AN:
As always, I do not own a single thing
I just needed something else to write for a little bit, so this is the latest chapter of a one shot that I started writing for What if.., but it ended up being way over the number of pages I normally have for my stories, so I decided to make this a two shot. I'm thinking it'll be what the title says, meaning four chapters!
Anyway, I got some exciting news yesterday and today so I thought I'd post this a little earlier then planned!!
Happy Halloween everyone!!
One, two, three and maybe four?
Chapter two
The next day, Steffy is visiting her mothers house lounging about the pool when there's a knock on the door. Taylor looks outside through the patio doors before going to check who's on the other side of the door. She opens with a big smile on her face.
"Well, if it isn't Liams proud mother in law?" She tilts her head.
"Well, if it isn't Liams proud baby mama's mother?" Brooke snarls. "Or, is it even Liams baby?"
"Oh, it is. I found the pregnancy test that Steffy took before leaving for Paris to visit her father after Stephanie died. You know, the same day that your daughter couldn't help but run over to Liams as fast as she could and jumped him after grabbing all of Steffys clothes out of the dresser and then proceeded to make out with him on top of them. How does it feel knowing that your daughter couldn't wait to pounce on a man in a relationship with a woman who's gone to visit her father half way across the world?" Taylor happily looks over at Brookes shocked face.
"Hope would never do that! She has a much better moral compass than your daughter!"
"Well, actually, Steffy saw them when she went home to tell Liam about the baby. But she chose to leave LA anyway. Putting a whole lot more confidence in her relationship with Liam than your daughter ever has!" Taylor opens the door and lets Brooke inside the house.
"Yeah, like your daughter has never lied about anything before?" Brooke huffs.
"Well, regardless, I hope your daughter is well-equipped to handle being married to a man who's having his first born with another woman. Especially since Liam doesn't want his child to grow up without it's father there all the time." Taylor smiles once again. "So, tell me, how are the newlyweds? Have they been on their honeymoon yet?" She raises her eyebrows.
"They'll be going as soon as this whole mess has been handled, either by going for full custody for Liam or no custody for Liam at all. I mean, he is married and there is bound to be more children from that marriage, why should Steffys baby be so important? It will be born outside of marriage."
"Says the woman who has had four children born out of wedlock. Oh, right, three of the four children's fathers were married at the time of the child's birth. I'm not counting Jack here because we both know you didn't even want him, you just wanted Nick at the time."
"Like you should talk?" Brooke smirks.
"Four kids, one born during his father's wedding ceremony to another woman and then three kids born inside a marriage to the kids fathers to you equals getting pregnant by another womans husband, finding out your pregnant by a man not your husband at the time of conception. Then that same baby turning out to being your husbands baby at conception, but not your husband at the time of birth, getting pregnant by your daughters husband and then getting yourself knocked up just minutes after your husband dies in a furnace, although it turns out that you got pregnant on your wedding night, but the father is not your husband when the child is born?" Taylor starts getting up from the arm chair she's been sitting on. "So, I'm longing for a cup of coffee, do you want a cup?"
"You really think I'd be interested in anything you'd have to offer?"
"Well, no, but I have to ask."
Taylor leaves to go to the kitchen, meanwhile, things have gotten a little too hot for Steffy down by the pool so she gets up from the lounge chair and jumps in the pool. The splashing sound makes Brooke curious as to who Taylor has visiting, so she walks out on the patio and sees Steffy doing a lap of back stroke, her bump clearly visible. A little while later, Taylor walks out looking for Brooke.
"That right there is the child you robbed of a family because you couldn't stand to see Liam willingly choose anyone other than your daughter, so you manipulated him into a wedding with a girl he wasn't even in a relationship with. How does it feel?" Taylor points to Steffys bump. "Just like you manipulated Ridge into marrying you knowing I was having his child."
Brooke turns around towards Taylor and slaps her.
"Still can't stand being told the truth I see." Taylor nods her head. "I believe it's time for you to go. Liam is coming to pick Steffy up for a doctor's appointment at any time and I do believe he doesn't want you anywhere near Steffy right now."
Just as she says it, the doorbell rings and Taylor call out to the other person to come in. The door opens and in comes Liam and the first thing he sees is Brooke standing there.
Taylor looks over at Brooke. "Well, you better go hide then or leave completely before Steffy even knows you're here!"
Taylor sees Liam completely relax at the news that Steffy doesn't even know Brooke is there, but he glares towards her none the less.
"I told your daughter that you were to stay away from Steffy at all costs. I guess I should have included her mother, brother, father and any other relatives in her close proximity. Stay away from Steffy and her family!" Liam says pointedly before walking outside to the pool. "One more time and Hope is out!"
"Oh please, you don't mean that!" Brooke scoffs.
"Really?" Taylor blurts out. "Did you not see the look on his face before I told you to hide or get out before Steffy finds out you're here?"
"What look?"
"Still can't see what's right in front of you. Well, anyway, you need to leave now, if for no other reason than saving your daughters marriage."
Taylor and Liam watch as Brooke thinks about what to do until they hear someone walking up the stairs. "Hey mom! Has Liam arrived yet? We're going to be late if he hasn't!"
The panic is evident in Brookes eyes and she scramble to gather her purse and take her keys out and runs out the door. A few seconds after the front door closes, Steffy walks through the patio doors.
"Hey mom, what happened to your face?" Steffy squints her eyes and pulls her eyebrows together.
"Oh, I just had a guest and they slapped me, nothing to worry about!" Taylor walks over to her daughter and pulls her in with her hands on her cheeks before kissing her forehead.
"Oh, I take it Brooke stopped by?" Steffy sees her mother nod.
"Anyway, off you go and make sure that baby is doing okay!"
~OTTmF~
Later that evening, Liam walks through the door to the cliff house and sees Hope sitting on the couch.
"So, have you heard that your mother went to see Taylor today?" Liams tone of voice carries a sense of accusations with it.
"No, not until you told me just now!" Hope just looks up looking as innocently as possible.
"Yeah, you know, I don't think I can believe that." Liam sits down on the arm chair across the coffee table.
"Why not?"
"Well, because that look you have on your face right now is the one you think works on me when you've done something wrong. So, I'm going to guess that either you told your mother to go talk to Taylor, or Brooke told you she was going and you didn't talk her out of it." Liam watches her facial expressions. "I'm going to go with the first one."
"Well, you said we couldn't go talk to Steffy, so we chose her mother." Hope looks him straight into his eyes.
"And you didn't think that it would cause Steffy stress after Taylor told her your mother had stopped by to talk to her about the baby? Your mother slapped Taylor."
Hope just shrugs her shoulders. "Well, Taylor must have said something to mom then that wasn't true."
"Taylor had just pointed out that Brooke had robbed my baby of its family when she arranged that wedding for us and that she'd done the same when she married Ridge knowing that Taylor was pregnant with Ridges child."
"Well, obviously Taylor shouldn't have said that or she wouldn't get slapped. It's as simple as that!"
"No, it's as simple as Brooke not going to visit Taylor wouldn't have gotten Taylor slapped. That's how simple it is! Stay away from Steffy and her family or you're out!" Liam pounded his fist into the coffee table between them causing Hope to jump. "You need to trust that!"
He gets up and starts walking towards the front door. "I'm going to go visit my dad and little brother and you need to get your priorities straight."
He leaves her and just as the front door closes, tears start flowing from her face.
~OTTmF~
He knocks on the door to Steffys childhood home and waits for someone to open. He hears someone open the lock and then sees the handle turning.
"Well, if it isn't the proud father to be." Bill stands on the other side of the door. "So, what's up?"
Bill opens the door even more and then lets Liam inside, points him to the couch in the living room.
"I told Hope that if she, her mothers or her aunts were to have any contact with Steffy at all unless it was company related and absolutely no contact in regards to the baby, Hope was getting thrown out of the house and I'd annul the marriage."
"Good for you! How did she take it?"
"Well, I thought she understood what it would cost her if any of them had any contact with Steffy at all and apparently she did, because they found what they thought was a loop hole. Brooke went to see Taylor today." Liam throws himself against the back rest of the couch with a sigh.
"Well then, technically she didn't do anything wrong?"
"Well, had Brooke not slapped Taylor, Steffy wouldn't even have known that Brooke had been there, but it caused Steffy to be concerned and that caused stress and the stress caused high blood pressure and that is a risk for the baby." Liam places his hands on the sides of his head. "The appointment went good aside from that though. Baby is growing as it should."
"Well, that's good then!" Bill smiles. "In regards to Brookes visiting Taylor, what are you going to do about it?"
"As of right now, if it happens one more time, Hope is out. I can't be with a woman who would willingly risk my babys health."
Bill just nods his head.
~OTTmF~
Two weeks later.
Steffy is walking through the halls of Forrester Creations to speak with her grandfather. She knocks on the door and hears him say to come in.
She walks through the door and gives him a big smile, then she sees who else is there. "Hello Brooke! Hope!"
The looks the two women send his granddaughter causes Eric concern. Steffy on the other hand turns her attention back to her grandfather. "You wanted to see me?"
"I did, there has been concerns in regards how this pregnancy is going to affect the company."
Steffy just smiles. "Really? I can only guess where they are coming from. So, what are they?"
"Oh, you know, just the usual, it's going to reflect badly that one of the company owners has gotten herself pregnant by her former stepsisters husband." Eric shrugs his shoulder.
"Like it did when my former stepsister married my boyfriend? Or when my former stepsister was screwing a married man?" Steffy just raises her eyebrows. "About that much? I mean, getting myself pregnant by a man I was living with at the time can't possibly be as bad as when my former stepsister was screwing my husband while preaching that every girl should wait for marriage and then was seen kissing my husband by a fan out in public."
Steffy has been talking with a calm voice the entire time, knowing that Brooke, Hope or both would blow up any minute.
"Well, when you say it like that it probably wouldn't cause the company much of anything." Eric just smiles at her.
"Are you kidding me?" Brooke lashes out. "Steffy went out of her way to go after my daughter's fiancé and you're just going to let this go? You're going to let this homewrecker just walk away?"
Eric is taken a back. "Oh, you mean like I did when you screwed my daughters' husband behind all of our backs because the man you thought you should be with didn't want to leave his wife and kids like you wanted him to? I should've thrown you out of the family for that, but no, I decided to help you keep your secret the second time you wanted the man Bridget was in love with and married you because of it."
"Granddad! Calm down. Let it go! We both know that this isn't going to have a negative effect on the company because of me. It'll be because of those two, the two women who broke up a family with a child on the way. So, how about you deal with them and leave me out of it?"
Eric takes a deep breath. "Okay, okay. Thank you for stopping by!"
"Have a good rest of your day!"
Eric sees Steffy leave his office and then turns his attention back at Brooke and Hope. Brooke squints her eyes. Hope just looks shocked.
"Are you really going to just let her walk away like that?" Brooke snarls.
"Yes, because she hasn't done anything wrong in this situation!" Eric says.
"Yeah, right. She didn't just move in on my fiancé before our wedding after Italy." Hope scowls.
"No, she didn't." Eric says causing both Hope and Brooke to glare at him.
"Yes, she did!" Both women say.
"No, she didn't and I'm going to tell you the reasons why. 1. Steffy supposedly kissing Liam or sleeping with him before the do-over wedding did not happen. 2. Liam is the one who went to her after Hope had already dumped him. 3. Hope was not his fiancé because Hope dumped him in front of family and friends claiming that his love wasn't enough for her after being told a lie that Liam denied had happened by a man she'd not said a single word other to then request a song. Steffy picked up the pieces of a broken-hearted Liam after Hope dumped him after demanding a re-do wedding after refusing to sign the papers making the Puglia-wedding legal in the US. Steffy and Liam then grew so close that he decided to ask her to move in, which she did. Then Stephanie died and Ridge wanted Steffy to come visit him in Paris, but before going to Paris, she goes home to tell Liam about the baby she's carrying but sees Hope on top of her boyfriend and her clothes, so she decided to go to Paris anyway and for Liam to get you out of his system!" Eric looks at them closely and as he's about to continue, he's interrupted.
"Steffy went to Paris because she knew the lie had come out and Liam was going to leave her!"
"Steffy is not the one who lied, she knew the truth and she told you the truth over and over and over, but you chose to listen to a man you didn't even know over the man who's supposedly the love of your life. Tell me, how is Steffys fault that you can't take the word of your fiancé over a man you don't even know?"
"I.. I.." Hope tries to find the words.
"Well, looking back on their history it's not so hard to believe."
"Whos? Steffy and Liams?" He sees them nod. "When has Steffy ever lied about kissing Liam?"
"Well, there's Aspen!"
"When did Liam and Steffy kiss in Aspen? I mean, other than when they got married after trapping me in the gondola forcing me to watch them and when aunt Katie sent you there?" Hope asks her mother.
"Who held a gun to your head forcing you to look at Steffy and Liam getting married? Why not turn around?" Eric tilts his head.
"We're not talking about that!" Hope snaps. "When did Steffy and Liam kiss in Aspen other than when they got married?"
"Well, there is that time when Katie sent us on a wild goose chase and then there's when he ripped up the annulment papers." Brooke realizes what she says too late.
Hope recoils. "You mean to say that Steffy signed the annulment papers she took with her to Aspen and then Liam ripped them up?"
"No!" Brooke tries her hardest to take back what she said. Hope just gets up and goes out of the office.
She searches her way towards Steffys office and knocks on the door. She hears Steffy calling for her to come in and she does so with tears in her eyes.
"So, are you here to apologize for trying to cause problems between my grandfather and me?" Steffy looks closely at Hope, sees that she's been crying.
"No, I'm not. Or yes, I am. I don't know. But could you answer a question for me?"
"As long as it doesn't have to do with the baby or Liam, sure."
"Well then, I'm sorry I wasted your time."
"Good! Now, if there's anything you wanted to talk to me about me and Liam or me and my baby, you have a husband to talk to about that, I suggest you talk to him about it. It's not my responsibility to keep you happy or content." Steffy just waves her off after that.
Hope just nods her head and leaves Steffy behind.
Steffy picks up her phone and sends Liam a text.
To Liam
I'm thinking Hope found out about Aspen, you should find a way to tell her about ripping those papers.
She lays her phone down and goes back to work. Fifteen minutes later she hears her phone beeping, so she picks it up and reads what the text says.
From Liam
Who told her?
To Liam
She came in here wanting to talk about something and when I saw her in granddads office, she seemed like her normal self, but when she came to my office after that, she had been crying and since granddad does not know about Aspen and Brooke does, there's only one person who could have told her.
She turns her attention back to her computer after that and doesn't hear when Liam responds to her text and doesn't check her phone until she leaves for the day.
From Liam
I'm sorry I'm putting you through this.
Steffy just sighs when she reads the text.
"Well, that's what happens when you make the wrong choice."
~OTTmF~
Hope walks through the door to her home expecting to find Liam standing there with her things packed. What she finds is a letter addressed to her.
"Hi Hope!
This is me, your husband writing this.
I got a text from Steffy that you found out about the kiss we shared in Aspen today and I wanted to explain what my feelings were about that. I still wanted to marry you back then, but I had given my word to Steffy that I was not going to annul our marriage because it actually meant something to me and I couldn't deny her the last thing she requested of me. It was also only three weeks left until the divorce went through and four weeks until our wedding in Puglia.
I know you're probably upset right now, but Steffy and I decided that you didn't need to learn about this because it would only hurt you in ways you didn't deserve at the time. So, we locked it in a box and never talked about it with each other again. I know that Steffy told her mother and grandmother at one point and during that conversation Brooke was listening on the other side of the door and the only reason she hasn't told you is because Steffy got her to not tell you by pleading that you didn't need that betrayal.
I would think that the kiss Steffy and I shared as the clock struck the time when our divorce was final would be a much bigger betrayal, so I'll give you the truth about mine and Steffys relationship. Many of the kisses I shared with Steffy during the engagements that you and I shared, were initiated by me. Some of the times we kissed, all I needed was for her to stand in front of me.
Just so you know, Steffy is the only reason you and I got married in Puglia at all. I was done, there was too much water under our bridge, but she said I had come here for a reason, to marry you, and that's what I should do. So, I did.
Anyway. You apparently had words with Steffy today about some things. Your suitcases are on the bed. If you take anything that isn't yours, I'll know about it, but if you think taking something would give me a reason to talk to you again, you're wrong. If you do take something, that would be stealing and you'll have to talk to the police.
Currently, I'm at my lawyer talking about drawing up annulment papers.
I hope your life turns out the way you want it to, but I won't be a part of it as your husband anymore!
All my love,
Liam Cooper Spencer"
Hope has tears running down her face as she finishes reading his letter. Then she turned it over.
"PS.
I left my phone in the bedroom unlocked for you to read what Steffy wrote when she told me you somehow found out so you'd know that Steffy did not tell me to write this letter, but to just find a way to tell you about the annulment papers and my reasoning for ripping them up.
DS"
Hope rushes to the bedroom and Liams phone, seeing the suitcases as she sits down on the bed.
She reads all the conversations Steffy and Liam has had over the last two weeks, finding only four conversations.
Steffy asking Liam if he was home or at the office the day after she came back from Paris and letting him know she was coming to speak to him about something.
Steffy letting him know when the appointment was two weeks ago.
Him letting her know he was on his way to pick her up on the day of the appointment and then Steffy letting him know that Hope probably knew about their kiss in Aspen and the annulment papers.
"I should have trusted him." She says into thin air and then starts packing the suitcases.
~OTTmF~
Two weeks later, Hope is sitting in the office of her lawyer listening to her explain what the papers in front of her meant. Hope just nods at the times where she should and then picks up a pen and signs the papers in front of her, making her marriage null and void.
Her mother had tried to talk her out of it, but she knew she had messed up and she really didn't trust her mother anymore. It would take some hard work on her mother's part to regain her trust.
The day after reading Liams letter, she had gone to talk to Steffy and apologized for not seeing and realizing the love and bond between Liam and Steffy even existed. Steffy had just smiled and let her know that those thoughts probably came more from her mother, then Hope herself and after Hope thought about it, she realized that Steffy was right.
She had also gone to talk to Liam and she asked him the hardest question to have answered. She asked who he was going to choose and she could see it in his eyes. It had been Steffy all along.
She leaves the office of her lawyer and starts making her way home. Suddenly a wave of emotions crashes over her and she has to sit down. She sits on the bench by the road for at least fifteen minutes. After a while, she feels someone sitting down.
"So, tell me, why is a girl like you sitting on this bench crying on a beautiful day like this one?"
Hope is startled into stopping the crying session and turns her head towards the voice of the person who's talking. What she sees makes her smile. The woman sitting next to her reminds her of Stephanie.
"I just ended my marriage and I've realized some things over the last two weeks about myself and it all crashed over me just now."
"Oh, it'll get better. You'll be alright!" The woman smiles. "You just know that it'll get better with time and as long as you realize that you can't make other people behave the way you want them to all the time. Take care of yourself. Your forever could be right around the corner!" A mysterious smile graces the womans face.
"You think so?"
"I do! You just have to be open to who it is and allow yourself to fall for this person. Head over heels in love, just like your former Stepsister does when she falls for someone. Just let yourself go!" The woman smiles. "Oh, and Hope for the Future isn't a valid name for your line anymore, especially not with the message you're trying to send the fans. Maybe it's time to change it?"
"Maybe!" Hope looks at her with wonder in her eyes.
"You take care now and remember! The only person you can change is yourself! Find your joys outside of a relationship with a man and you'll be fine!" The woman then gets up from the bench and boards a bus that has just arrived.
"Who was that woman?" Hope wonders to herself. "And how did she know who I am?"
Feeling better and less prone to cry her eyes out, Hope leaves the bench and starts walking towards her car. She finds it and places her purse on the passenger sides seat.
She looks around to see if she can leave and when she sees an opening she leaves. She drives home to the apartment she bought two days ago and finds her way there.
She pulls her keys up from her purse and unlocks her door, walks through, places her purse on the floor next to the door and walks into the room she plans to have as her bedroom and lays down on the blow-up mattress she has in there and she falls asleep.
~OTTmF~
While Hope is sleeping, Steffy Forrester and Liam Spencer walks out from the ultra sound technician's office with smiles on their faces.
"So, you want to go tell your father?"
"Sure!"
And they go to the parking lot and take their cars to go to Spencer Publications.
They arrive at their destination almost at the same time and go up to Bills office together. Steffy knocks on the door and hears Bill calling for them to come in.
Steffy walks through the door first. "Hi Steffy! How was your appointment today?"
The he sees Liam. "Oh, hi Liam! How are you doing? Have you heard anything from Hopes lawyer?"
"Appointment was good and I have, the papers are signed and filed."
"How are you feeling about that?"
"I'm okay, I have my baby girl to focus on at the moment."
"Did you just say baby girl? You found out the gender of your baby today?"
"We did!" Steffy smiles. "Baby girl Forrester-Spencer is growing as she should."
"That's good!"
Steffy had decided that she didn't need anything else from Liam then for him to be a good dad to their baby and therefore had said that a relationship between them wasn't in her plans anymore. Liam on the other hand had realized that he needed to be more than just their babys father and had decided to fight for his relationship with Steffy. Steffy wasn't having it though and she rebuffed every attempt he made to get close to her, because of this, he had started to pull away in an attempt to draw Steffy back into his arms again, but all Steffy felt was relief, she had enough on her plate with the baby coming, planning for that and getting the nursery done, at both of the babys parents living quarters.
It was now three months left of the pregnancy and nesting had begun, borderline going overboard.
"Steffy?" Bill looks at her with concern in her eyes. "Where did you go?"
"Oh, there is just all this nesting going on in my head and I found something else to put on my list. Now, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have you leave you now as I need to take a nap and I want my bed!" Steffy picks up her purse and walks out of the office as Bill and Liam say good bye.
When she's gone, Bill looks his sons way. "So, what's going on between the two of you?"
Liam sighs in defeat. "Nothing, absolutely nothing." He places his head in his hands, before groaning in displeasure. "I thought I would have been able to sway her my way by now. She's never been this disinterested in me ever before."
"Well, yeah, can you blame her? Remember what happened the last time you claimed to be completely loyal to her and your relationship?" Bill points his pen towards his son to make a point. "I totally understand why she's pulling back from you the more you push."
"Well, I don't. I don't get it at all, I mean, what more can I do? I annulled my marriage for her and I've spent the last few weeks fighting to get her back." Liam is getting frustrated.
"Yes, you annulled your marriage for her, but did you ever think what that marriage meant for Steffy and her future? It meant that her boyfriend didn't find it important enough to tell her that she was important enough to break up with to marry someone else."
"Yeah, well, she didn't feel it was important enough to tell me that I was going to be a father."
"But, she stood there watching you place a ring on Hopes finger without a thought of her and what she might be going through after telling her over and over again that you hope that she knows you love her. Before coming home that day, what was the last thing you said to Steffy?"
"I love you!"
"Before talking to Hope when you arrived at the cliff house, what was the last thing you said to Hope?"
"Good bye."
"What does that tell you in regards to the feelings you had for either woman and what Steffy felt you would decide and the result of that day?"
"I've been focusing on my feelings instead of hers. She doesn't trust my love for her anymore."
"Ding! Ding! Ding!" Bill knocks his pen against an invisible bell. "When it comes to you and Steffy, who has been thinking about the other persons feelings the most in the relationship up until the wedding?"
"I've taken her for granted."
"She promised to be there for you even if you weren't together, have you done the same?" Bill sees Liam shake his head. "So, what should you do for her now and what should you not do?"
"I should stay and not walk away. I need to be a constant in her life and not walk away like I've done so many times before."
"It's not about fighting for your relationship, it's about showing her that you're not leaving her behind because she's not doing what you want her to do, it's about you being there for her and proving that she can trust you. She's pregnant and it's not just her anymore, to Steffy, she's not important anymore and her baby has her entire attention and for you to demand her attention away from her baby is not showing her that you've grown into the role of a father yet. Maybe you should see a therapist or someone like that to figure out what you need to do to grow up."
Liam nods his head before sighing and then leaving.
~OTTmF~
August 24th 2013
Steffys condo
She was two days from her due date when the contractions started increasing in strength.
"Okay, baby girl, I'll do what you want." Steffy rubs her hand on her lower back as another contraction starts before calling her brother.
She explains what's going on and Thomas says he'll come by after calling Liam to meet them at the hospital.
Twenty minutes later, Steffy has her hospital bag, purse and a bottle of water with her as she leaves the condo. Thomas meets her as she gets out of the elevator and grabs her stuff before leading her to a chair so she can hold on while another contraction runs its course.
Forty minutes after that, she's sitting in a wheelchair getting wheeled in by her brother to the labor and delivery ward at the hospital she's chosen to have the baby at.
Twelve hours after that, Steffy is handed a little bundle with the biggest tufts of hair she's ever seen, causing her to laugh.
"Look, taking after her mother already!" Liam smiles down over Steffys shoulder at the little girl in her arms. "So, what should we call this little one?"
"Aspen Phoebe Forrester."
"Why not Spencer?" Liam is confused.
"Because she is a Forrester jewel. She may be your daughter by blood, but she is a Forrester jewel. No matter what happens, she'll be a Forrester jewel."
"Well, by that logic, she's also a Spencer jewel so she should have my last name as her last name."
Thomas clears his throat. "Why don't you take a look at your daughter and see if you can find any Spencer genes in her."
Liam looks closely at his daughter and all he sees is Steffy. "Yeah, you're right, she's a Forrester jewel."
~OTTmF~
One year later, Steffy is rushing around her apartment getting things ready for her daughters first birthday party.
The first year had started off with a constant flow of crying baby, baby hick ups and dirty diapers.
Three months in, the crying had stopped as had the hick ups, dirty diapers were still happening. Two machines of dirty laundry going every two days, unless there had been an explosion disaster.
Liam came by daily to visit his daughter and they bonded instantly. Aspen was always so happy to hear her father's voice and see him when he came over.
A knock on the door told Steffy that she's about to have some company, looking at the clock she can see that it's still a few hours left until the party starts, but she goes and opens the door. Seeing who's on the other side makes her smile
and invites them in.
"So, what can we do to help?"
"Beverages need to be placed in the fridge, cookies needs to be made, the dough is in the freezer to make cutting easier, cake needs to be picked up in an hour.." She sniffs the air. "..and the buns need to be taken out of the oven and the next round needs to go in, decorations needs to be put up and I need a shower."
"Well, we'll help with everything except your shower!" Hope says with a smile towards Steffy and then she turns towards the man she came with. "Can you start by taking those buns out of the oven, put the next round of buns in and then start on those cookies while Steffy takes a shower and I put the beverages in the fridge before moving on to decorations?"
"Sounds good to me!"
"Good! Thank you for coming to help me!"
"No worries, it's not like we had anything better to do!" The man laughs.
"Well, thank you anyway, Adam, I know it can't be easy spending time with your girlfriend's ex-husband and his ex-wife and their daughter."
"As I said, no worries. Your family has some interesting twists and turns that I would have to spend time with everyone regardless, besides, it helps that I like all of you! Especially your daughter!"
"She's a gem!" Steffy says with a big proud smile on her face.
"Where is she by the way?"
"She spent the night at her fathers, should be here in a few hours. Now, get to work!" Steffy wanders off, picks her pre-party outfit and then goes to take a shower. Ten minutes later she emerges with damp hair to smell newly baked cookies in the air.
When she walks out into the living room after putting the shorts and tank top she's met with a fully decorated space. "Well, you've all worked fast, haven't you?"
"Well, we just pinned things where you'd already laid them out in between taking the cookies out of the oven. Besides, there were two of us, of course we'd be able to get everything done faster than you on your own."
Steffy looks over the entire scene again before looking over at Hope with a smile on her face. "You have a point!"
The three of them laugh a little before getting back to business.
An hour and forty-five minutes later, Steffy walks back into the apartment with a cake box in her hands.
Walking through the living room she notices that Hope and Adam has gone to sit down on the couch and fallen asleep in each other's arms. She also notices that everything is ready for the party, apparently Hope and Adam took out the plates, forks and spoons, glasses, coffee cups and have prepared the coffee maker so all she has to do is place the cake on the cake stand, press the on button on the coffee maker and then take the juices, iced teas and the other beverages out of the fridge.
All of the fruit was prepared yesterday, the sandwiches were made then as well. It would be a really good first birthday party.
There weren't really that many people coming, but at least the ones who did come would be well fed.
~OTTmF~
AN:
I found this to be a good breaking point for this chapter, the next one starts off on the same day!
Let me know what you think!