Mine Would Be You

Chapter 21

Over the next couple of weeks, Eric's condition remained stable to where he was now talking so the doctors at UCLA Medical Center felt confident enough to start doing the tests to determine what his illness was.

For the Forrester family, they were all relieved that they were finally going to get the answers they needed. They all hoped that it would be soon.

That answer came one particular afternoon.

Steffy was chatting via FaceTime with her brother Thomas, who was now living in Miami so he could be closer to his son Douglas, when her desk phone rang.

"Hold on there, Thomas," said Steffy as she put her phone down.

"Steffy Finnegan speaking?" She answered. "Yes?.........OK?.......all right, I will tell my family. Thank you for everything, Dr. Rook. I know that I appreciate it. Bye."

She then grabbed her iPhone to continue FaceTiming with Thomas.

"What is it, sis? Was that an update on Granddad?" Asked Thomas.

"Yeah. That was Finn's friend Dr. Rook letting me know what Granddad's illness is. I'm going to get Dad & a few others in my office so I can tell them," said Steffy.

"You want me to stay on the line then?" Asked Thomas. Steffy nodded.

"All right. I'll be here," said Thomas with a smile.

With Ridge, Brooke, Zende, Daniel, Hope, & even Finn, who had arrived from Cedar-Sinai Medical Center on his lunch break, in her office, Steffy gave all of them including Thomas, who was still on her phone, the news.

"Granddad has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease according to Dr. Rook," said Steffy solemnly.

"Oh my God,' muttered Brooke.

"That explains what happened then," said Finn.

"Have you treated someone with this before, Finn?" Asked Ridge. Finn nodded.

"I have, & what I can tell you is that from what I know about it, COPD cannot be cured," said Finn. Ridge just sighed.

However, Rick had a concern.

"This diagnosis doesn't make sense to me. How could my father have this?" He asked.

"Was your father a smoker?" Asked Finn. Rick shook his head no.

"COPD is usually caused by smoking, but you don't have to be a smoker to get it. I have an uncle with COPD, & he never touched any nicotine products in his life," said Finn.

"What about secondhand smoke?" Asked Thomas.

"It's possible. Was he ever exposed to secondhand smoke?" Asked Finn.

"Yes, he was," said Brooke.

"My mother used to have a very strict rule on smoking at our fashion shows & didn't allow smoking here at Forrester Creations," said Ridge. "However, we would catch a model or two sneaking in a cigarette on more than one occasion, & Mother would get upset about it. I couldn't tell you how many times Dad had to calm her down when that happened."

"I remember seeing Stephanie fly off the handle when it came to that too," said Brooke remembering the multiple times she had seen the late Stephanie Forrester get angry at a model for smoking.

"So you think exposure to secondhand smoke may have attributed to my grandfather getting COPD?" Asked Zende.

"Like I said to Thomas, Zende, it's possible, but we won't know for sure," said Finn.

Steffy beamed at him. She was so proud of him.

Finn was smart, loving, & caring. She felt very lucky.

However, trouble was lurking nearby.