Getting closer!

When Taylor opened her eyes the next morning, her mood was quite different from the day before. She awoke with a warm, pleasant feeling in her guts. Ridge had spent the night with her again. For hours they had lain in each other's arms, they had talked about everything that came to their mind. They showered each other with affection and sweet kisses, but there had been no further intimacy between them. Nevertheless, this night had brought them much closer. Fondly, she leaned over to Ridge, who still had his eyes closed. Soft and gentle, so as not to wake him up, she caressed his face. She didn't want to disturb him, but she had an irresistible urge to touch him. She grumbled as she heard Jack's babbling from the baby monitor. This time she reluctantly climbed out of bed and made her way to the nursery.

"Good morning Jack, why are you up so early? Don't you want to sleep a little more?" But Jack sat in his crib and reached his arms out to her. He was ready to start the day. Taylor hurried to get Jack ready. "You know what we will do now? You can help me wake up your daddy, but gently!" With Jack she slipped back into the bedroom and set him down on the bed. The latter crawled over to his father and patted his little hands on his face. Ridge frowned and grumbled. He had been awake for a long time. With his eyes closed, he had savored Taylor's tender touches. It was very frustrating for him when she had to leave the room. The hands that were now slapping on his face had none of the tenderness from before. He opened his eyes.

"Hey you little bandit! What are you doing here?" He lifted Jack up. Taylor sat down next to him.

"Good morning Sweetheart!"

"Good morning Doc!" They shared a gentle deep kiss. Then Ridge glared at Taylor in a huff.

"Say, what did I do to you to make you sic Jack on me?"

"Why? I specifically told him to wake you up gently!"

"Well, we need to practice that." He tickled his son, who squealed in delight. Taylor snuggled into Ridge's side. For her, this was a magical moment! It was so nice that they were all together; a real family! Ridge noticed her emotional expression and the little tears in her eyes. He guessed what was going on inside her. He took her in his arms and pulled her even closer.

"I feel the same way. I love you Doc!"

"I love you too Ridge!" The two sank into an intimate heartfelt kiss. However, they were rudely interrupted by Jack. He was not pleased at all that his parents no longer paid any attention to him. After all, he was the most important person here. He pushed himself between them and smacked them on their faces. Ridge broke away from Taylor, took Jack on his lap, and made an effort to look at him sternly.

"Hey my little boy, listen to me! We're best buddies but you better don't get used to this habit!" Jack just shook his head and stuck his tongue out at his father. Taylor could hardly contain herself from laughing.

The mood at breakfast was also nothing like yesterday's. When Ridge came into the kitchen, Taylor was already waiting for him.

"Hey, there you are! Sit down, I made you your favorite omelet, your coffee the way you like it and here's the paper with the Society section." Ridge smiled at her fondly.

"Mhh, I could get used to your spoiling!"

"If you behave well, maybe it will happen again!"

Later, Taylor played with Jack in the living room and Ridge joined them. Taylor looked at her watch.

"Isn't it time for you to go? You're already pretty late." Ridge sighed, he didn't feel like going to work today.

"I think I'd rather stay at home with you guys! I don't wanna waste this beautiful day with work!" Taylor beamed, the idea of spending a whole day with Ridge and Jack sounded wonderful to her. He reached for the phone.

"I'll call and tell them I'm not feeling good!" Taylor took the phone from his hand.

"Wait a minute, you better let me do that." She dialed and waited for someone to answer.

"Hey Pam! I just wanted to say, I'm afraid Ridge won't be able to come to work today. He's not feeling well! I think he came down with something! (Ridge laughed silently next to her and acted like he would collapse any minute)...yeah I'll tell him ….tomorrow? (Ridge shook his head)...I don't know yet, I think we have to wait and see how he is doing...okay, yeah you too! Bye!" She turned to Ridge.

"There, that's done!" Ridge pulled her close and planted a big kiss on her lips.

Since the weather was beautiful, they decided to head out. They prepared a picnic basket and drove to the beach. Jack was excited and dug around in the sand. His parents sat in a close embrace and watched him. They all cherished this day and the fact that they were all together. Late at night they returned home exhausted but happy. As Ridge parked the car in the driveway, Taylor took a peek at Jack.

"He's fallen asleep!"

"No wonder, he went crazy today." Taylor wrapped her arms around Ridge.

"It was such a beautiful day, thank you!" She kissed him with devotion.

"I enjoyed it too! I loved every minute of it!"

Ridge stayed home the next day as well, the two of them wanted to have a quiet, relaxing weekend with Jack. With each day they spent together, their feelings for each other got stronger.

However, their peace was repeatedly interrupted by calls from individual family members. Everyone was concerned because it was not Ridge's style to stay away from work two days in a row. Fearing they might see through his charade, Ridge always left the phone calls to Taylor. She tried her best to reassure everyone Ridge wasn't seriously ill, because she didn't want to worry them. But, she insisted resolutely, Ridge needed his rest urgently. In addition, Taylor was harassed by Felicia, who desperately wanted to know what was going on with her and Ridge. Taylor only wrote her a message, Ridge and she had resolved the situation and she would tell her further details in the next few days. This answer did not satisfy Felicia at all, because it could mean anything.

On Sunday afternoon Thomas, Steffy and Phoebe blew in on their parents. They had heard that their father was apparently ill and wanted to check on him. They were all the more surprised to find him in perfect shape and high spirits playing with Jack.

"Hey Dad, we heard you're sick?!" Ridge felt caught.

"Well, I'm feeling much better. But I really needed a break for a few days for recuperation." Thomas didn't quite buy his father's explanation.

"Mhm, when I used to say that to you, you called it playing hooky!"

"Thomas, leave your father alone!" intervened Taylor. "You all know how hard he works everyday. He was really all worn out and needed this break to relax!"

"Exactly! And actually this time off was prescribed by my doctor!" He winked at Taylor, who had to turn around to hide her grin.

"And Mom, you take care of him?" asked Phoebe, suspicious.

"Of course! Someone has to do it and have you forgotten?! I am a doctor!" She winked back at Ridge, who had to bite on his tongue.

"Your Mom takes excellent care of me, she is the reason I'm doing so well already!" He gave her a charming glance, Taylor noticed her cheeks turned red. She turned away again, but Phoebe, with her sensitive nature, sensed something was different with her parents.

"What's going on with you guys? You're acting so strange, both of you!" Taylor tried to get her acts together, like she had no idea what her daughter was talking about.

"What's supposed to be going on?! You have a fertile imagination!"

"Yeah right!" Phoebe just gave her mother an incredulous look. Later, when the three were busy with Jack, Taylor pulled Ridge aside.

"We should tell them! Phoebe's on to us anyway and she won't stop until eventually Steffy and Thomas will start to grill us, too."

"You're probably right, besides why shouldn't they know! I bet they'll be thrilled!" So Taylor spontaneously invited the three of them to dinner, which of course they didn't turn down. There was no way they would pass up a homemade meal from their mother. Taylor and Ridge thought dinner would be the best time to inform their kids about the new development in their relationship. But their plan got screwed. Taylor set the table and told Thomas and the girls to head to the dining room. Ridge and she went to the kitchen to get the bowls and plates. They didn't notice Phoebe came into the kitchen to get another soda. Phoebe caught her parents redhanded just as they were in an intimate embrace, kissing each other. She cried out.

"Oh my God!" Startled, her parents broke apart. Phoebe started jumping up and down and stormed toward her parents. "Oh my God! This is unbelievable! This is...Wow!" She hugged one by one and started dancing around the kitchen. "Yippee! "Yeah!" Startled by Phoebe's screaming, Steffy and Thomas rushed into the kitchen. Thomas had Jack in his arms.

"What's going on here?" asked Steffy puzzled.

"Yeah, has Phoebe finally lost it completely?" The latter was way in a too good mood to respond to her brother's remark. Phoebe ran up to her siblings and jumped around them.

"You have no idea what happened!" The best and greatest thing ever!" Steffy took her sister by her shoulders.

"Now calm down sis! Dish, what's going on!"

"Mom and Dad are back together!" she blurted out.

"No way!" shouted Thomas and Steffy simultaneously.

"Yes it's true, I saw it with my own eyes. They were eating up each other, like two starved cannibals!"

"Now Phoebe, that's enough! That really doesn't describe what happened." Ridge admonished his daughter. He was quite embarrassed by the whole situation. Steffy's ears perked up, she stared at her parents tensely.

"Is Phoebe speaking the truth?" Taylor and Ridge realized any denial was futile. Ridge put an arm around Taylor and they both nodded.

"Yes it's true! Over the last few days your mother and I have realized, we still have very strong feelings for each other." Taylor reached for his hand and continued.

"And we've decided to give our love another chance." Now Steffy was shrieking and squealing like her sister. She ran toward her parents and fell into their arms with joy.

"Did you hear that, my little brother? Our parents are together! Now we are a real family and it's all thanks to you!" Thomas lifted Jack high in the air.

"Excuse me?! Your mother and I played our part in that, too." Thomas waved him off.

"Come on Dad, you have to admit, if it wasn't for Jack, you two wouldn't have gotten back together so fast!" For once, Steffy and Phoebe agreed with their brother. They both pressed a peck on Jack's cheeks. Jack giggled and beamed as if he knew full well that he was responsible for this miracle.

At dinner, everyone wanted to hear more details. Thomas shared his thoughts.

"I wonder how the rest of the family will react to this news?"

"Grandma will definitely freak out! I wouldn't be surprised if she calls immediately for the next minister!" Taylor and Ridge gave Steffy a startled look. Soon Ridge and Taylor would learn, Steffy was absolutely right with her remark.

Since their children knew about their relationship, they knew they had to let the rest of the family in on it as well. And actually they saw no reason to keep their love a secret. Monday morning, Ridge texted his siblings and his parents, he would be coming back to the office today and he would like to see them all together. At first, no one was surprised; everyone assumed Ridge had called for this meeting to get back on track about the last days. But Ridge appeared with Taylor in his arms and everyone sensed this wasn't a business meeting.

"Good morning, I'm glad you all came together! I've asked for this gathering because Taylor and I have something to tell you!" Everyone looked at him expectantly. "To make a long story short, we're back together!" The room went so quiet, you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone stared stunned at Ridge and Taylor. Of course over the last few weeks everyone had witnessed how close they were and secretly they all had made their own assumptions but now they were a little taken aback by the announcement. Felicia was the first to regain her composure.

"That's wonderful news, I'm so happy for you!" She hugged first her brother and then Taylor. Stephanie was the next to embrace them both joyfully. She was beaming all over her face. For her, this was the news she had been waiting for a very long time. Ridge gave his mother a joking nudge.

"Now come on, say what's been on the tip of your tongue all along."

"Well, I didn't want to mention it, but I told you so right away! I always knew you two belong together and you are meant to be together and Jack deserves a happy family, after all. But I'm glad you finally realized it on your own.

"Yeah and it's much better this way!" stated Taylor. "It may have taken a little too much time in your eyes, but Ridge and I are happy the way it happened." Stephanie glanced at the two expectantly.

"And when are you guys going to get married? I mean, now that you're back together, that's the next logical step, right?"

Everyone rolled their eyes, it had been obvious this question would come.

While everyone was chatting, Taylor pulled Stephanie aside.

"I'm asking you not to dwell on the subject of marriage anymore!"

"What are you talking about? You don't want to get married?"

"Of course we do! But when we get married, we should do it because it's our decision! If Ridge proposes to me, I want him to do it on his own accord and not because he was pushed by you or he felt coerced into doing it! So none of your usual tricks or schemes! I'm warning you Stephanie! Ridge and I are still in the process of connecting with each other and to rebuild our trust, so this relationship has a real chance. I'm begging you, don't ruin everything with your overzealousness!" Stephanie was shocked and irritated. She didn't really understand what had been so bad about her question. Still, she made an effort to keep a low profile as the conversation continued and didn't mention the topic 'marriage' with another word. Ridge couldn't hear what Taylor and his mother had discussed. But since his mother acted much more discreetly afterwards, he assumed Taylor had given her a proper talking-to. Eventually, they all returned to their work. As Taylor headed for the elevators, Felicia hooked up with her. She demanded that Taylor give her a detailed report of the events of the past few days.

"Did you forget about your stupid plan after all and confessed your true feelings to Ridge?" Taylor revealed to her she had told Ridge exactly what she had planned to say. She gushed he hadn't gone for it, though and in turn he had convinced her to give them another chance. Felicia was impressed. "I told you to give Ridge more credit. Anyway, I'm happy for you guys and of course I'm happy for Jack, Thomas and the girls." Taylor sighed, dreamily.

"Oh Felicia, I can't tell you how happy I am! The last few days I keep feeling like I'm walking on air. Sometimes I wake up and I still can't believe it!" Touched, Felicia took her in her arms.

"Anyway, I wish you guys all the happiness in the world!"

Late at night, Taylor and Ridge lay together in a lounge on their terrace, reviewing the day. Ridge took a deep breath.

"Quite exciting day!"

"Oh yeah, you could say that, but in retrospect they all took the news pretty well, though Eric and Thorne reacted a little strange first." Ridge sighed deeply.

"Well you know them, Thorne is always a little skeptical of me, I believe he isn't convinced that I'm capable to make you happy. And as for Dad, it's just an unfamiliar thought to him, he was always certain that Brooke and I belong together. But he'll come around and will get used to the idea that you're now the woman in my life. You know he adores you and his attitude towards Brooke has changed decidedly. He realized this chapter is finally closed for me!" Taylor frowned.

"I hope so! I mean, it's one thing he still wants to take care of her but I don't want to be dragged into this!" Ridge gently stroked her cheek.

"That's not going to happen, I promise you! Brooke has to see how to get her life back on track by herself and she has all the support she needs. She has her family and I'm sure at the clinic they'll be able to help her to work on her issues."

"I really hope so, for her sake and for all of us!" Ridge changed the subject, he wasn't in the mood to talk about Brooke anymore.

"At least Mother responded just as we expected." Now Taylor laughed.

"True, Steffy was really spot on with her guess."

"Thank God you were able to slow her down. I'm just wondering, how did you do that?"

"You seem to forget I'm a world-renowned psychiatrist, I have my ways of convincing people. The only question is how long it will last."

"Well, we can always jet off to Las Vegas and get married, then her biggest wish would come true."

"Are you crazy? Your mother will kill us if we elope and get married without her! I bet she already started planning a huge party with all the trimmings." Ridge screwed up his face.

"That would be all the more a reason to fly to Las Vegas!"

"Ridge, you're impossible!"

"Was that a compliment or a complaint?"

"Let's just say your attitude can be quite exhausting sometimes, but if you were any different, I think I'd miss it."

She pulled him closer and kissed him deeply. Soon their kisses became more demanding and intimate. Ridge unbuttoned her blouse and began showering her chest and stomach with a lot of kisses. Taylor moaned softly, enjoying his every touch. She felt a pleasant heat spread throughout her entire body. She pulled Ridge back to her and looked deep into his eyes.

"I love you!"

"I love you too!" They saw the desire and passion in each other's eyes. They gave themselves completely into their feelings. They took all the time in the world and cherished every moment. Each had only one desire, to satisfy the other and fulfill his/her needs.

Later they were lying next to each other, both catching their breaths and gradually coming to their senses. It was the first time since their first night that they had made love. Although they had always spent the nights together in the same bed, they had decided not to rush into anything. But tonight, it felt right for both of them. Ridge reached for the blanket, lying on the armchair nearby and covered them both with it. He wrapped his arms around Taylor and she curled up to him.

"Are you okay?" Taylor just nodded, she wasn't able yet to formulate a decent sentence. Ridge caressed her back and noticed a shiver went through her body. "Are you cold?" He tried to cover her even more, after all the air was relatively fresh and they only had the thin blanket. Taylor gave him a smile.

"I'm fine!" She loved him for always being so careful with her afterwards and always wanted to make sure she was comfortable.

"I love you Ridge!"

"I love you too Doc!" They kissed softly and full of love. They lay there together, in each other's arms for a long time. Neither of them spoke a word. It was a comfortable silence that reigned between them. It was the kind of silence where you only had to look into each other's eyes and know what the other wanted to say.

The next morning, Taylor woke up and was surprised to find the spot next to her empty. Then she smiled, Ridge had broken off a flower from the shrub that jutted into their bedroom window and placed it on his pillow. Taylor glanced at the clock and was alarmed to see how late it was. She was irritated that her alarm hadn't gone off and that Jack hadn't woken her up as usual. That's when she noticed the baby monitor was off. She threw on her robe. First she peeked into the nursery, but it was empty. So she went on to the kitchen.

"Hey, there are my two favorite guys!" Jack was sitting in his high chair, munching on bananas. Ridge came over to her and gave her a big hug.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You were sound asleep and I couldn't bring myself to wake you up! Look, I already made breakfast!"

"Oh, that's so sweet of you! What did I do to deserve this?"

"No specific reason, just because you're here and I just felt like spoiling you!" Taylor gave him a soft kiss.

"Mmm, you could have these feelings more often!"

Over the next few days, Ridge and Taylor's relationship became more stable and solid. They enjoyed their new happiness and their fondness. They decided it was time for the next step. Ridge wanted to move in with Taylor and Jack for good. The next weekend, Thomas and the twins helped him to move the rest of his belongings, which he still had stored at his parents' guest house, into the mansion. In addition, Ridge made himself comfortable, in his studio, he set up a corner to chill. Next to his working space, was a couch and a TV and a stereo. Both he and Taylor thought it was important for each of them to have a place to retreat. They didn't want to hem each other.

At night they toasted with each other.

"Welcome home honey!" Ridge and Taylor lazed on the couch. They lay in an intimate embrace and watched Jack, who was busy practicing walking. By now, Jack was able to pull himself up and stand quite well if he could hold on something. But walking was still very tedious for him, mostly he managed one at most two very unsteady, clumsy steps until he fell down. Finally, Jack had had enough and came crawling to his parents. Taylor picked him up and he snuggled up to her.

"Hey little rugrat, are you tired? That was pretty good already, you'll see, soon you'll run away from all of us. Then your father and I will have to lasso you!" Jack climbed on top of his mother, grabbing her hair and pulling on it. Taylor started to whine.

"No Jack, don't! Please! Let go of my hair!" She tried to free herself, but instead Jack pulled and tugged even stronger. Ridge couldn't stop laughing. Taylor glared at him.

"Stop laughing so stupid, you better help me!" Ridge finally intervened.

"Come on Jack, leave Mommy's hair alone!" He tickled Jack to get him off his mother. Taylor shook herself and brushed her hair back.

"Thank you, that was a last second save! And you Jack, don't do that again. That's a really bad habit!" But Jack had no intention to listen to his mother, again he tried to get a grip on her.

Later as Jack was asleep and they lay curled up together in bed, Taylor noticed Ridge absentmindedly was playing with her hair. She groaned.

"At least now I know from whom Jack got it from!" Ridge pulled her closer to him and stroked her hair all the more.

"I just love your hair! When we first met, it was the first thing I noticed about you. I was fascinated every time and I always wondered how long it would take you to get them in shape. Until we got married and I gotta witness it live every day." Taylor smirked; it had actually taken her hours sometimes to get her hair in order.

"So you're saying you fell in love with me just because of my hair?"

"Well, not just...whereby...when I think about it."

"Hey!" she nudged him.

"And why did you fall in love with me?" He looked at her demandingly. Taylor answered spontaneously.

"The first thing I noticed about you were your eyes. You had that certain kind of look, I could have sunk into this glance every time."

"Mhm interesting, does that still work today?" He leaned over her and looked at her seductively. Taylor recognized a slight blush crept into her cheeks. This didn't go unnoticed by Ridge either, he grinned at her

"Mission accomplished!"