Hector offers Brooke some advice.

Hector drops by Ridge's house to check on Brooke. At first she says this isn't a good time, but she then apologizes and invites him in. Hector says he knows she's dealing with both Ridge's disappearance and Stephanie's accident, but he heard from Thomas, via Caitlin, that she had asked Ridge to come home. For all the good it did, she says: first Ridge hung up on her, and then he sent Stephanie an email that he couldn't deal with her [Brooke] anymore. Now she doesn't know what to do, because she never thought Ridge would say things like that about her. Hector asks if she's sure it was really Ridge; he reminds her that years ago, he got letters from Samantha that didn't sound like her, and it turned out that Sam's mother wrote them to break him and Sam up. He doesn't know if Ridge's email was like that, but he thinks she should hang in there and remember that things aren't always what they seem - just like that photo of Ridge and Bridget.

Brooke fights for Ridge, but she admits she may have to face life without him.

Brooke goes to the phone and calls Ridge's cell phone; she leaves a message that she's not giving up, no matter how many emails he sends saying he's had it with her, until they talk. She and the kids miss him and want him to come home, so she begs him to please talk to her. As she hangs up, Hector asks if she's OK; she says she was losing faith, but her talk with him reminded her not to lose hope. He asks if Ridge contacted anyone besides Stephanie. If he means Bridget, she says, the answer is no; in fact, Bridget has found a wonderful man she has real feelings for who isn't Ridge. She just wishes she didn't feel so helpless, not knowing whether Ridge sent that email or not. Hector asks if she's calling the police. She says she can't; since she spoke to Ridge, albeit briefly, and he sent that email, there has been contact and Ridge would not be considered missing. But still, she says as she picks up a photo of her and Ridge, the longer he stays away, the more she wonders if she'll have to face a life without Ridge.

Bridget plans a romantic dinner.

Down by the pool, Bridget prepares a romantic, candlelit dinner, complete with accordion player. Nick arrives and asks if he made a wrong turn. In a fake French accent, Bridget welcomes him to one of the finest restaurants on the French Riviera. As Bridget offers him wine, Nick asks why she's doing this; she says she wanted to return the favor after his romantic getaway the other night on the Marone jet. He asks if they serve Buffalo wings here. She laughs that they don't. Even so, he says he's in for this and pulls her chair back to seat her. Bridget's impressed by the gallant gesture; he says he's not totally uncouth, even if he gets confused by what fork to use at these dinners. She points out that he knows the answer to that, having dined often with Massimo, but he says he'll never understand why you need more than one fork for a meal. She says it's part of the experience, the art of dining - and to demonstrate that, she has a seven course meal prepared for him tonight.

Nick thinks he has this dinner all figured out.

As the accordion player plays in the background, Nick samples the first course. He says it looks like crushed minnows with paprika and tastes it. He says it's not bad and asks what it is. Crushed minnows with paprika, Bridget laughs. Nick laughs back and asks if she's going to eat her's; she says she's just enjoying watching him. And he's enjoying her watching him, he replies as he prepares for the next course. After the sixth course, he says he's still starving. That's because he's dined, she says, and not eaten, having savored the haute cuisine experience. He tells her that he's dined all over the world, but he thinks this meal reflects who she is. Since they have time before dessert, he invites her to dance. She accepts and they walk over by the pool. As the song Nick wrote for Bridget, "Sole Reason," plays, they dance closely. He asks what she's thinking; that she could stay like this forever, she says. Forever's a long time, he says, and he thinks this evening is about more than fine dining. In fact, he thinks he's finally figured out what she's wanted to tell him all night. She looks at him and smiles.

Eric tells Stephanie not to blame herself for Helen's death.

Eric brings Stephanie home and wonders if she's rushing things; she says she was going stir crazy in that hospital and promises to take it easy. He offers her some tea; maybe later, she says. Right now, she just wants to sit with him and thank him for being there for her. She feels very lucky. He says she is, but he wants her to realize that she's not to blame for Helen's death. She just wishes she could understand how someone as wonderful as Helen is just gone. It doesn't seem real to her. He offers her a hug; looking over his shoulder, she spots a newspaper headline, "Forrester Matriarch Survives Fatal Car Crash." She picks up the paper and reads the article, and she's stunned: they mention her and the other driver by name, but Helen is just "the passenger" and "the deceased." Helen was a real person, she laments, but this article makes it seem like her life didn't even matter.

Stephanie worries about telling Gabriella about Helen.

Eric tells her to calm down; he's sure the reason they didn't mention Helen by name is that her daughter hasn't been told yet. Speaking of Gabriella, Stephanie wonders what that poor girl will do. Helen was all she had, and now Helen's gone. She recalls how Helen always called Gabriella her "beautiful angel." Eric asks if she's OK. She says she's fine, but she's worried Gabriella won't be when she finds out. She doesn't want Gabriella to just come home and find some stranger waiting to break the news to her. Eric promises to make sure that doesn't happen; he's sure they'll think of a way to handle this. Meanwhile, he wants her to relax while he gets their tea.