I hope you all had a great Thanksigiving. There's only 25 days until Christmas. YIPEEE!

"How's therapy going?" Brooke asked, looking through Ridge's designs.

"Good, thanks for asking. You know, I met Marlena's daughter, Belle, and her boyfriend, Shawn Douglas. They grew up together and fell in love in high school," Ridge informed her.

"This is all a part of counseling? The love life of Dr. Evans' daughter," she joked.

"Hardy, har, har. I was sitting next to her in the reception area."

Both their thoughts went to Bridget and Ric.

"Of all the things they could have inherited from me, why was it choosing the wrong partner and being so die-hard loyal to aforementioned wrong person," Brooke complained.

"Excuse me?"

"You were one of the good ones, but always at the wrong time."

"I was the best one," he replied cattily, "They would have found the right spouses eventually."

"Like you and Taylor?"

"Yeah," he chuckled sarcastically, "we're so right, we're separating."

"What!" Brooke said shocked. Ridge and Taylor were the couple that were going to be together until they died.

"We're separating. We've been in counseling and I've decided, for now, it's best if we don't live in the same house until our marriage gets back on track or rather becomes the marriage I thought I had."

She was speechless. "Wow."

"Yeah, I know. But it's amazing what you see when you pull your head out of the sand."

Brooke grinned. "It's nice of you to join us up here." She lost the grin. "Ridge, I'm so sorry."

Ridge shrugged his shoulders. "Things will work out, the way they're meant to. What do you think of my designs?"

Taking the hint to change the subject, she responded to his question. "These are great."

"Thanks, I've been inspired by two little people better known as Eric and Hope."

Smiling brightly, Brooke nodded her head. "They can inspire you better than anything else in the world."

"Yes, they can."

"Tomorrow is Little Eric's court date to finalize his adoption. Would you still like to come?"

"I would love to. And speaking of adoption. How would you like to make it six for six?" he asked with a grin.

"Six for six?" she repeated confused.

"Yes."

"Six for- - Ridge," she cried.

"I'm serious."

"No, you're not. Remember you're married with three kids and based on Taylor's reaction to Morgan's pregnancy I know she wouldn't be thrilled at the idea of you adopting kids with another woman, least of all me."

"Ah, but you didn't say 'no'."

"I didn't think I had to since you're an intelligent man."

"Deacon gave up his parental rights to both Little Eric and Hope, right?"

Brooke nodded.

"That means I could adopt them both."

"When did Hope enter the picture? And regardless, NO, a world of nos." Putting aside the sketches, she grasped his hand. "Ridge, for the first time in what seems like three lifetimes, I have no ties to the Forresters, except for business ones. I'm not in love with a Forrester and after tomorrow, none of my children will be Forresters. This is my chance to make a clean break. One I should have made a long time ago."

"Little Eric will still be a Forrester."

"You're right, he will always be a Forrester, but after tomorrow, it'll be a middle name and his last name will be the same as mine and Hope's, Logan."

"You can't do that."

"Yes, Ridge, I can."

"Dad, the family all love Little Eric- -"

"And that won't change once he legally becomes a Logan. He'll be the same little boy you all know and love except with a different last name."

Abruptly Ridge stood up and paced the floor.

"Ridge, I didn't mean to upset you or hurt you. I just thought you would like to be there for Little Eric, as he, Hope, and I begin a new chapter of our lives."

"I'm not upset or hurt. I'm damn angry that you could be so selfish."

"Excuse me?" she asked, not sure she heard him correctly.

"You're being selfish."

"I am not being selfish. I'm trying to do what's best for my kids- -"

"What about me? I'm losing my grandson- -"

"Don't you dare throw that in my face. You were the one who didn't want to tell the rest of the family- - didn't want to tell your family about Ric's paternity," she said angrily.

"You were right the first time, we both belong to this family."

Brooke frowned but didn't say anything.

"It is best not to say anything, but that was when my grandson had the same last name as me." Ridge paused, stopped pacing, and stared into Brooke's eyes. "When you were pregnant with our first child, I wanted to name our son, Eric, or our daughter, Erica. I wanted our child to be named after Dad. He's a fine and man and it turned out that my son and my grandson are named after him. That knowledge warms my heart, it makes me feel closer to Ric. You can't change that."

"I'm not, his name will still be Eric."

Shaking his head, he stated, "Yes, it will be, but his name will no longer be Eric Forrester III and it needs to be."

Brooke walked away from her desk and turned her back to Ridge. "I really wish you would open your eyes and see things my way. This won't change your relationship with him or Hope," she said, frustrated and finally facing him.

"He's not a Logan," he yelled.

"And Ridge, you're not a Forrester," she countered in the same tone.

Both their eyes widened at their words.

"Well, if we're going to pull off the gloves, then let's pull off the gloves," he said with resolve. His eyes hardened in front of her.

"Ridge, I'm- -"

"Don't," he said, holding up his hand preventing her from saying anything more, "If you don't allow me to adopt Little Eric and Hope, I will tell Dad and the rest of the family that Ric was my son."

Shaking her head, she replied, "You wouldn't do that."

"Try me.

"Think about what you're saying. You would break your father's heart."

"You're breaking mine."

She couldn't believe this. How did a simple invitation disintegrate into this nightmare? "Taylor and Stephanie are not going to agree to this."

"I don't care. This is about my son and claiming and keeping what's left of him. And about giving Hope what she's never had, a dad. And we both know how important fathers are."

"This is emotional blackmail. Either I agree to your insane plan and hurt Taylor, your kids, and who knows who else. Or I don't agree and break Eric's fragile heart. How are you going to explain this?" she asked, trying to make him see reason.

"I don't have to," Stephanie Forrester's son informed her. Running his fingers through his hair, he decided to use a different approach. "Just as this is your second chance, it's mine, too. It's how it should have been all along. Me, being a part of all my kids' lives, instead of leaving one set behind for the sake of the other set."

"Little Eric and Hope aren't Ric and Bridget."

"I know that. Do you?"

"Of course I do. They are two entirely different people."

"Every time I see Little Eric getting ready to stomp his feet because he didn't get his way, I'm reminded of Amber and Tawny, God help us all," he said with a slight smile.

"And the way he smiles before he goes to sleep brings back the gentle smile I used to see on Becky's face. The tilt of his head when he's thinking about something is pure me, Dad, and Ric. And the twinkle in his eye is you, Logan. And when he's plotting some story to get out of trouble instantly sends images of Mother, Massimo, and Deacon through my mind. And Hope is a miniature version of you. She has your zest for life that Bridget didn't have, but she has the same fierce loyalty to those she loves." Ridge moved to the door and soundlessly opened it. "These kids are a combination of all of us and I don't want to lose that," he whispered and walked out.

Brooke looked at the side by side pictures of Ric and Bridget at the same age as Little Eric and Hope were now. Decisions, decisions. Damn you, Ridge Forrester, she thought, as tears streamed down her face. Damn you.