Chapter 14 – Welcome Home.

"Welcome home, baby!" Phil opened the door to the apartment, and Steffi gasped in awe. It had been decked out in baby things, cots and play sets, all ready for when Steffi and Grace came home. Steffi flung her free arm around Phil, kissing him happily. Grace gurgled in her other arm, and Steffi pulled away from Phil to smile at her.

"Phil, how do I deserve you?" She gave him another kiss, and allowed him to pull her close into him.

"I ask myself the same about you, gorgeous." Phil had been happy ever since Steffi had given him that kiss two days ago in the hospital, and in a burst of good will had enlisted Marcus and Katy to help him decorate the apartment for her return with baby Grace. They shared another tender kiss, and were suddenly interrupted as Marcus and Katy burst out of the bathroom, yelling at the tops of their voices,

"WELCOME HOME!!" Grace was undisturbed by the noise, and Katy rushed over to look at her.

"Oh, Cam, she's gorgeous!" She stroked her cheeks and played with the small tuft of blonde hair that stuck out from the bundles of blankets, visual proof that she would one day be her mother's daughter. Marcus went over to Phil and shook his hand, congratulating him. When Katy eventually moved away, he went over to talk to Steffi.

"This is Grace, I take it?" He smiled at her, and kissed the child's little head.

"Yeah, unless I brought the wrong baby home!"

"She's beautiful, I really mean that."

"Wow, are you being flippant or serious?"

"Deadly serious. She's as beautiful as her mom." Steffi looked at him and tried to find out why he was suddenly being so nice. "Look, I need to talk to you about something. It's kind of important."

"Uh, okay. What's it about honey?" Marcus smiled when he heard her call him 'honey'.

"It's about… it can wait."

"You're not moving are you? Because Katy's going to live with Nick and I couldn't bear it if you left me."

"Erm… course not Cam. You and Phil look happy."

"Between you and me, I think relations are going to improve between the two of us."

"Oh yeah? Why's that then?"

"Because I'm really starting to love him. I couldn't see it before, but now I do… he's the one I'm supposed to be with. He gave me Grace, what more proof do I need?" She stroked her now sleeping daughter's cheek and looked over to Phil lovingly. He caught her looking at him and smiled at her, looking more at ease than he had in the last nine months. Marcus sighed inwardly.

"Look, Carmella… can we go in your room for a moment?" She nodded, and gave Grace to Phil.

Once they were in the room, Steffi laid out on her bed.

"I love this bed! It's so comfy and nice… anyways, say what you wanted to."

"You know how unhappy I was at your reception?"

"Of course I do, I was worried about you. What was the matter with you?"

"It's silly, really. But it means something to me."

"Honey," Steffi sat up, concerned. "This sounds serious… tell me, please."

"I've uh… wow this is embarrassing… I've got a crush on you," he said hurriedly. "More than a crush; I've pretty much fallen for you. I can't take my eyes off of you; you're all I can think of. Even when I'm with Mandy, and you know how great she is… it's always going to be you. When you weren't happy with Phil, I was always there for you, hoping that you could maybe see me as more than just a shoulder to cry on, maybe there could be something between us… maybe I could be the new Cole in your life." He took a long breath, as if he had been under water for hours. Steffi looked at him for a moment or two, as if to ascertain whether he was being truthful or not.

"Oh God, Marcus… that's so sweet. But I don't need another Cole, and I know how helpful you were when I was fighting with Phil. But you must've known that there was never going to be a 'me and you'…" Marcus nodded and blushed.

"Sorry about that Cam. It's just me, that's all. I should probably move out for a bit… I'll go live with Mandy, it's no problem."

"You don't have to do that honey, I'm sure we'll be fine." There was a silence until Marcus finally said,

"There was a message for you from Cole." Steffi's heart skipped a beat.

"Really? What did he say?"

"That uh… he's in town from tomorrow and he'd love to see you and the new baby. I said you'd be here, and I knew that Phil would be working so… he's coming over sometime."

"Thanks for telling me sweetie…" Steffi stood up and gave Marcus a kiss on the cheek. "You're the best."

A/N and Disclaimer: Do we really have to do this again?

So Marcus loves Steffi… well, who doesn't.