The first miracle!

Ridge checked in with Taylor and Jack nearly every day. He enjoyed spending time with his son. With all the chaos in his life, Jack was a little shining light for him. He loved his little boy with all his heart and Taylor and he were on a good way. They had decided to ignore all the ugly incidents of the past few months and focus on being good parents. They both felt they owed that to Jack. Thomas and the twins stopped by at their mother's place more frequently now than before. They helped her with small errands and were almost not to stop in their willingness to support her. Jack had become the popular nestling, everyone wanted to pamper and take care of. The three siblings sometimes had some major battles over who was allowed to take Jack for a walk and so on.

One day Ridge brought up a subject that was very important to him, but he suspected it would be rather unpleasant for Taylor. He wanted to introduce Jack to his family. Taylor very well understood Ridge's wanting to let everyone know that Jack was his child. However, she had mixed feelings about this. Her relationship with the family was not free of tension, since her breakup with Ridge there had been several very unpleasant scenes between Taylor and the family and after she married Nick, there had been virtually no contact at all. Therefore her reaction was rather hesitant, when Ridge suggested she should come over with Jack for one afternoon. It took some persuasion on his part until she agreed.

Ridge informed his parents and his siblings Felicia and Thorne that he had something very important to tell and so one afternoon they all gathered at the Forrester mansion. Bridget was also there. Ridge had asked her to join so she could help him to explain the mishap from the hospital. When everyone was finally together in the living room, they wanted to know from Ridge what this family conference was all about. Ridge cleared his throat, unsure how to begin.

"You all know that Taylor delivered her baby some time ago, a little boy. His name is Jack."

"I've heard many things about that. Is it true that Taylor and Nick really broke up?" asked Felicia, curious but also concerned.

"Yes it's true!" confirmed Ridge. "Taylor and Nick are now officially divorced."

"What? What the hell is wrong with him? Now that Taylor has a child with him, he just dumps her?! He must be completely out of his mind!" incensed Thorne. He felt deep sympathy for Taylor.

"That's just typical Nick Marone, the guy is just a complete jerk!" added Stephanie. "Taylor should never have gotten involved with him! This is what she gets now!"

"Mother, please! It's not that simple by any means. The story is a lot more complicated than that!"

He cast a sidelong glance at Bridget, who now spoke up.

"It is indeed much more complicated. You all surely know that Nick and Taylor underwent an invitro-fertilization at our hospital to get pregnant. After Jack was born, it turned out, there must have been a huge mishap in the process. To this day, it's not completely investigated who's fault it was, but there was a mix-up in the lab and Taylor's egg wasn't fertilized with Nick's sperm, which means Nick isn't Jack's father!" Everyone looked stunned at Bridget. Thorne snapped at her fiercely.

"How could something like this happen in a modern hospital? What do your colleagues even think they're doing! Such sloppy work and Taylor is now the one who has to take the fall for it. Does that mean she has some random guy's kid now?!

"Is that the Nick left?" asked Felicia, now interjecting. Bridget nodded.

"Yes! Nick couldn't stand Jack not being his biological son and Taylor and he then decided it would be better if they split up. They had a talk while she was still in the hospital. Nick had openly admitted he couldn't accept Jack as his son and Taylor didn't want a home for Jack where he woul be unwanted. So they decided to go their separate ways." Stephanie shook herself in horror.

"I'm telling you, a complete jackass, dumps Taylor with her baby just because the boy doesn't carry his genes. I actually think it's a blessing for the world. No one needs a Nick-Junior!" Everyone frowned at Stephanie, even if they shared her opinion to some extent, it wasn't that simple.

"How is Taylor holding up?" Thorne was worried about her.

"Well, considering the circumstances, actually quite well. She lives with Jack in our house and Thomas and the girls support her where they can. They've all put together a beautiful nursery and made the entire house baby proofed. The three are all totally infatuated with little Jack. They go into big fights against each other about who gets to watch him."

"Wow, you are pretty well informed about the situation!" commented Felicia surprised, Ridge instantly fell silent. Eric rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Still, I'm sure it's not easy for her, being a single parent and without any father." Bridget and Ridge exchanged meaningful glances.

"Well, it's not quite like that. Because there's more to the story." They all looked at him curiously.

"The thing is, when Brooke tried to talk me into having a child together, she didn't want to leave anything to chance. She didn't want to wait until maybe someday it would happen and that's why we reached out to Bridget and we had sort of an illegal invitro-fertilization done as well."

"Oh my God! What do you guys have?" Eric was shocked. "You can't be serious!" He thought for a moment. "But Brooke didn't get pregnant or did she?"

"No, it turns out, unlike Taylor, Brooke's treatment was unsuccessful. The point though is, the two surgeries are related. They took place at the same time then and..." Ridge paused, then finally dropped the bombshell. "Jack is my son! I am his biological father!" Now no one knew what to say, everyone was struggling to process this information.

"Jack is your son?" inquired Stephanie, "Taylor and you, you have another child together?" Ridge nodded hesitantly, Stephanie's face beamed abruptly. "But that's wonderful! That's great news! Congratulations my son!" She rushed up to Ridge and hugged him effusively. The others were more subdued at first. Felicia wanted to know from her brother how he felt about suddenly being a father again. Ridge couldn't help but grinned.

"To be honest, the first moment Taylor revealed it to me, I was pretty shocked and overwhelmed. But in the meantime, I'm just so happy. I've really taken Jack into my heart. That little guy is my whole joy right now!"

"That means you want to help take care of Jack, right?"

"Of course, I've already acknowledged the paternity. Taylor and I have agreed to share custody. We want to be there for Jack together!" Erich straightened up, hugged him, and patted him appreciatively on the shoulder.

"I think that's very reasonable! It's certainly the best thing for Jack. After all, the little boy shouldn't suffer from all these crazy circumstances." Stephanie, however, was not entirely satisfied with the answer.

"Don't you think Jack deserves a real family. I think you and Taylor should give each other another try. After all, it worked out with Thomas back then. A baby is a major bond and you were so close once!" Everyone rolled their eyes, they had almost expected this reaction. Ridge looked at his mother urgently.

"Back then with Thomas it was a complete different situation and after everything that happened between Taylor and me lately, it's actually quite a miracle that we are able to communicate again in a normal decent way. I think right now this is the best solution and even though Taylor and I may not live together. Jack has a family that loves him." Eric couldn't agree more.

"You're absolutely right Ridge, you'll work it out together somehow and a healthy co-parenting situation is still better than trying by all means and living in an unfortunate relationship." Felicia had different thoughts.

"When are we going to meet Jack? I want to know what my youngest nephew looks like?"

"Actually any minute. I've arranged with Taylor to bring Jack over today. She will contact me when they are ready to go!" Everyone was looking forward to see the little one. While they waited for Taylor and Jack to arrive, Bridget explained in detail how she found out that Ridge was the father. Finally, Ridge's phone rang. Taylor had sent him a message that she was on her way now with Jack. A short time later, they heard the car pull up.

Ridge went outside. Taylor was climbing out of the car.

"Sorry I'm late, but Jack napped longer than I expected and you know he needs his time to get up and then when we were finally ready to leave, he spit up on all his clothes."

"No problem, of course everyone is quite excited to finally meet Jack."

"How did they take it?" wanted Taylor to know.

"First they were pretty speechless, but then they actually took it quite well." Ridge took Jack out of his car seat and picked him up in his arms.

"Hey little munchkin, are you okay? Ready for your big entrance? I've got to warn you, it's about to be one hell of a spectacle!" He strode with him toward the house. Taylor grabbed the diaper bag and another bag with Jack's blanket and some toys inside. At the door, Ridge noticed Taylor hesitate for a moment. He smiled encouragingly at her. She gave herself a start and followed Ridge, who was already marching into the living room with Jack. Immediately, everyone surrounded him to look at the new family member.

"My God! He is soo cute!"

"Yeah and he looks just like Thomas back then." Jack seemed to enjoy the attention. He got big eyes when everyone stepped closer and when someone tickled him, he squealed in delight. Felicia was the first to step up to Taylor and gave her a big hug. "Congratulations! You must be so happy and terribly proud."

"Yes I am!" Taylor's happiness was obvious to see. One by one, they all now approached Taylor and congratulated her. Eric hugged her warmly and thanked her for another grandson. Then everyone calmed down and took their seats again. Taylor spread out the blanket and Ridge gently laid Jack on it.

Aly, who had been busy with a coloring book, now came forward. Thorne took her by the hand.

"Do you want to say hello to your new cousin Jack?" Aly crawled over to Jack.

"Ooooh, he is so tiny!" She played with the small fingers. Ridge reached into the bag and took out the rubber duck he had given him.

"Here, you can play with him, he likes that. He demonstrated it to her. Softly, he ran the duck over Jack's cheeks and made the duck squeak. Jack made gurgling sounds and kicked with his legs. Aly took the duck in her hand and nudged Jack's nose as she did so she was quaking. Jack giggled and started waving his arms. Everyone laughed, the tension in the room had eased. For a while they all chatted casually and relaxed. Eric wanted to know from Taylor if she already got used to the routine of being a mother again. Taylor remarked more as a joke, right now she was working on her personal record with how little sleep she could survive. Stephanie couldn't control herself and started again with her favorite topic. She firmly was convinced Ridge and Taylor should remarry and raise Jack together as a family. She didn't stop pushing them, Taylor and Ridge exchanged uneasy glances. Everyone else in the room was visibly uncomfortable as well. Eric tried hard to slow her down, but it was useless. She kept talking to Taylor and Ridge, saying it would also be the best for Thomas and the girls too, having their parents back together. Taylor eventually had enough, she started packing up Jack's stuff.

"I think it's time for us to go. Jack is about to get hungry, plus he's getting a little grumpy right now." Everyone realized this was just an excuse because she wanted to escape from the situation. No one made an attempt to stop her. Only Aly, who had her fun with Jack, was not thrilled that he was leaving already. She was crazy about him. He was like a big living doll for her. So she looked rather disappointed when Ridge picked Jack up again and Taylor packed up the blanket and the toys.

"Can I play with Jack again soon?" asked Aly Taylor kindly. Everyone stared at the girl in amazement. They could hardly believe that Aly was suddenly talking to Taylor so carefree. They took it as a good sign. Thorne took his daughter in his arms.

"We can go and visit Jack sometime, if you want?" Aly nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh yeah, that would be great! May we Taylor?" the girl now turned back to her. First Taylor was a bit caught off but quickly collected herself.

"Of course! Anytime, I'd love to. I'm sure Jack will be happy to see you." Ridge knelt down with Jack in front of Aly.

"Do you want to say goodbye to him?" She bent down to the little guy and gave him a tender kiss on the nose.

"Bye Jack, see you soon!" Ridge rose again and waved Jack's hand around the room. Everyone waved back. Taylor and Ridge left the house together.

Ridge put Jack back in his car seat while Taylor stowed the bags in the trunk. Ridge stepped up to her.

"I'm sorry about Mother, but you know her. She just can't let it go."

"It's okay, it's not your fault." They arranged to meet the next day. They were going to take a walk in the park together with Jack. At the house, everyone was still preoccupied with Aly and her sudden transformation. Since Jack was no longer there, she had withdrawn and was devoting herself back to her coloring book. Eric shook his head in wonder.

"It's unbelievable! Jack was only here for a very short time and he's already performed such a miracle."

"Yes, and I'm sure that won't be the last miracle that little guy will perform in this family!" added Stephanie dreamily.