But only because they gave Bridget and Deacon a beach house to live in, didn´t mean they had accepted the marriage. Brooke sent Stephanie to Insomnia with a tape recorder in her purse to talk to Deacon and get him to confess he was using Bridget. Stephanie got his confession on tape and was about to leave when the recorder clicked and Deacon found the tape and destroyed it…

Deacon and Bridget remained married.

But that wasn´t their only problem. Kristen was the other. Stephanie wanted their daughter to move back to Los Angeles and to live with them for a while. Kristen finally agreed. And she met a new man, Tony. He seemed to be good for her and they were happy for her.

But then they found out about Tony being HIV positive... Eric wanted Tony as far away from Kristen as possible. Kristen refused to leave Tony. Stephanie tried to reason with them. She wanted Tony and Kristen to be friends only. But nothing worked for them. This cause major problems for Kristen and her parents (this time Eric).

After weeks of trying to stop Kristen and Tony from being together, Eric finally gave in. Tony and Kristen married, although they could never make love. But that was a sacrifice they had to live with.

After Kristen moved in with Tony, Amber and Rick decided to move in with Brooke to have more space for the baby they were expecting (the one who later died because Amber worked too hard). Eric and Steph was now alone in the beautiful mansion for the first time in… ever!