Chapter 8

Steffy's POV

It became increasingly hard to resist Liam in the following weeks. It seemed he had taken everything I was saying in our therapy sessions to heart. I told him that I didn't trust him anymore, that words and promises weren't enough, and so he decided he would prove his love for me through his actions.

He picked me up at the Cliff House every day before work while my car was in the shop, and then when it wasn't anymore, I didn't know how to tell him that I didn't need rides anymore, so I parked my car in the garage and let him continue to drive me to work. Somehow, that turned into breakfast runs as well.

He jumped to my defense whenever he deemed necessary at work, whether it was with Hope, Brooke, or even just silly budget arguments with Thorne and Rick. I could do without all the knight in shining armour stuff to be completely honest. I could take care of myself, but he made it clear to everybody that he was willing to fight for me; especially Cameron, which I personally found hilarious, but hey, if he wanted to get all jealous and worried over Cameron's little flirts, then so be it.

It had also become a regular occurrence for us to have dinner after every meeting with Dr. Marsh, which meant that most days, I was spending almost my entire day with Liam, and it was getting harder and harder for me to resist him and he was getting more and more frustrated with my objections.

This all came to a head, at our most recent therapy session.

"I just feel like it doesn't matter what I do, how much I try to prove to her I'm all in, she keeps holding me at arm's length." Liam said, making an effort not to look in my direction as he said it. He instead locked his eyes at Dr. Marsh, who pinned with her gaze daring me to say something.

But I couldn't really say anything. What Liam had said was the truth. He was doing everything he had promised; he was loyal, honest, and persistent. He hadn't given up fighting for me, even with all my rejections. He had kept all these promises.

And I had no real reason for keeping him in the friend zone, except my own fear.

"I am grateful for everything he does for me." I shifted, trying to get comfortable, which was seemingly impossible. My stomach was pressing up into my chest, and no amount of shifting helped.

Liam glanced over at me for the first time tonight. It had been a rather difficult session.

"I'm fine." I said, before he could ask. Clearing my throat, I focused on Dr. Marsh. "I like where we are now. There's not as much tension, we laugh, we have fun. It's nice, comfortable."

"Safe?" She asked.

"I didn't say that." I objected.

"Are you denying it?" She asked.

My cheeks and ears felt hot, and my head swam with the embarrassment that I could be read so easily.

"So, what if it's safe? When has safe ever been a bad thing?" I asked.

"There's nothing wrong with safety, except when you use it as a barrier to prevent you from going after the things you want." She said.

"And you think that's what I'm doing."

She pinned me under her hawk like gaze and remained silent.

"I think you trust me to be there for you and for our daughter. I think you've seen how sure I am of us, and I think there's a large part of you that is willing and ready to be in this with me, but that other 10% is loud and stubborn as hell. You won't let yourself trust me with your heart." Liam muttered.

I glared at him, hating how well he knew me, and how often I fell silent in these sessions, because I couldn't argue with the truth.

He faced me, his stare unflinching and determined.

"I thought we came here to let go of the past." He said.

"I have." I argued. "That doesn't mean I haven't learned from it."

"And what is it that you have learned, Steffy?" Dr. Marsh intervened.

"I learned that a passion and a love like ours, few people are lucky enough to have experienced it. And even fewer have experienced the pain of losing it. I'm not holding grudges or trying to throw our mistakes back in our faces. We both know everything that we have ever done to each other, and we have acknowledged it. But if I've learned anything from it, is that I jump into things with my whole heart, and most times I do it too quickly and without any thought of the consequences. I've been trying to keep my impulsive side in check. I've learned to give things more thought than I used to, and that may be frustrating to Liam, because it's not something I ever did. Especially when it came to him, but if I do this, if we do this again, I want it to not hurt this time. I want it to work out. So, no, I won't jump into a relationship like ours without thinking hard about it. And I know it may be annoying and tedious, sometimes for me too, but looking before you leap can save you a lot of broken bones."

"I've learned things too, Steffy. I've learned patience. I've learned strength, a lot of that from you. I'm not going to give up on us, no matter how annoying or tedious it gets, but I want our family. I want us reunited before our daughter comes. You're already 8 months along. She could come any day now and I'm not trying to give you any timelines or ultimatums, but I need to know, are you with me? Are you ever going to let me all the way in or can I expect to be here in 5 years, still fighting for you to give this a chance?"

I broke his gaze staring down at my stomach.

"Okay." Dr. Marsh said. "You've been very honest with each other tonight. So, I think we should call this meeting to a close before this turns into a battle of wills. As always, three things you love about each other. Liam, why don't you start us off tonight?"

"I love that you're so stubborn. You always fight for what you believe in and I have to trust that you're being stubborn this time because you believe it's the right thing to do. I honestly really hope it's a trait that our daughter takes from you." He said.

"I love your honesty. You've always told me the truth, even when it's something I don't necessarily want to hear."

"I love your independence. It doesn't always suit me, and sometimes it can be terrifying that you don't need me, but it's something I've always been proud of." He added.

"I love that you still miss me. I know I've been stubborn and a little or a lot resistant this last month, but I love that you keep fighting, that you haven't given up. I love knowing that you won't." I said.

"I love how protective you are. I know you'll do anything to protect me, and bean, and yourself; from anything, even if that something is us. I know that everything you say and do comes from a place of love; even how hard you rebel against me. It makes it easier, knowing that the reason I fight for you and the reason you resist me are both because we still love each other and want what's best for each other even though we don't agree on what that is."

"I love how understanding you are. There's never been any doubt that you know me better than almost anybody, but I love that you always take a minute to consider my perspective and others. It makes you one of the greatest men I know."

"Good." Dr. Marsh said. "I'll leave you here to decompress. But first, a bit of advice. I think in all the battles and fights with other lovers, and other people, you two have forgotten how young you are. And I know you are about to become parents and that means becoming more responsible, but don't forget to have some fun. What I've seen from you is that your relationship has a lot of passionate and heavy moments. I want you to try something light and fun, within reason of course." She stared at me pointedly. "I want you to try to get back to the couple who ran into waves and played volleyball on the beach just because they could. Having a deep passionate, enduring love like yours doesn't have to mean a relationship full of angst."

We didn't stay to decompress. It had become tradition to decompress over dinner, but after he dropped me off at the Cliff House, for the first time in four weeks, I wasn't sure if he'd come in.

So, I asked.

"Are you in or are you out?"

He dropped a quick kiss to my lips, brushing past me before I could get my head to stop spinning.

"I'm always in. Even when we're annoyed at each other, I'll be here." He called from the kitchen. "So, what are we feeling for dinner?"

The next day when Liam showed up to pick me up for work, he wasn't wearing his suit. He was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt. He took one look at my maternity dress and blazer and shook his head.

"You're going to have to change. This isn't the right look for today." He smiled, walking into the room.

"I was just going to say the same thing to you. What's going on, Liam?"

"A surprise." He called from my closet, pulling out a comfortable, but way to casual sundress. "Here put this on."

"First of all, I make my own fashion choices." I argued, even though I'd give anything to be in something more comfortable. "Second, I don't feel up for surprises right now. And third, I am the CEO of a multi-million-dollar fashion house Liam. I can't just abandon work for the day."

He smiled and waited for me to finish before gently tugging me into the closet and raising his hand.

"One, I know what the surprise is so I'm the only one who can pick the appropriate clothes, and no I won't give you any hints. Two, this is a good surprise. It'll be fun and safe, don't worry, you'll love it. And three, you're co-CEO of a multi-million-dollar fashion house, which Ridge has already agreed to take over for you today."

I glared at him, before muttering "Fine."

"Good. I'll be waiting."

I changed quickly, excitement motivating my every motion. Last night had been a little tense, even our name guessing game got cut a little short as Liam left early. I hadn't known what to expect this morning, but this was better than anything I could have hoped for.

Grabbing my bag, I met him at the door.

"So, absolutely no hints?" I asked.

"None." He said getting the car door for me. "I am locked up tighter than a safe."

"Safe's can be broken into with a little effort."

"Not this one." He muttered as we pulled off in an unfamiliar road.

"Not even for one free massage."

"Nope." He said.

"I'll let you ride my motorcycle."

"I don't want to ride your motorcycle."

"C'mon Liam, what's it going to take?" I whined.

"It's a surprise Steffy. I'm not going to break." He smirked.

"Fine then, I'm not talking to you."

I glared when he laughed at me.

"Okay, would you like the radio on? It's a 20-minute ride give or take, so it's going to be a silent ride."

"Aha, so you admit it's not nearby, and my surprise is a place."

"I haven't given anything up Steffy. Most surprises tend to happen in a place."

"Ugh, shut up."

I couldn't give him the silent treatment though. It was too hard. When we pulled into a parking lot near the beach, and we started walking I recognized the place.

"Liam?"

"I thought what Dr. Marsh said last night was pretty smart. We have forgotten how to have fun, and I think this is the best place to try to remember. I know it's not the exact same. We're not on your motorcycle, and we can't really play volleyball, or run on the beach, but I figure we could still play some games."

It was the pier, where not so long ago I had taken Liam to try to show him all the fun he'd miss out on if he married Hope, but not long after Hope was forgotten as we took photos with plastic sharks, and hijacked random people's volleyball matches.

"This is amazing, Liam."

"Yeah?"

"Best surprise ever. Let's go." I pulled him.

And it was the best surprise ever. Liam won me a giant white tiger, and I had to return the favour, so I won him an even bigger yellow bunny, and so the competition began until multiple trips needed to be made back to the car to store are prizes. We argued, and trash talked each other, both knowing that all the winnings were probably going to end up in bean's room.

We spent almost the whole day. Liam indulged me in all my cravings to eat greasy deep-fried carnival food, and by the end of the night we were both exhausted and laughing as we got on the Ferris wheel.

I leaned my head on his shoulder. "Thank you for today. I think it was just what we needed. Maybe one day, we'll bring bean here."

He pressed a kiss to my temple.

I don't remember the car ride home. I woke up as Liam laid me on my bed at the Cliff house. I was tuckered out, but I still climbed out of bed to stop him before he left.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

I walked up to him, took his face in my hands, enjoying the free of the rough stubble on my skin and pressed my lips to his. He was shocked for a millisecond before his hands wrapped around my waist, pulling me in closer, our lips tangled in a desperate embrace.

I pulled free first.

He looked scared at what I might say, but he didn't need to be.

"Stay."

A/N: Sorry, it's a little late. Life got in the way, but here it is. Enjoy! Read and Review and let me know your thoughts on Friday's episode. I'm happy for Steffy, but I still feel like Liam didn't choose. Like he went back to Steffy because Hope called off the engagement. Obviously, I understand that he had already chosen her before all of Bill's interference, but I wanted to hear him say it to Hope, and he never did. I feel like the writers just gave Hope another way to feel like she's a bigger and better person than Steffy, and I feel like Hope and Brooke are going to use every opportunity to tell Steffy that Hope was the one who called off the engagement and act like Liam is only with her because of that.