Where have I been? I'm sure you've wondered. Well, believe it or not, I've actually been spending a great amount of time writing. I've just been writing another story where I've felt a lot more inspired than I do lately with Steam.

I'm not quite satisfied with how this chapter turned out, but hey I figured I should post something.

That is how Steffy and Liam spent their weekend: replenishing their spirits and feeding their souls in each other's arms and love. It had been so long. It felt like an eternity since they'd felt this close to one another. Neither ever wanted to lose this feeling again. A sentiment of utter joy and peace. A feeling of completion.

It has really been a blissful weekend. Steffy already dreaded the return to normal activities the next day. She wasn't ready to come down from the clouds yet. She didn't want to get out of their bubble.

She shook her head at her childlike thoughts. She didn't know what it was about Liam that made her feel like a fifteen-year-old living her first love. Perhaps because Liam was her first true love; and she could only pray to God he would be her last. She hoped so with all her heart.

Her back against the propped pillows, her legs slightly folded, Steffy had Hope's preparative speech for the release of Hope for the Future's new collection on her lap. She read it over, writing a few annotations in the margin of the page. The speech was well formulated, and Steffy had seen some of the designs; this new collection was simply going to be a hit.

Liam came out of the bathroom, fresh from a shower, and took the towel that was around his neck to rub his wet hair frantically before throwing the towel into the dirty laundry basket.

"Hey!" Steffy protested as a few droplets of water landed on her leg.

"Sorry." He climbed into bed and kissed her shoulder, taking advantage to glance at the documents she was holding. He kissed her shoulder once more. "What are you doing?"

"Proof-reading Hope's opening speech."

Liam thought he heard that wrong. His brow wrinkled in confusion. "What?"

"Hope is presenting her new line in a few days. You should know, you're covering the event…"

"Yes, I know. I'm aware."

"Well then, she asked me to read her speech and tell her what I think of it, that's all." Steffy replied tersely.

Liam still bore a puzzled expression. "Let's see if I got this right: you are telling me that Hope actually came to you asking you to review her speech?" He asked, his voice dripping with skepticism.

"Yes." She answered slowly as though he was slow, understanding very well why he was so surprised, but pretending not to. "I know my position at Forrester Creations is kind of confusing right now. I'm involved in a lot of departments, and I'm tackling a variety of things, but I am initially affiliated to Public Relations, Liam." She reminded him.

"Yes, I know that, sweetheart. I just –I'm surprised that Hope would voluntarily come to you for help… without having to."

She narrowed her eyes at him, now getting slightly annoyed by his reaction. "You keep saying that."

"I know. I figured if I say it out loud enough times, it will eventually make sense."

"You miss the time when we were fighting for you already?" she arched a questioning eyebrow.

"Of course not!" he said quickly, although he knew she was partly joking. He tended to forget how susceptible she was these days.

She eyed him up and down. "If you say so…" She commented offhandedly before turning her attention back to Hope's speech on her lap and adding, "The fact that Hope came to me about something that relates to my domain of expertise does not make us best friends. It means we've finally reached a point in our relationship where our rivalry has taken a back seat and we can act cordially and kindly with one another. And for the prosperity of Forrester Creations and the sake of our family, I think that's a good thing."

"But of course, that is a good thing. Don't get me wrong. I couldn't be happier about this change of situation. I'm just surprised, that's all." Liam shrugged. "Pleasantly so." He quickly added.

She threw him a skeptical look before turning her attention back to Hope's speech. "If you say so."

He smiled at her. "You almost done?"

"I would be if you would stop pestering me." Steffy was proof-reading the last paragraph.

"I'm pestering you?"

"Uh-huh."

"I'm pestering you?!" he exclaimed as he assailed her neck with kisses

She giggled and tried to move away from him but actually ended up giving him more access.

"Liam, can't you see I'm busy?" she asked, the smile in her voice belying the annoyance she was trying to convey.

"Yeah, you're getting busy."

He tried to kiss her on the mouth, but she kept turning her head away and escaping him.

"I'm serious!" she turned to face him and looked at him solemnly. "Listen, let me finish this, and then I'm all yours, ok?"

"All mine?" Liam repeated huskily, raising a suggestive eyebrow.

"Body and soul." Steffy replied in a sultry voice.

Liam smiled. They had just silently agreed that he would let her finish working in peace. He got on his phone to read a few emails as she did just that.

Less than five minutes later, he felt the mattress bend beside him. He tore his eyes away from his phone to find Steffy gazing warmly at him, propped up on her elbow, her head resting in her hand.

"You done?" he asked her.

"Uh-huh." She hummed.

Liam returned to his home screen, and then set his phone on the nightstand, before turning back to Steffy. She smiled at him and leaned forward to press a soft kiss to his lips. Liam slowly opened his eyes after she pulled away and contemplated her lovingly.

Steffy frowned lightly as something occurred to her. "Are you going to be ok if the baby is a girl?" she asked Liam with an amused, teasing smile.

He seemed pretty intent on having a boy. Steffy was starting to fear he didn't even conceive the possibility that they might have a girl.

"Sure."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that true?"

"Of course, as long as she's just like you." Liam smiled and lifted his hand to stroke the side of her face with the back of his index finger.

She smiled back at him. "Hmm. Be careful what you wish for, Mister Spencer." She warned, and explained herself at his questioning look, "You think you can handle two Steffy Forresters at the same time?"

"Huh." He seemed to ponder that for a moment. "That's a good question. Let's hope so since I'm going to have to."

Steffy arched an eyebrow in response to that vague statement, so Liam elaborated.

"I mean considering we're having at least three kids… I'm guessing with so many attempts, we're bound to have a girl at some point, right?"

She laughed, amused by his reasoning. The reality was the probability they had of having a girl would be the exact same at every fertilization, assuming they were blessed enough to have more than one child. She let him hold on to that flawed logic though. She did hope they had at least one baby from each gender though. She remembered how close Phoebe, Thomas, and herself were growing up, and she wanted that for her children.

"Right."

Liam grinned. Steffy was going to be a terrific mother, whether they expected a boy or a girl. She was the most understanding person he had ever known. She was generous, compassionate, sensitive –although only a few select people knew that –but strong, and so, so brave. She was what his mother called a 'rare and beautiful soul'. Their child would be so lucky, just as Liam was.

He had wronged her so many times and in so many different ways, but she had always find the strength to forgive him despite her better judgment. He just had to look into her deep green eyes to see how much she loved him. It truly humbled him.

"Hey." Steffy's voice and the warmth of her hand on his cheek drew him from his thoughts. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Liam looked down between them and noticed he had been running his thumb along the back of her hand absentmindedly. He stopped the motion and picked up her hand to bring it to his lips. Kissing it reverently, he raised his gaze to hers and smiled. "I was just thinking about how lucky I am."

She leaned down into him and pressed her forehead against his. "And don't you forget it."

"Never." He vowed.

She nuzzled her nose against his affectionately.

"Tell me we'll never be apart again." Liam demanded.

"We'll never be apart again." Steffy said with conviction. "Never. Ever." She shook her head.

Liam closed his eyes, taking comfort in her words, hoping, praying that they were true. Liam still had amends to make. They still had a lot of issues to talk through, but now was not the time to address them. They had spent an amazing weekend, and he wanted it to end on a good note.

Steffy could tell something was on Liam's mind, and she sensed it was something serious and very possibly unpleasant. They had had a lovely weekend and tomorrow, they would find out the gender of their child. She wouldn't let anything or anyone ruin this special time for them.

She kissed him before resting her head on his chest. Her hand on his heart's emplacement, she listened to his steady heartbeat and breathed in sync with it, letting it lull her to sleep.

"I love you so much. Do you know that?" she told him dozily.

A small smile crept its way onto Liam's face as his mind wandered to a time when she spoke similar words to him.

"You know how much –You know how much I love you." Steffy said.

His hand left the side of her face to grab her hand. "I do." He confirmed before bringing her hand to his lips and kissing it twice. "I do."

"I waited for this for so long…" she confessed emotionally with a small genuine smile. "I never stopped wishing."

Liam stared into her eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat at the pure love he saw reflected there.

Steffy brought her face closer to his and placed her hand on his neck. "You're free, Liam." She told him and cupped his chin to make him face her again when he looked down. "You're finally free."

Setting himself free for Hope was the hardest thing Liam had ever done in his life, but knowing what was ahead –a future with Steffy and their family –made it all worth it. She was the reason he looked forward to the next day. Steffy gave direction and meaning to his life. She was his compass, his world, his everything.

He did know how much Steffy loved him. Throughout everything that they had experience –all the shameless lies, the conniving deceptions, the hurtful betrayals –the one thing that had remained a constant was his belief in Steffy's love for him. He had never questioned it, never doubted it, not even for a second, but unfortunately, he knew Steffy couldn't say the same for him, and he was to blame for that. He silently promised himself in that moment to make sure she never doubted his love again.

Caressing her hair, he lowered his head to kiss hers. "I love you more than anything." He whispered back into her hair. He slid his hand across her stomach as he used to do every night until that fateful night when Steffy decided she could not sleep in the same bed as him. He pushed the thought away and focused on the fact that they were now all reunited. Now and forever. "I love you both."

/

Liam was being particularly over-productive today, and he was in an amazingly good mood, what his colleagues kept pointing out to him. It was barely eleven, and he already had three important files done with. Happiness was definitely a strong motivator.

There was a knock at his door. "Come on in."

"Good morning" greeted Bill as he entered the office.

Liam stopped typing an instant, taken aback, and looked up at his father. "Good morning. Since when do you knock before coming in? "

"Liam, when I don't knock, you take offense and get upset; when I do knock, you are surprised. Make up your mind. What do you want?!"

Liam smiled and shook his head dismissively. "It's your company, Dad. Do what you want."

"It is, and I will." Bill said pointedly. "Now, would you care to tell me what is going on with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"My employees are eating and passing doughnuts around. How come?"

"I told them to." Liam responded tersely.

"So it seems. Why?" he demanded to know.

"I brought some this morning and thought they could share them…"

"Some? Liam, you brought ten dozen!" Bill exclaimed disbelievingly. He took a breath to calm down before insisting, "You know, this would go much farther if you would just tell me why the hell you woke up this morning and decided it would be National Doughnut Day…"

"Because why not? I'm just in an excellent mood today."

"Clearly. Is there a reason why?" Bill pressed, earning an incredulous look from Liam.

"You really have to ask me that? You don't realize what day today is?" He asked disbelievingly, and as Bill couldn't seem to recall, he explained, "Well, you're definitely not getting a card next Grandfather's Day just so you know. We're finding out the gender of the baby today!"

Bill's eyes widened and sparkled in excitement. "Oh my God, that's true! It completely skipped my mind." He admitted.

"Yeah, I can see that. You're not going to win Grandfather of the year, huh? This child is not even born yet, and you're already feeling your patriarchal duties."

"Oh, whatever" Bill rolled his eyes, really more annoyed with himself than with Liam. He couldn't believe he had forgotten such an important event. "I can totally make up for that. I can go the dealership right now and get my grandson his first car."

Liam's jaw dropped at his father's suggestion. He couldn't be serious. Right? "I sincerely hope that you're joking."

Bill tilted his head to the left and to the right. "Partially."

"Please don't ever purchase any gifts for my child before running it by me first." Liam didn't want his dad to completely spoil his kid. He had a feeling he and Steffy would be doing a whole lot of that themselves.

Bill smirked. "I'm not making any promises I can't keep." He replied before somewhat changing the subject. "So why else are you so happy?" He questioned.

Liam frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

"You're not wearing that blissful smile solely because you're about to find out the gender of your child. Besides, we already all know it's a boy."

Liam snorted. "Do we?" he asked ironically.

Bill gave him a look before he replied. "It can only be a boy."

Liam rolled his eyes. Although he was praying for a son more than anything, he found his father's confidence on the matter quite ridiculous. Classic Bill Spencer: thinking he could control everything, including the gender of a baby that wasn't even his. "May the Lord hear you." He said casually, finishing up a report on his laptop.

"You're dodging my question."

Liam glanced up at his father. "Isn't my seeing my child live on screen and finding out its gender enough to put me in a good mood?"

"Of course it is. I just think something else is causing this one-eighty shift in your mood. Something or… someone…"

Liam couldn't contain the smile that grew on his face at the thought of his steamy reunion with Steffy earlier the past weekend. What was the point in concealing it? His father would find out eventually, and it wasn't like he and Steffy had agreed to keep it a secret.

Bill was positive something had happened between his son and the woman he hoped would soon become his daughter-in-law. He had suspected as much from the moment he stepped into Liam's office and noticed the goofy expression on his face, but the spark he just saw ignite his son's eyes confirmed it. Only Steffy could incite such an intense reaction from Liam.

"Steffy and I reunited over the weekend. Well, not that we were ever truly separate, but… you know what I mean." Liam trailed off.

Bill smirked knowingly. "I do." He paused briefly before he asked, "Are you happy?"

"I've never been happier. Can't you tell?"

"I can." He just had to ask. "Is Steffy happy?"

"I think she is. I most certainly hope she is."

"Good. I'm happy for both of you."

Liam smiled warmly at him, touched by his genuine concern for him and the woman who shared his life. For all his intrusiveness and overbearingness, Bill remained a pretty decent parent. "Thank you, Father. I will be sure to tell Steffy."

"So now, we have two pieces of good news to celebrate."

"Indeed."

"We should do something about that. How about a nice family gathering after Steffy's ultrasound later today?" Bill suggested.

Liam shrugged. "I guess that could be arranged."

"Ok, I'll let the Spencers know."

"Don't. I will ask Steffy about it and let you know." He didn't think she would mind, but he'd rather be safe.

"You do that." Bill nodded.

/

"Hi, love, are you ready to go?" Liam asked as he entered Steffy's office.

"Where to?" inquired a deep male voice.

Liam's eyes widened as the person the voice belonged to turned around on Steffy's chair and he was faced with a man he had never seen before. "Um..." His brow furrowed in confusion and he looked around the room. "Am I in the right office?" He wondered out loud. "I'm looking for Steffy Forrester."

The young man smiled indulgently. "She left for a moment. She should be back any second."

Liam nodded. He stared at the ground an instant before looking back up to the unfamiliar face, frowning lightly. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Oh sorry, where are my manners? Wyatt. Wyatt Fuller." He stood up and extended a hand to Liam.

The latter took it and shook it. "Liam Spencer, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. Finally." Wyatt commented.

Liam tilted his head at that. "Finally?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah, I've heard a lot about you."

"Really? I wish I could say the same." He muttered that last part under his breath.

An uncomfortable silence settled between them, which Liam decided to break as Steffy apparently decided to take her sweet time returning to her office.

"So are you a client?" he asked Wyatt although the man didn't seem to know a whole lot about fashion if the way he chose to dress was any indication. "A new recruit…?"

Wyatt smiled. "None of that. I'm a friend of Steffy's. Surely, she's mentioned me before." He inquired, trying to get a reaction out of Liam, and maybe, just maybe, he liked the thought of Steffy deeming him important enough to mention him to her fiancé.

"I do not think she has." Liam replied as he tried to rack his memories at the search for one that involved Steffy alluding to this new male presence in her life.

"Are you sure?" insisted Wyatt.

"I think I would have remembered if she had." He definitely would have. Liam eyed Wyatt up and down, trying and failing to keep his disdain out of his look. He probably wasn't the best judge of this, but he had to reluctantly concede that Wyatt could be uglier to look at. Besides, there was something about this guy that made him seriously uneasy. Obviously, the fact that Steffy had hid his existence from him wasn't helping. What was that about? In short, Liam was growing more and more irritated with the man every passing minute.

"Hmm. I'm vexed. I'll have to give her a word about that." Wyatt mused out loud.

Liam knit his brows together and gave him a thrown look. No, but seriously, who was this kid? Who did he think he was? There was something Liam had to make sure of.

"You mentioned earlier that you've heard a lot about me…"

"I have." Wyatt nodded, wondering where this was going.

"So do you happen to know that Steffy is my wife and the mother of my child?" Liam asked, causing Wyatt to frown slightly, a confused look spreading over his face.

"I thought she was your fiancée?"

"Logistics, it's the same thing." Liam declared casually.

"Ah, now, you see" Wyatt started, raising a finger in protestation. "I'm not a lawyer or anything, but I do not think it's the same thing."

Liam glared at him and was about to reply something biting when Steffy opportunely chose to push the door of her office and enter.

"I'm sorry, Wyatt. That took longer than expec -" The word died on her tongue as she became aware of Liam's presence. Now, this was not how she had envisioned their first encounter to happen. "Liam! Hi. You're early. I wasn't expecting you so soon." She said, checking the time on her watch.

"I am delighted to see you too, my love." Liam declared sarcastically with a fake smile, not particularly appreciating her reaction to his visit.

Steffy frowned. She couldn't remember him ever using this term of endearment non-genuinely when addressing her. She didn't like it.

"I thought we could have lunch before our appointment. Next time, I will make sure to check with you first."

She gave him a look. "Don't be like that. That's not what I meant. Of course, I'm delighted to see you. I just wasn't expecting you." She said as she leaned in for a quick kiss before moving towards her desk. She glanced at Wyatt and then at Liam awkwardly. "I see you two have met."

"We have." Liam nodded. "…although Wyatt seems to know a bit more about me than I do about him."

Steffy looked up at Liam and opened her mouth to reply, but Wyatt spoke first.

"Yeah, apparently, he's just finding out about my existence. What's up with that? I thought I meant more to you, darling."

Liam's eyebrows shot up in response as a look of incredulity settled on his face. "Wait, what did you just call her?!" he asked, flabbergasted.

"Darling." Wyatt answered naturally.

"I had heard that." Liam uttered through gritted teeth.

"Then why did you ask me?"

Liam frowned and narrowed his eyes in horror. Who was this guy? And whom had he been raised by? Wolves?!

"Ok, Liam, it's nothing, alright? It's a term of endearment. He uses it on everyone." Steffy intervened, sensing that things would get out of hand otherwise and feeling that they still may –despite her mediation.

Wyatt stared at her, appalled, his mouth forming an 'o'. "Really?!" he turned his head towards Liam, requesting his opinion. "Does she always put herself down like that? I find it unbelievable." He articulated before addressing Steffy again, "I will have you know darling that I only use it on intimate friends."

"Excuse me?! On what now? Do you not have an ounce of respect?!" Liam exclaimed, indignant at this shameless behavior.

/

"What are you doing?"

Pam gasped, startled, and abruptly turned around. "Hope, God, you almost gave me a heart attack." She said in a small voice, getting away from the door.

Hope eyed her suspiciously before asking again, "What were you doing?"

"Huh? Oh, I was picking up my pen. It fell."

"Were you? It sort of seemed like you were eavesdropping. Is that how you're always informed of everything that goes on in this company?" She asked with outrage, although she couldn't say she was surprised. How else would Pam always be aware of everything that went on at Forrester Creations, at all times?

"Noooo." Pam answered with exaggerated emphasis and false indignation. She returned to her seat behind her desk.

"Pam…" Hope gave her a pointed look, letting her know she wasn't buying her lies.

"What? I wasn't eavesdropping!" She affirmed in a murmuring voice.

"Yeah, right. Note the sarcasm in my voice? Why are you whispering then? And how did your pen get there anyway?"

Pam raised her eyes to the young woman who bore a triumphal smile on her face. Fine, she had been caught. Well, she might as well get back to what she had been doing then.

Hope widened her eyes and dropped her mouth open, utterly scandalized. "Are you serious right now?!"

"Keep your voice down! They're gonna hear us."

"Pam, it is rude to listen in on private conversations. I shouldn't have to tell you this."

She scoffed, "Please, this is hardly a private conversation. A confrontation sounds more like it."

"A confrontation? Who's in there?" Hope enquired.

"Steffy, Liam."

"And they're arguing?"

"Ah, look whose interest has been piqued."

Hope instantly looked down in shame, her cheeks flushed. That was a puerile and very inappropriate reaction for her to have. On no account did she wish Steffy or Liam any harm or trouble in their relationship. She really didn't. She was completely past that. She was overjoyed with Oliver and she wanted all those around her to be as happy as she was. She had been under the impression that Liam and Steffy were. Then again, one couldn't say that she was particularly close to either of them; therefore, she wasn't necessarily in the best position to establish a judgment on their relationship.

"You didn't answer my question." She pointed out.

Pam smirked but didn't comment further. "No, Liam and Wyatt are arguing."

"Wyatt?" Hope repeated. It was the first time she heard of him.

"Quinn's son. Quite the hottie too." Pam replied, her ears pressed to the door.

Hope frowned in displeasure. "Please don't ever say that again." After a moment, she asked, "What are they arguing about?"

"Perhaps I would be able to tell you if you would let me listen!"

Again, please don't be too harsh in your reviews, I tried, but this chapter was really difficult to write. My Steam 'muse' seems to be gone.

Next chapter, two important reveals. Main focus: Steam's ultrasound.

Till' next time.

Take care my lovelies!