Suddenly and unexpectedly!

In the next weeks Jack recovered from the trauma of the kidnapping and he regained his balance and calmness. At home, he was now relaxed again and he felt safe. He had no longer screaming fits as soon Ridge or Taylor left the room for a moment. Only when they went somewhere with him, he still reacted fearfully and sought their proximity increasingly. Slowly he began to trust the rest of the family again, one of the first people he let get close to him, besides his parents, was Aly. Probably because he knew exactly there was no reason to be afraid around her. Aly hadn't known anything about Jack's disappearance, Thorne had been able to keep up the lie that Jack had been sick and Aly hadn't been able to visit him because of it. Though Aly had realized that something was wrong with the family, she just thought it was their worries about Jack's illness. Thorne wasn't happy about the fact that he was forced to lie to his daughter, but everyone had agreed with him, the truth would probably have been much worse. Now Aly came to visit and play with Jack regularly again.

Jack also had an intimate relationship with his siblings again, just like before. They stopped by almost every day to check on him and their parents and they romped around with Jack as exuberantly as before. They were also able to take him for walks again, but the rides were not allowed to be too long or Jack would get cranky and scream until they got back home.

The relationship between Taylor and Eric was still strained. However, Eric had sincerely apologized to his son and also to Taylor. The whole family had given him a piece of their mind and claimed he had clearly gone too far with his demands. Stephanie had urged him to make up his mind and take a stand. Eric still cared about Brooke, as Bridget and her sisters, but within the Forrester family Brooke was no longer a topic of discussion. Thomas and the girls sometimes jokingly referred to her as 'the woman whose name must not be mentioned'. Eric was forced to accept these circumstances. He realized there was nothing he could do about it at the moment and he understood that the rest of the family kept their distance from Brooke and didn't want to know anything about her. Bridget was relieved that the family continued to stand by her and didn't shut her out or demand to choose between them and her mother. Despite her contact with Brooke, she was a welcome guest at Taylor and Ridge's place. Both were very grateful for her support during the abduction. They knew Bridget was in a tough situation and didn't want to make it any more difficult for her.

Even though Jack was doing great again and was back to being the happy, bright tomboy, Ridge and Taylor were still living under the same roof. Everyone wondered more and more about this, because apparently neither of them made any effort to change this state. Felicia broached the thorny subject when she met Taylor.

She had Jack on her lap, tickling and goofing around with him. Jack squealed with delight as she did so.

"He seems to be doing really well. No signs about the tragedy he has been through."

"Yeah, he's made a lot of progress lately. He's doing much better. Ridge and I are very glad and relieved, he has recovered so well."

"I'll bet! And how are you holding up?"

"I'm doing fine. Sure, it's not easy, honestly it's all taken a toll on me. But I'm just trying to look forward now."

"That's certainly the best you can do…and what's it like between you and Ridge?"

"What's there supposed to be?"

"Well, he still lives here?!"

"Yeah so what? You know the reason. For Jack it's really great to have both his parents so close with him."

"Sure, but Jack also saw Ridge quite often and was close to him when he wasn't living here. I mean, for the first time after Jack's return I understood why you made this arrangement and it was certainly necessary that you both took care of him very extensively. But in the meantime a lot of time has passed and Ridge doesn't seem to think about moving out and you seem to like it to have him around you." Felicia noticed how Taylor blushed slightly and reacted very insecure to this topic.

"Well...so...okay I admit it! It's quite nice to have him here with us. We get along pretty well and it's nice to be able to talk to an adult and I love spending time with him and Jack. After all the stress and excitement, this harmony does me good!"

"And that's all? After all, Ridge used to be the love of your life and if you're spending so much time together now, there's a good chance old feelings are coming up, right?"

"You sound exactly like your mother! Ridge is a good friend and the father of my children, nothing more!" Taylor spoke the last words very firmly, putting the issue to a rest. Felicia was defeated for now, but she didn't quite buy Taylor's explanations.

Ridge started going to the office regularly again. Eric also approached his son once at work about why he was still living with Taylor and Jack when it was supposed to be a temporary solution. Ridge explained to him it was the best for Jack to have both parents with him and he didn't want to take this security away from him at the moment. When asked, he finally confessed he also found it quite pleasant to have some kind of a family again. He enjoyed, for example, that someone was there when he came home at night, that he didn't have to eat alone and little things like that.

Jack blossomed more every day. He was back to being the curious, adventurous boy he was before the kidnapping. His adventurousness increased as he learned to crawl. At first he looked more like a seal on land, but Jack had a skill that all Forrester men carried inside them as Ridge proudly explained; he was not a quitter. He practiced all day long and eventually he got the clue and since then he crawled at Ferrari speed. He found it wonderful, he no longer had to wait for his parents to come, but now he could chase after them. This was just as much fun as having his parents chase after him. Crawling opened up a whole new world for him, the entire mansion was at his disposal and he loved going on exploration tours. Taylor spent most of her days now looking for Jack and catching him or freeing him when he had crawled under a table or chair and got stuck there. Nothing was safe from Jack anymore.

Once, when Taylor came into the living room, she got a huge shock. Jack had discovered the laundry basket and knocked it over. Now he was scrambling around through a pile of baby clothes and was messing everything up again. Her scream was so loud, Ridge came rushing out of his study, thinking something bad had happened. He didn't see the situation as dramatic as her, but burst out laughing.

But Jack didn't limit his adventures to his home. Since Ridge started going to the office again, he took Jack with him sometimes as he used to do. Ridge was working on new designs and Jack was playing contentedly on his blanket. Pam came in. She wanted to discuss the next week's schedule with Ridge. Ridge mentioned it to her.

"Next Friday, I need you to block all appointments. Taylor and I want to go to the zoo with Jack, Thomas and the girls. That's the only day everyone is available. Right, Jack, we want to go see the big animals!" Ridge turned to his son, but Jack was no longer sitting on his blanket. Frantically, Pam and Ridge searched the office until they realized Pam had forgotten to close the door behind her. Jack had slipped out of the office unnoticed and was now crawling down the large hallway. He headed for the next door.

Eric was sitting at his desk, discussing the guest list for their next charity event with Stephanie. Then Stephanie suddenly listened.

"Do you hear that? There's a scratching and pawing at the door and that squeaking, it almost sounds like there's a cat outside the door."

"Since when are cats allowed to enter the building?" Stephanie went to the door to see where that noise was coming from. When she opened the door, she looked into the wide, innocent eyes of her grandson, who confidently scurried past her into the office.

"Well, it looks like we got some company! Jack, what are you doing here? Did you want to come visit your grandparents?" Eric walked up to the little one and took him in his arms. At the same moment, Stephanie spotted her son and sister frantically searching everywhere for Jack.

"Hey, did you guys lose something?" she called out to them. "Because we found something here: small, cuddly, cute and not an employee of Forrester Creation!" Ridge stormed into his father's office.

"Jack! There you are, you bolter! What the hell are you doing? Run away just to say 'Hi' to your grandpa?!" Stephanie gave a fake sigh.

"Oh, they grow up so fast! Today Jack storms off to see his grandparents. Someday he'll sneak out of the house to meet his first girlfriend." Everyone started laughing. Jack didn't really understand what the adults were so amused about, but he joined in the laughter.

During the last weeks there was only one issue that worried Taylor and Ridge. Since his return, Jack had been suffering from severe nightmares and never really slept through the night. Every night he woke up several times screaming and afterwards it was difficult to calm him down. The whole problem took on such proportions that Jack no longer wanted to sleep in his own room. At first they tried to get Jack to sleep alone, but eventually they gave in for the sake of their sleep. So Jack either spent the night in his mother's bed or slept with his father in the guest room. This was the only way he managed to fall asleep at all, and over time the nightmares became less. After Jack had had no more nightmares for a few days, Taylor and Ridge tried again to get Jack used to sleeping in his room again. The first few nights Jack kept waking up, but now he had spent the third night in a row in his own bed without much disturbance. This was a big success and Ridge felt it was cause for celebration. That same day, he put his plan into action.

Later at night, Taylor came home with Jack from their swimming lessons. She had recently started attending a swimming class with him for mothers and their babies. She herself was a very good swimmer and it was important to her that Jack got familiar with the water right from the beginning. Jack enjoyed splashing around in the pool and Taylor loved this class as well. She enjoyed the time with the other moms and it was a good opportunity for Jack to make his first friends. Taylor grinned as Jack kept smiling at a girl swimming next to him. The boy had definitely inherited his father's genes. After the swim Jack was always so tired he usually fell asleep on the drive home and then didn't wake up so fast. Also this night Jack was sound asleep when Taylor arrived at home with him, so she put him to bed right away. Then she went in search of Ridge.

When she got to the dining room, she stopped in surprise. The table was lovingly set with flowers and candles. Taylor was puzzled as to what all this fuss was about.

"Hey there you are!" greeted Ridge her, "I ordered us a menu from our favorite Italian restaurant." Taylor beamed, she was very happy, she didn't have to cook tonight, then normally she was responsible for their dinner.

"That's really a great idea. But why do you come up with it? Is there any reason to celebrate?"

"Well, Jack is sleeping in his own bed again and has finally overcome the trauma of his abduction. He's happy and cheeky as before and we're all safe and sound. Those are plenty of reasons to celebrate!"

"You're right!" She agreed with him. He handed her a glass of champagne.

"Don't worry, it's non-alcoholic!" and the two toasted each other. Then they savored the delicacies Ridge had ordered.

"Mhmmm Pasta with Seafood!" How did you know I had an insane appetite for this all day long?"

"I just know you and your cravings!"

"Indeed, almost a bit frightening." They smiled mischievously at each other.

"By the way, guess what's for dessert?"

"What?" she asked, curious and expectant. "Panna cotta?"

"Exactly!" Taylor's eyes widened.

"Now you're really creeping me out!" Ridge watched in amusement as Taylor celebrated her dessert. She noticed his stares.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just nice to see you so relaxed and happy!" He reached for her hand. "I know the last few months haven't been easy, but things can only get better now."

"Yeah, for sure! After all, we're all together." She cleared her throat. "I may have never said it to you like this before Ridge, but I'm very grateful for your support. I never would have made it through the time when Jack was gone and the time after that without you. I'm glad you're here!"

"I feel the same way! Without your support I would have gone crazy and I appreciate it that you never blamed me or made me responsible for everything that happened. I'm very grateful to you for letting me play such an active role in Jack's life. I know that's not a matter of course after everything that's happened between us."

"Ridge, you're a good father, I never doubted that and Jack needs you as much as he needs me. And as parents, we make a pretty good team!"

"You got that right!" They toasted with each other again.

After dinner, she thanked him with a hug.

"Thanks for this wonderful meal, that was really an excellent idea! You could come up with such ideas more often!"

"Who knows, maybe I will!" he winked at her.

It was still early, so they sat down together in front of the TV. Ridge zapped through the programs and found a channel that showed 'Casablanca'. They both adored this old movie and made themselves comfortable. During the movie, Taylor unconsciously snuggled against Ridge's chest while he had his arm around her. When the movie ended, they both stretched.

"I love those old classics, they're still the best!"

"True, back then the movies had a real atmosphere!" They looked deeply into each other's eyes and for a brief moment there was a strange tension in the room. Taylor felt herself blushing. She rose abruptly.

"I think I'm going to check on our master swimmer again." Ridge joined her. Together they crept into the nursery; as expected, Jack was fast asleep in his bed. They gazed pensively at their sleeping son. They both found it difficult to take their eyes off him. But finally they left the nursery. Taylor now wanted to go to bed as well. She gave Ridge a quick hug.

"Good night! That was really a beautiful evening!" She was about to head to her bedroom, but Ridge held her back.

"Hey, not so fast!" he said with a grin. "Isn't it conventional for the gentleman to escort the lady to the door after the rendezvous?" Chuckling, Taylor went along with his game and let him lead her to her bedroom.

"So here we are! Thanks for the escort or maybe you'd like to come in and make sure there aren't any monsters hiding?" Ridge stepped into the room with her.

"I doubt there would be monsters hiding here with you. They'd be way too scared of you!"

"What's that supposed to mean? I'm all peaceful and harmless!"

"Well, you can be..."

"Don't say anything wrong! Otherwise you'll have to be afraid of me!" Jokingly they wrestled and fought with each other.

They looked deep into each other's eyes and then it happened. Afterwards no one could say how it had come and who had started it. With passion they fell into each other's arms and began to kiss deeply and eagerly. Their lips were fused together and their bodies were pressed close together in an intimate embrace. Neither of them thought about what they were doing. They were guided completely by their feelings. They sank onto the bed, their hands running longingly along each other's bodies. Slowly they began to undress each other. They had reached the point of no return. They gave themselves completely into their feelings and made love, passionately but also tenderly. They were so familiar with each other, each knew exactly what the other pleased. Finally they came to lie next to each other, struggling with catching their breath. Neither of them spoke a word. They were still too intoxicated by what had just happened between them. Taylor cuddled up to him. She caressed him softly. He held her in his arms, playing with her hair. In this intimate embrace they finally fell asleep.

What do you think? Where will the go from here?