Wednesday, August 02, 2006, Episode #4864

Phoebe reassures Taylor.

Phoebe and Taylor stop by Thorne's house. While Thorne checks on Alexandria, Phoebe sits on the couch, but Taylor goes out on the patio and debates with herself whether she should have told Thorne last night. Phoebe follows her mom out; she points out that Alexandria isn't sleeping or eating and needs their help, so how can Taylor tell the little girl that she's the one who took Alexandria's mommy away? Taylor says she can't live like this, but Phoebe says she and Alexandria both need Taylor. Thorne comes out and thanks the ladies for coming by, since he didn't know who to call when things got difficult for Alexandria. Taylor tells him she's sorry and hugs him. Thorne then asks Phoebe to take Alexandria for a walk on the beach; once Phoebe and Alexandria are gone, Thorne tells Taylor that he has to talk to her. He explains that he realized this morning that she's been keeping a secret, that she was drinking the night Darla died. After he talked to her on the phone this morning, he took Alexandria down to the beach and thought about Taylor's problem, and he realized there's only one thing she can do. He offers to go with her if she wants.

Thorne takes Taylor to an AA meeting.

Soon after, Thorne takes Taylor to an AA meeting. Taylor seems reluctant as they come in. While Stan, the group moderator, asks another moderator named Lisa to hand him the chips, Thorne tells Taylor that he saw the pamphlet in her purse. She can start a new life today, he explains, if she's willing. Stan asks who's there for the first time; some hands go up, and Thorne tells Taylor not to be afraid. A bit later, Taylor is holding a chip as she listens to a woman named Maggie talk about her drinking problem; as Maggie talks about the terrible things that could have happened while she was drinking, Taylor flashes back to Darla's bloody face staring at her through the windshield. As Maggie finishes, Stan thanks her and suggests that their newcomer, Taylor, speak. She's hesitant at first, but Taylor explains how her friend Thorne, who just lost his wife in a car accident, brought her here. She recalls that Darla was a good wife, mother and friend who deserved to live. She thinks Darla should have lived instead of her, since she's been lying to her friends and family and sleeping with men she doesn't even know. She doesn't even recognize herself and doesn't know what to do, which is why she's here to do the right thing, for Darla. She can't live with the pain anymore. Thorne stands up and gives her a reassuring hug.

Nick and Brooke discuss Ridge's calling a photo shoot without telling Brooke.

At Brooke's house, Donna comes downstairs and finds that Bridget has joined Nick and Brooke for breakfast. Nick offers Donna a croissant, but she says she has to watch her figure. She also has to get some sleep, Brooke comments, noting that Donna got home late last night from her meeting with Ridge. Donna again says she's grateful for the chance Brooke has given her. Bridget admits she was surprised when she heard about Donna modeling. Brooke sees the envelope in Donna's hands and asks if those are proofs from last night. Donna says they are, but she's not sure how good they are. Brooke reminds Donna that she won't be perfect overnight as Donna hands the proofs to Bridget, who says that her aunt certainly isn't shy in there. Donna says that Ridge made her feel like she could do anything. That's what he does best, Nick quips. Bridget hands the proofs to Brooke, who thinks they're a good start. Donna says that she'll be working more with Ridge on these, since he has a photo shoot scheduled for this morning. Brooke is surprised. Donna guesses that Ridge didn't tell her; Nick thinks that Ridge should be ASKING the CEO and shouldn't be TELLING her anything. Donna offers to cancel since Brooke didn't know, but Brooke is sure it was just a miscommunication, so she'll talk to Ridge later. Nick suggests that Brooke give in to Ridge on this one, since Ridge obviously thinks he has a gold mine in Donna. Bridget thinks it should be Brooke's decision, but Brooke says it's too late to cancel and tells Donna to go ahead with the shoot. Donna thanks her over and over and hugs her.

Stephanie has some questions for Ridge.

Stephanie finds Ridge in the photo studio at Forrester and asks how his doctor visit went. He says the doctor wants to monitor him, but he has a clean bill of health. Relieved, Stephanie asks how he feels about his first photo shoot for the Bedroom line with Donna instead of Brooke. Stephanie asks if he thinks Donna can replace Brooke, especially in the minds of the customers. Ridge tells her he had a photo session with Donna last night. Stephanie seems surprised, but she's just glad he's working again. Still, she wonders why he would pick Donna over any number of available top models. Ridge shows her the proofs from last night. She asks if Brooke has seen this. Ridge shakes his head. Donna comes in with Brio, having run into the photographer on the way up. Brio looks at the proofs and says they can work with these, so she gives her assistants some instructions on backdrops and lighting. Ridge asks Donna if she's ready for this; she says with him here, she's ready for anything. Stephanie watches this exchange and appears to be thinking about it.

Bridget wonders what her mother is trying to prove.

Back at Brooke's, Bridget tells her mom that she's worried that Brooke is trying to prove something to Ridge, or to Nick, or even to herself. She asks Brooke if she's sure she can watch someone else model for the Bedroom line. Brooke says she's fine with that, but she's worried that Donna might get hurt from the pressure around this first modeling job. Nick points to the proofs and says those are great, so he tells Brooke to relax and drive in to work with him. Brooke says that she should stop by the photo studio first, so she'll meet him there. But the idea behind her working from Marone was that she could stay away from Forrester, Nick reminds her, so he thought they agreed... They did, Brooke agrees. Nick reminds her that was the reason they hired Donna to model for the line. Brooke says that's right, but she just wants to stop in and make sure everything is running smoothly. She promises Nick that she'll be at Marone in no time and gives him a kiss goodbye. She tells a confused Nick she loves him and leaves; we see that Bridget has been watching the exchange between her mom and Nick.

Brooke watches the photo shoot.

Brooke arrives at the studio and watches from the back, unseen. She sees Ridge tell Brio that he needs to speak with Donna for a moment. Ridge walks over to Donna, who worries that she's having trouble with these poses and doing a lousy job. Ridge tells her to relax and lighten up; he's sure that together, they can blow the roof off the fashion world. All Donna has to do is break a few rules and let herself go. OK, Donna says; she tries again and does as Ridge suggested. Brooke steps over to Ridge, who is standing behind Brio, watching. Ridge sees her and tells her that he knows what's he's doing; he thinks Donna is getting this now and asks Brooke what she thinks.

Ridge tells Brooke to trust his instincts.

Soon after, Brooke and Ridge look at the photos on the computer. Brooke thinks that these are too provocative for their customers' first exposure to Donna; she fears Donna is giving up too much now, so the customers won't have a reason to come back. They'll come back, Ridge says. Brooke says this isn't how they've done things before, but Ridge suggests that it might be time for a change. Only if it's the right change, Brooke says, but this isn't that. Ridge reminds Brooke how the two of them always broke the rules and trusted their instincts, so he asks her to trust his instincts now. He suggests that she might be too close to the line to seeing what they have here, especially with her sister modeling. He's sure that this campaign will be bigger than anything they ever did before. Either that, Brooke quips, or it will get them thrown in jail for pandering. Ridge jokingly says that might not be bad if they get thrown in the same jail cell. He then tells Brooke that it's worth a try. And if they go down in flames, no one can say they didn't try.