."

"I missed you too, all I thought about all day was you!" They kissed passionately again before finally getting into the car. Rosa and Ted watched them, amused. Taylor steered the car through town and Ridge asked where she was going to take him. She only said she wouldn't tell him. He was smart and would figure it out himself. Ridge paid attention to the street signs and noticed that Taylor was driving towards the beach. A little later, they pulled over and got out. Taylor got a picnic basket and a blanket out of her car.

"Feel like a picnic on the beach?"

"Sounds good, what's for picnic?" He started nibbling on her ear.

"Ridge. By picnic I meant the food in my basket." Together they walked down to the beach and made themselves comfortable on the blanket. They glanced at each other and fell into each other's arms. They kissed over and over and could hardly keep their hands off each other. Taylor grinned.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just..all this time we've been sneaking around each other and yet nothing ever happened and now we can't last five minutes without each other."

"I think we've been controlling ourselves for far too long." He took her in his arms again. While they ate, Taylor mentioned talking to Steffy on the phone.

"I haven't told her about us yet. I didn't want to barge in. After all, the two of them have no idea how close our contact really was all the time. I didn't want to give them false hope.

"I can understand that, I never told them anything either. I just hope they will accept it."

"I'm not worried about that, the two of them always wanted to see us back together again. However, I think we should wait a little longer to tell them or anyone else in the family. I think we're more likely to convince them that we're serious this time once our relationship is solid."

Ridge nodded in agreement. He understood what she meant. "Besides, I want to enjoy this first time with you without any interference."

"True, I don't need that either." He looked deep into her eyes. "This time, we'll conduct our relationship the way we want to and not let anyone interfere. Deal?"

"Deal!" They sealed their agreement with a kiss.