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Liam put down the plate in front of Steffy and left a sweet kiss on her forehead before he went to sit across from her with his own plate.

"Good appetite." He said before starting to eat.

"Good appetite. Thank you." She reciprocated and started to eat as well. "Mmmhh…" she did. "This is delicious." She said savoring the Chinese food that Liam had brought home to his proposition. "Thank you." She acknowledged with that great smile of hers.

Liam chuckled at the sight of Steffy having so much pleasure over a Chinese meal. It wasn't her pregnancy: she was always like that!

"I missed that smile of yours." He confided to her nodding at said smile.

She looked up at him and cracked him an even wider smile. She got up and walked to his seat under Liam's piercing gaze. She sat on his lap circling his neck with her arms.

"Did you?" she questioned and grazed her nose against him tentatively, the distance between their lips almost inexistent. "What else did you miss?" she asked him seductively.

Liam let out a shaky breath at her proximity and seductive words that went to caress Steffy's cheek.

"Everything." He answered in a hoarse voice and a small grin cracked her face. "I missed all of you." He said.

She stared into his brown eyes for an instant and simply relished in the moment. She was so happy to be back on his lap, in his arms…, that was a place she would gladly never leave. She still couldn't believe that they were back together. And for the first time ever, she actually felt like Liam's first choice.

How lucky was she? She had reunited with the only man she ever really loved, and to top everything, she was carrying his child. She truly couldn't imagine anyone in the world being happier than her.

She leant in for a kiss, but a gurgling that seemed to come from her stomach stopped their lips from connecting. She and Liam both laughed simultaneously. "I think someone's hungry." Liam commented.

"I think so too." She agreed bringing her hand to her stomach and caressing it. She looked at Liam and gave him an Eskimo kiss before she got off his lap to return to her seat.

She planted her fork in her food and filled her mouth with another bite. "So how was work today?" she asked.

"It was good." Liam simply responded. "And for you?" he asked back.

"Same." She responded. "Did anyone special come see you?" She inquired acting like nothing but that's what tipped Liam off.

"Your mother came around." He answered uncertain if that was the answer she was looking for.

"Mmh." Steffy nodded. "No one else?"

"No…" He responded, confusion as to why she was insisting so much evident in his voice. "Why? Should I have been expecting someone?" he asked her in return.

"No, I was just asking." Steffy said randomly.

Liam frowned. "Hope didn't come see me if that's what you're so subtly asking." He told Steffy.

She looked up at him and pinched her lips before returning her attention to her plate.

"Why would she?" he asked, confused, both to himself and her.

She glanced at him. The quick look only lasted a second, but it was enough for Liam to catch that glint in her eyes, that glint that was no good news, that glint which said 'I did something wrong.' Oh, oh…

"Steffy… why would Hope come see?" he asked her suspiciously.

She dropped her fork heavily and sighed before looking at Liam. "Something happened." She told him.

Liam looked away and sighed quietly. He put down his fork. "What on earth did you do now?" he asked looking back at her.

Steffy frowned. "And why would I have necessarily done something?" she took offence.

"Steffy, don't go there; I know you."

She narrowed her eyes at him indignantly. "I didn't… I didn't do anything!" she defended now annoyed. "I actually really didn't!"

"Steffy…" he pressured in a knowing voice.

She opened her mouth in incredulity and raised her eyebrows at him. She huffed disbelievingly.

"She knows." she finally let out.

"What?" Liam asked.

"Hope knows." She repeated in a smaller voice with a more ashamed face.

"Hope knows what?" He asked for more explanation creasing his brows in incomprehension.

Steffy gave him a conspicuous look and he got it.

"No..." He refused to believe it.

"I am sorry, Liam; I…" she began to justify herself.

"Steffy, you didn't!" he exclaimed incredulous and quite disappointed.

"I was talking with my mother and she overheard us. I am sorry." She explained.

Liam closed his eyes and shook his head sighing. Well, this was just terrific. As if Hope had not been through enough, now, she had to go through this too! This was so not how things were supposed to happen… Hope wasn't supposed to find out like this: over some vulgar eavesdropping or by overhearing a conversation she was never meant to hear. He should have been the one to tell her, and he would have –if he had been given the chance; she didn't deserve any of this. God, she must hate him right now! How could you even hurt somebody so much in such a short amount of time?

The positive side was at least now he wouldn't have to go through the trouble of telling her; he wouldn't have to see the pain in her eyes when he spoke the words. He wasn't even sure if he would have managed to muster the strength and courage necessary to say those words to her, so maybe it wasn't all that bad –at least, for him.

"Liam, please say something." Steffy asked him, as he still hadn't said anything after more than a minute lost in his thoughts.

"I can't believe this." Was all Liam said.

She looked at him obviously feeling terrible, if the abashed expression on her face was any indication. She closed her eyes and then looked down.

"Hasn't Hope been through enough these past twenty-four hours?" He rhetorically asked accusingly.

Steffy raised her gaze to him. "I'm sorry." She told him apologetically.

She wasn't lying: there were no words to say how sorry Steffy was. She felt awful. She hadn't meant for Hope to find out like that; she really hadn't. She knew… how heart-wrenching it was to lose Liam… she couldn't even imagine how heartbreaking it must be to find out another woman was carrying his child and that Liam was building a family with her, especially if she was the other woman. She sincerely couldn't imagine what hurt Hope was going through right now, and she didn't want to. She didn't want to go there: it'd only make her feel even worse than she already did.

Honestly, if she were in the blonde's shoes, she would probably be boarding on a flight that would lead her away from Los Angeles to wherever at this very instant. The worst part was how she heard the news: finding out… the way she did –by overhearing a mother-daughter conversation –Steffy really couldn't think of a worse way Hope could have found out. Liam should have been the one to tell her. That's really the way she would have preferred.

She hadn't meant for any of this to happen… any of it. She had warned Hope to back off, told her that she was with Liam, and that they were solid; but she refused to listen. Now, look, where she was wound up: wounded and hurt in her self-esteem.

"I'm sorry, Liam." She apologized again. "I didn't want Hope to find out like that. I didn't mean for her to find out like that. You should have be the one to tell her. I am so sorry; I… I literally don't know what to say to you." She admitted and lowered her head.

Liam looked up at Steffy and saw her by the expression on her face how sorry she really was. He sighed causing his shoulders to lower. "Don't worry about it; it's okay. It wasn't your fault." He reassured her.

"No, but kind of." She countered. "We should have been more careful." She reproached herself.

"She would have found out eventually." Liam said.

"She didn't have to find out like that."

"Steffy!" he spoke up. "What's done is done, okay? Let's change the subject." He asked.

"Will you call her?" Steffy inquired.

"Tonight?" He asked and she lightly nodded. "No, it's kind of late. Besides, she wouldn't answer." He responded. "I'll talk to her tomorrow."

Steffy nodded and started playing with her food.

/

Brooke was playing riding motorcycles with RJ on the carpet in the living room when someone rang the bell. "I'll be right back." She said to her son getting up and kissing him on the forehead before going opening the door.

"Bridget!" She exclaimed.

"Hey mom." The latter greeted entering the house.

Brooke glanced at her older daughter now behind her and closed the front door before turning back to Bridget. "Hey, how are you? How have you been?" She asked her pulling her in for a hug obviously thrilled to see her.

Bridget responded to the hug and rubbed her mother's back affectionately. They pulled away and released each other. "I have been great, thank you. And you?" she asked.

Her mother didn't even get a chance to respond that RJ was already running towards Bridget. "Bridget!" he said enthusiastically and opened his arms big for her to carry him.

"Hi love!" she said with a huge smile complying to her younger brother's wishes and carrying. "How are you, big boy?" she asked him.

"I am fine." RJ answered in a small voice his stared directed down. "I missed you." He told her.

Bridget slightly tilted her head to the side. She hadn't come to see her mom and her little siblings in a long time indeed. She felt bad about that. Her life had just been so crazy these past few months: with Logan and her starting working back at the hospital, etc…

"I missed you too, pumpkin." She told him. "You know who else misses you?" she asked in a secretive voice bringing her face closer to his.

He shook his head indicating that he didn't.

"Logan." She told him.

"I haven't seen him in a long time too." RJ said.

"Either." Brooke corrected him.

Bridget glanced at her mother before refocusing on her little brother. "I know; I am sorry." She apologized to him.

"When can I see him?" RJ asked.

"Whenever you want; just ask mom, and you can come." She answered.

"Alright. Mommy?" he did turning to his mom while stile in Bridget's arms.

"How about this Saturday?" Brooke answered her son's implicit demand and asked her daughter.

"Sounds perfect: we have a play date!" Bridget accepted.

"Yay!" the little boy exclaimed cheerfully playing with the truck in his hand.

The two blonde women giggled at his excitement.

"So where is your sister you love the less?" Bridget asked him jokingly.

"She's in her room." RJ answered.

"She's in her room?" Bridget repeated. "Okay, well, let me go say hi to her, alright? I will be back, okay?" she told her little brother putting him back down.

"Okay." He agreed.

"You know how much I love you, right?" she made sure.

"To the moon and back?"

"Yes, that's right: to the moon and back." She nodded with a broad smile on her face.

"I love you too." RJ told her.

She kissed his forehead with a huge 'Mooaaah' before releasing him. "Go play." She told him sending him off to the living-room.

/

"Hey, girly." Bridget said slipping her head through the opening of her sister's door. "Can I come in?" She asked.

"Of course." Hope told her dropping the book she had been reading on her lap.

Bridget hopped on her sister's bed and kissed her on the cheek. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Hope answered putting her book on her left nightstand. "How are you? How's my nephew? It's been a while." She noted.

"It has." Bridget agreed. "He's good. He's growing up so fast... He's talking better and better, and he makes these adorable sketches." She said.

"Ohhh, I've been missing so much." Hope said in a sad voice mirroring her face. "I haven't been around much lately, have I?"

"You've been busy, so have I."

"Yes, but that's not an excuse: Logan's my nephew; I should spend more time with him." Hope stated.

"Well, I do need a babysitter after-tomorrow." Bridget said like nothing.

The youngest blonde laughed. "So that is why you're here." She deduced.

"What?! No! Absolutely not." Bridget denied. "I just wanted to see how you guys were doing."

"Mmmhh." Hope hummed, unconvinced.

"It's the truth!" Bridget assured. "So tell me how you're doing…. professionally, personally… romantically?"

Hope stared at Bridget and creased her brows: her sister was being weird. She was acting as though… she knew something. Hope's brows became more knit together. Her mouth opened in a big shocked 'O' "Mom asked you here, didn't she?" she accused.

"What?! No! Why would you think that?" Bridget asked her.

"Oh please, hon, you are like the world's worst liar." Hope said to her rolling her eyes.

"Hope, I assure you mom did not ask me here, and she did not tell me anything." She promised.

"But you are aware of something." She stated more than she asked. Bridget merely held her gaze. "How?" Hope asked.

"I can't say."

"What do you mean you can't say?" Hope spoke in a way that made it obvious she was getting irritated. "There's only so many people who could have…" she trailed off as she had a thought. She looked away from her sister absently putting two and two together. "Hold on a second, wasn't Steffy admitted to…"

"Hope." Bridget cut her off.

"What exactly do you know?" Hope inquired in a deceptively calm voice.

"What do you know?" Bridget asked in return.

"I know that Steffy's pregnant with Liam's child." She declared pointedly. She immediately saw by Bridget's expression that it was no news for her. "But you were already aware." She assumed.

"Sweetheart, I wish I…" Bridget started but was cut off by Hope losing her temper.

"How could you?" Hope asked her. "How could you keep this from me for so long?"

"For so long? Hope, I found out two days ago." She said.

"That's already too much. That's forty-eight hours. Two thousand eight hundred and eighty minutes, and God knows how many seconds! You should have told me the second you found out. How could you keep this from me?" Hope exclaimed with sobs in the voice.

"Sweetheart…" Bridget started and reached for her little sister's shoulder.

"Don't!" Hope brushed her hand off and got off the bed. "I can't believe that you, of all people, my sister, would do this to me."

"Hope, I am a doctor!" Bridget justified getting off the bed too. Steffy is considered my patient! Ever heard of professional secrecy? My lips were sealed. I just couldn't tell you." She defended herself.

Truth is the instant she learned about Steffy being pregnant, Bridget immediately wanted to call Hope; her first thought was for her little sister and how heartbreaking the news would be for her. Then, she realized the awful situation she was in: she had only had access to this piece of information because of her profession; therefore, she didn't have the right to say anything to anyone… besides Steffy herself. As much as she loved her sister, that was her job, that was what she did; she couldn't infringe the rules, not even for her.

Besides, Bridget figured Hope would find out eventually and it really wasn't her place to let her know: a lot of people had already interfered into Hope and Liam's relationship –she didn't want to be yet another one to.

Hope merely shook her head. "No, I'm sorry; I'm not buying that crap. Not today, not now, not with everything that I've had to go through in the past two days. I'm sorry; I'm just not. You could have told me; you chose not to. Now, I am choosing to ask you to leave." She said.

"Hope, please…" Bridget tried to reason her sister.

"Bridget, this was a polite request. Don't make me ask you again, or I won't be so nice." Hope warned. "Get out." She articulated.

Bridget tilted her head to the side silently asking her sister to make an effort and be less harsh, but Hope's eyes on her remained cold and insensitive. She stared at her a moment more, then eventually headed towards the door. She grabbed the door handle but turned back to Hope, who had her head lowered and was looking away, one last time. "You're my sister, Hope. I love you more than anything. I never meant to hurt you or to betray you, and… and I hope you can forgive me." She declared.

Hope's watery eyes stayed riveted towards the floor, and she refused to look up; she refused to face her sister who had just betrayed her. A few seconds later, she heard the door shut and immediately looked up: Bridget was already gone. The tears that she had been holding back so hard finally streamed down her face.

She walked to her bed and collapsed on it, face in her hands. She sobbed uncontrollably in her palms. She felt so completely betrayed and utterly alone. She had lost Liam, who was now expecting a child with her worst enemy and step-sister, and she had just found out that her sister, the one who was supposed to keep her from harm, protect her and care for her, had been aware, and hadn't told her a thing! How could it even be possible to go through so much pain in less than forty-eight hours? She didn't know her heart could hurt so much.

She couldn't believe that Bridget would do this to her. She was her big sister; she was the role model she had always looked up to. Of all the people in her life, Hope always thought that Bridget would be the one that would never lie to her or deceive her, in any circumstances… She was wrong.

/

"Steffy?" Liam called her from the couch. "Steffy?!" He tried more forcefully.

"Yes?" she eventually responded coming back to the actual time and place. She finished washing the plate she had in hand and put it aside.

"You're still thinking about Hope, aren't you?" He asked her.

Steffy remained silent. Yes, she was still thinking about Hope indeed. She simply couldn't help herself: the blonde wouldn't leave her mind! She felt guilty; she felt guilty as hell, and it was an extremely unpleasant feeling. All of this was crazy because she really had nothing to feel guilty about: it wasn't like she and Liam had deceived Hope or cheated on her or whatever. This child that she was carrying was conceived out of love, and there was nothing wrong or reprehensible about that; but for some reason, knowing that was a girl out there –a girl who happened to be her step-sister –going through heartbreak was kind of ruining it for her. She wished things didn't have to happen this way. She wished history didn't have to repeat itself.

"Steffy, I already told you that I'm not upset with you!" He reminded her.

"Well, that's good, Liam, but I'm upset with myself." She told him.

"Why?!" He asked her, confused. "You told me you were simply talking with Taylor. How were you supposed to know Hope was at the door?!" He rhetorically asked her. Yes, he was mad at Steffy at first, but thinking about it, it really wasn't something she could have expected.

"Exactly! You can never know who is standing behind your door at Forrester Creations, which is why you have to be super careful!" She exclaimed.

"Steffy… you're pregnant, remember? This isn't good for the baby. Can you please think about more pleasant things?" Liam asked her nicely.

She half turned towards him and put her left hand on her hip before she spoke. "That's all you're concerned about, isn't it? The baby?" She rhetorically asked.

Liam raised his shoulders, physical sign he didn't know what to answer to her. "Steffy… what do you want me to do? You want me to go at Hope's place and comfort her?" He questioned.

"No!"

"Do you think that you should go and console her?"

"No." She responded in a small voice.

"Well then…?"

She didn't respond: she just turned back and continued what she was doing.

"Perhaps, she's not taking this as bad as you think." Liam presumed and you could tell by his voice that he didn't believe what he was saying himself.

"Liam…" Steffy started and turned to him once more. "You did not see the look in her eyes when she understood that we were building a family and that you had chosen me without knowing that I was pregnant." She told him clearly still vividly remembering said look.

Liam frowned in confusion at Steffy's statement. "Wait, she thought I picked you because of the baby?" he asked her.

"She did." Steffy confirmed.

"And you corrected her?" he asked.

"Of course I did." She answered him.

Liam heaved a loud sigh and rested his back heavily on the couch. Those women would be the death of him. They were sisters… didn't they kind of have to like each other? His life would be so much easier if they did; it would be easier for them too actually. 'They probably would' he thought. '…if it weren't for me.'

Once she finished washing the dishes, Steffy closed the faucet and went to join Liam on the couch. She snuggled into him and he secured her by surrounding her hip with his arm.

"So you're not mad at me?" she made sure.

"I'm not." Liam denied. Then, he suddenly remembered something. "Well, unless, of course, you reckon you've done something wrong…" he added.

Steffy knit her brows in confusion at Liam's words. She slightly pulled away from him. "I haven't." She said.

"Are you sure?" he asked her.

"Yes." She stated nodding slightly, confused.

"Okay." Liam dropped it, or pretended to do so.

Steffy stared at him for a moment trying to understand what was going and what he had been insinuating before she gave up and settled back comfortably in his arms and closed her eyes.

"So who exactly knew about me becoming a father before me?" He asked in a rather knowing voice. Steffy's eyes popped open at his question. "You know… apart from Taylor, Bridget, oh, and my dad!" he let out.

Steffy slowly and warily pulled away from him. "Liam, I can assure you that…" she started but stopped mid-sentence.

"You can assure me that…?" He ironically encouraged her to continue raising his eyebrows at her.

"I don't know what Bill told you, but I did not tell him anything. He found out on his own. I'm still not sure how, to be honest."

"Well, he had a pregnant wife." Liam gave as a plausible explanation.

Steffy nodded in tacit agreement.

"I don't appreciate the fact that half of Los Angeles knew about your pregnancy before me, Steffy." He told her frankly.

"I know; I'm sorry." She apologized.

"I should have been the first one to know." Liam said.

"I know. I agree. I am sorry. I should have told you first." She acknowledged. "It's just, I…" She struggled with finding the right words. She didn't want Liam to take this the wrong way.

"What?" Liam pushed her.

"I didn't want you to feel trapped, and I didn't want you to come back to me just because I was awaiting your child." She said.

"Steffy… I did choose you." He pointed out to her.

"You did. You did, and I couldn't be happier. Do you know why? Because you did it without knowing I was pregnant." She told him.

"So you mean if I had picked you while being aware of your pregnancy…" Liam started.

"I would have still been happy, but I would have always wondered if it was really me you chose." She completed shrugging.

"Steffy…" he started but she didn't let him continue.

"Liam, you are aware of the never-ending love triangle between my mom, my dad, and Brooke. I've told you about it, and I'm sure Hope has too. It's nothing personal. Don't take it as such, but I couldn't walk down that same road as my mother did. I just could not spend the rest of my life with such a big question in my head!" She confided to him.

Liam got in a sitting position on the couch and moved as close to Steffy as possible given the already small space there was between them. He brought his hand together on his lap before he spoke. "I understand why you didn't tell me." He told her.

"You do?" Steffy asked him, reassurance laced in her voice.

Liam nodded. "You had a tough childhood, and your family record isn't…" he briefly looked away as he tried to find his words. "…what you would hope, neither is my record with you and Hope…so I understand any concerns you may have had." He reassured her.

She smiled at him appreciatively.

"But Steffy, it's not just us anymore. We're going to be parents. We've got to start acting like adults, and we have to solidify our relationship…starting with the trust. You have to trust my feelings for you, and I have to trust yours; and we can't lie to each other." He said to her. "Why didn't you tell me your visit at the hospital was related to the baby?" he asked her.

Steffy closed her eyes as he reminded her that she hadn't let him in on that either. She really hadn't done great this time… But she agreed with everything that he was saying. This was all that she ever wanted really: a solid and healthy relationship based on love and complete trust…with Liam.

She pinched her lips and reopened her eyes. "I am sorry." She apologized once again. "It won't happen again. I was just so stressed, and I didn't think you needed to be too, and Bridget told me that I shouldn't worry so much…"

"Alright, but that's the kind of stuff that I have to know; that's the kind of stuff that I deserve to know. Alright?" he asked her.

"Alright." Steffy agreed nodding lightly. "No more secrets." She declared.

"No more secrets." Liam repeated.

"Pinky swear?" she asked him in a playful mood showing him her little finger.

Liam chuckled kindly and raised his little finger to cross it with hers. "Pinky swear." He said.

Thank you for reading.

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