The next day….

Eric woke up and noticed Dino was awake but laying quietly snuggled up to his grandma. He smiled as he watched them together. His little hand was holding onto her hand and he seemed to stare at it strangely.

"What is it buddy" Eric asked quietly?

"Grandpa, grandma sleeping" Dino whispered.

"I know" He smiled.

"Grandpa, where is grandma ring" Dino asked innocently?

Eric felt his heart ache. Of- course Dino was looking for her wedding ring. The last time Dino saw them was when they were still married before Donna. Felicia had been so upset she did not go or bring Dino to the wedding. She never brought him to visit the mansion when Stephanie moved to the beach house either. Suddenly, he became aware that a lot had happened that he had been oblivious to.

"It's getting fixed" Eric lied.

"Oh…did it break" Dino asked curiously?

"Yeah, a little but it will be fixed soon enough" Eric reassured him.

Everything will be soon, I promise you, he vowed as he looked at Stephanie who was sound asleep.

Later in the day….

"I have to go to Forrester, but I will be back later" Eric informed Stephanie as they sat outside watching Dino play with Zende.

"Is everything alright with the business" She asked concerned?

"Yes, everything is fine" He promised.

"Alright" She said clearly unconvinced.

"Trust me" He said, and she looked into his eyes, more suspicious now.

He leaned in and kissed her softly.

As he walked back into the house, Kristen sat beside her.

"I saw that smooch" Kristen teased her.

"Oh brother…" Stephanie replied as she shook her head at her daughter teasing.

Forrester…

Eric and Donna faced one another in his office. He had hoped no one saw her but he knew that someone probably did and by the end of the day the family would now. He hoped they would not tell Stephanie. He did not want her to stress over something that only he could resolve.

"Thank you for meeting with me. I just…we need to talk Eric" Donna explained.

"You're right, we do" He agreed.

"I know you are upset with me over everything that happened, but I still love you" She said wanting him to believe her.

"I know that you do" He said, and he did. He did not doubt that she was being sincere at this moment.

"Can't you find a way for us to work this out? Is this about Owen" She asked hoping it was that simple?

"This isn't about that" He said honestly.

"Then what is it" She asked confused? Why now was he giving up on them?

"You teamed up with Bill Spencer and took Forrester from me" He reminded her.

"I was upset and felt betrayed" She tried to explain.

"You wanted revenge against Stephanie" He challenged her.

"Yes, I did. Can you blame me? She came between us. She killed my mother" She yelled angrily.

"Stephanie did not kill Beth. She would never do that. I know that you're hurting but it was an accident" He said keeping his temper calm. He knew how hard this was for her.

"She's a liar and a manipulator. You believe all her lies" She hissed at him.

"I do believe her" He stated firmly.

"Eric…she's lying" She insisted.

"No, she isn't. You just need to blame her. I understand. I do but, I cannot go along with it. I will not go along with it. And honestly…this is not what ended our marriage either. What ended our marriage is, I still love Stephanie" He said honestly. He knew he was not innocent. He was just as guilty as she was. She had feelings for Owen at one time and he never stopped loving Stephanie.

"You love me" She said as her eyes teared.

"I do" He admitted.

"Then why won't you try" She asked upset?

"I did try but I cannot keep pretending that I don't still love Stephanie. I do and I want to be with her" He said honestly.

"No Eric, no, you just feel bad for her. You feel guilty because your family blames you for leaving her. You left her for a reason Eric. You left because she treated you badly. I am sure she still does. You do not want to be with her. You want to be with someone who wants you, like I do. We belong together" She insisted.

"No, we don't. Our marriage is over Donna. I am not changing my mind. You can fight the divorce but eventually it will happen. I love Stephanie and I am staying with her. Please, let go and move on" He said upsetting her more.

"I won't let you go" She cried.

"I'm sorry for you then because I'm not leaving Stephanie. Goodbye Donna" He said walking past her.

"Eric" She cried, "Please don't leave. I love you."

"Go home Donna" He said not wanting to argue or upset her anymore but, his mind was made up.

"When she turns you away and she will, just remember that I warned you" She said making him stop at the door.

His mind flashed to the several times Stephanie withdrew from him but, it also flashed all the love he felt for her and all the love he knew she felt for him. At one time, sex was an important factor for him but now, it did not seem so important. He was losing the love of his life to cancer and he was not going to miss a moment. In fact, he was already missing time he would not get back.

"I'm going home to Stephanie. Sign the papers Donna" He said as he opened the door and walked out.

Eric came face to face with Ridge.

Ridge saw Donna standing in the office, crying.

"I'm going home to your mother" Eric explained as he walked past his son.

Ridge sighed, he decided not to go inside instead he walked to the secretary and asked her to call Brooke.

Mansion….

Stephanie was in the kitchen pouring some juice into the glass when the phone rang.

"Hello" She said as she put the pitcher down and took a sip of her juice.

"Hello sister" Pam said making her smile.

"Pammy, hi. How is Paris" She asked knowing her sister was still on her trip with her boyfriend?

"Wonderful sadly, it ends tomorrow" Pam shared.

"Oh…that is too bad. So, will you be coming home tomorrow" She asked wondering if maybe she could talk to her sister about her intimacy problems with Eric?

"Yes, we are. No more traveling for a while" Pam admitted.

"And what will you be doing" She asked curiously?

"Visiting you silly" Pam said laughing.

Stephanie smiled and replied, "I would like that very much."

After some small talk Stephanie hung up because Pam had to get ready as they were going out into the city. Hanging up, she smiled. She was happy for Pam. Her little sister deserved some happiness.

"Hello, you" Eric said as he saw her lost in thought.

"Hi, you're back early" She replied as she looked at him intently.

"What" He asked knowing that look?

"Will you tell me know what required your attention at Forrester" She asked?

Eric sighed, shaking his head no, as he poured himself some juice.

"I still care about the business you now" She added.

"I know that you do, and I told you the business is fine" He replied.

"So, it wasn't business" She said as she looked at him.

"It's not important. Let it go Stephanie" He said making her more curious.

He began to walk away when she spoke.

"It was Donna, wasn't it? You went to see her" She said making him stop. He turned and looked at her.

"Yes" He admitted.

"You don't have to keep that from me. I know you are still married" She replied.

"On paper only" He reminded her.

"She wants to change that, right" She asked?

"Stephanie please, it doesn't matter" He said bothered.

"If it doesn't matter why are you getting upset" She asked?

"Because you clearly don't trust me" He blurted out unintentionally.

"So, this is my fault" She asked shaking her head?

"It's no one fault. I just don't want to talk about it" He said as he walked back to her.

She looked at him suspiciously.

"I just want it to be over" He admitted.

Stephanie face softened.

"I'm tired Stephanie" He shared as he rubbed his hand over his face.

She walked around and stood beside him. "I know" She said in a caring voice.

He took her hand in his, turned to face her and said, "I want to spend all my time with you. Not trying to get this divorce finalized. Every time we talk about it, I feel like it is time away from us" He said honestly. He wanted her to know how he felt.

"Oh Eric…there are going to be times when our attention needs to be elsewhere. It is okay. Besides, if we spend all our time together, that would be boring, and we are never boring" She teased making him laugh.

She smiled at his laughter.

"You always know how to make me feel better" He said as he leaned in and kissed her lightly.

"Do you two ever stop" Felicia teased them as she walked in?

Eric laughed. Stephanie rolled her eyes.

"There they are" Kristen chimed in.

"They were smooching" Felicia announced.

"Oh my god" Stephanie groaned when the rest of the family walked in.

Eric could not help but smile.

Evening…

"It's quiet" Eric said as he looked at Stephanie who sat across from him in a chair.

"Yes, it is" She admitted with a smile.

Dino was asleep on the sofa next to Eric.

Ridge, Thorne, Felicia, Kristen, Antonio and Zende had gone into the city with their encouragement.

"I miss them all" He admitted.

She smiled and said, "me too but it's good for them to spend time with each other alone."

"I agree" He said as he glanced down at Dino.

"He is just like Felicia" She said nostalgic.

"Yeah, he is. He asked me where was your ring" He shared know that no one was around?

"He what" She asked amused?

"He is very observant. He knew something was missing from that lovely hand" He smiled.

"Just like his mother" She smiled.

"Yup, I told him it was being fixed" He admitted.

"I would have said the same thing" She said reassuring him.

He got up slowly as not to wake Dino and then went over to where she sat. He sat in front of her and said, "I've given this a lot of thought and once my divorce is finalized, I want us to get married."

"What? Oh Eric…" She replied as she nodded her head in disbelief.

"I can propose properly. In front of the family if that is what you want" He teased her wanting to lighten the conversation.

"It is not that. I mean, we, marriage again, why Eric…" She asked, curious?

"Because I love you and I want you to be my wife" He said honestly.

"I love you too but, I…we… don't need a party and a piece of paper that says married. I mean, anybody who knows us, knows how we feel so…" She questioned?

"Are you saying no" He asked surprised?

"I thought we had already agreed on this when you moved back in" She answered honestly.

"We're back" Kristen announced when she realized they walked in on something.

Eric stood up clearly upset.

All the kids looked at one another.

Felicia got Dino as she looked at her mother curiously.

Stephanie nodded her head no to tell them not to ask.

"Let me help you" Ridge offered as he took Dino in his arms and they went upstairs.

Thorne followed Eric who had walked out of the living room.

Stephanie did not try to stop him.

Antonio distracted Zende by asking him to do something, so they left the room as well.

"Mom…what is wrong with dad" Kristen asked as she sat beside her?

"We had a disagreement" Stephanie said not wanting to get into it.

"He seemed really upset" Kristen pushed.

"I seem to bring that out in him these days" Stephanie replied but, Kristen could see it was not good whatever it was.