The miracle of Phoebe!

Chapter thirteen!

Brooke was looking for Ridge. She couldn't find him in his office, so she asked Pam if she knew anything. Pam replied Ridge hadn't shown up at all today. Presumably, he was at the hospital again. Brooke sighed, now that the situation with Rick was settled for now, she wanted to sort out the conflict with Ridge. After all, it wasn't bearable, he was still living with Taylor and the kids. There was no way she could tolerate that any longer. She went back to her office and called him. However, she only ended up on his voicemail.

"Hi Ridge! It's me, call me back as soon as you get this! See you later!"

Brooke began her work but kept staring impatiently at her phone. The morning passed without Ridge answering. She tried it several more times, but each time, she only reached his voicemail. Finally, she didn't want to wait any longer. She decided to look for him. 

She first drove to the hospital. But there she only met Bridget. She told her Steffy had been temporarily released this morning until the surgery. Ridge and Taylor had picked her up together and then gone home with her. So Brooke's next ride took her to the Belair mansion. But no matter how hard she knocked and rang the doorbell, no one answered. Apparently, no one was at home. Brooke looked around the driveway and discovered Ridge's car was not there. Brooke seriously wondered where everyone had gone. They certainly weren't at the hospital.

Ridge and Taylor, along with Thomas, had picked Steffy up from the hospital in the morning. The doctors had explained to them they wanted to wait a few more days with the surgery. According to their tests, Phoebe was recovering more and more. Each day, the results got better and each day she continued to recover was a win and promised greater chances for the surgery. True, Taylor and Ridge would have preferred that the doctors operate right away because they could hardly stand this waiting any longer. But they understood the arguments. The doctors had instructed Steffy to take it easy over the next few days and to pay special attention to her health.

As soon as the family was back among themselves, Thomas turned to his parents.

"So what are we going to do today? How about we go on a family trip? I mean, the four of us, a little distraction would certainly do us good!"

"Oh yes, that sounds wonderful! Can we do that?" begged Steffy too. 

The two siblings winked secretly at each other. They hoped their parents might grow closer on this occasion. Taylor and Ridge glanced at each other, uncertain. Both were not sure whether this was really a good idea. However, they didn't want to disappoint their kids either.

"What do you guys have in mind?" asked Taylor finally. Steffy glanced out the window.

"What do you guys say about going to our beach house? After all this time here at the hospital, I really need some sun, fresh air and the ocean!"

"Oh yeah, that's a great idea! The weather is perfect for it today. We can all relax and unwind a bit!"

Taylor looked questioningly at Ridge. The latter hesitated at first, but he couldn't resist his children's pleading look.

"All right, fine by me. In fact, that doesn't sound too bad!"

Taylor and Ridge, however, both wanted to check on Phoebe first. Behind their parents' backs, Thomas and Steffy secretly high-fived each other and made victorious signs.

While their parents went to see Phoebe, the two wanted to wait for their parents in the car. They made themselves comfortable and Steffy turned the radio on.

"Well, that was a piece of cake! I didn't expect Mom and Dad to agree so quickly!" Thomas nodded at her. 

"That just means they secretly want it too. Even though Dad is still officially engaged to Brooke, he's obviously enjoying his time with Mom and us. Now, he just needs to realize that he could have this for the rest of his life. And Mom can still act so cool. I'm sure she enjoys every day she gets to spend with Dad!"