Tuesday, December 26 2006, Episode 4963

Jackie frets that Nick is wasting his time in therapy.

In the Forrester CEO's office, Jackie looks over a trio of models clad in Clarke's latest designs. She frets that Clarke doesn't get it, since their first line needs to shout out that the "new" Forrester Creations is better and more exciting than ever. She fears these designs fail to do that. She looks to Nick, who is distracted by memories of asking Capt. Jerry Kramer to leave his home forever. When Jackie calls out his name a second time, Nick snaps out of it and realizes that the models are gone. Jackie explains that she sent the models away, since he obviously has something besides their cruise line on his mind. Nick tells her that he needs help remembering about Jerry Kramer. Jackie asks why he's obsessed with a man they haven't seen in years; Nick responds that he needs to know why he came to hate Kramer so much. Jackie tells him that his sessions with Taylor aren't helping, since they're distracting him from their business. Nick ignores her and calls Taylor, asking her to meet him on the Shady Marlin ASAP. Taylor says she'll be right there. As Nick turns to leave, Jackie berates him for leaving her here alone with so much work to do. She tells him again that Taylor is not helping him, but he leaves anyway.

Ava the model gets a laugh at Jackie's expense.

Jackie calls one of the models, Ava, back in; she looks over the outfit Ava's wearing and sees that it doesn't hang quite right. Stephanie walks in and points out that the material is caught in the seam, so Ava has no room to move unless she limps. As Ava giggles at the remark, Jackie asks the model why she didn't point that out. Ava reminds Jackie that it's not her job to do that. Jackie quips that Ava is lucky to have a job and orders the model to go to the sewing room and get it fixed. Ava bids Stephanie goodbye and heads for the sewing room. Alone with Jackie, Stephanie remarks that Jackie would have spotted the problem with the seam if she knew anything about running a fashion house. Jackie accuses the staff of undermining her, but Stephanie thinks it's more a case of Jackie not knowing what she's doing. Stephanie then spots the cruise wear designs around the office and sees that Clarke has reworked Eric's 2003 cruise line. Jackie retorts that these designs are all new, but Stephanie chuckles at the remark. She thinks it will be easy for her family to buy the company back at a cheap price if this is an example of what the "new" Forrester has to offer. Jackie snaps back that Nick will never sell the company back, but Stephanie notes that Taylor disagrees.

Stephanie gets a rise out of Jackie.

Jackie retorts that Nick's sessions with Taylor are a waste. Stephanie disagrees, suggesting that Nick had to be messed up with a mother like Jackie. Jackie argues that Nick is just troubled about Stephanie pushing his mother off a landing. Stephanie can't believe Jackie is back to that, since Jackie must know that she didn't mean to hurt her. Jackie responds that Stephanie meant to steal Brooke away from Nick, but Stephanie argues that Nick's blackmailing Eric showed Brooke what a jerk Nick really is. Jackie isn't surprised that Stephanie paints Nick as evil. Stephanie says that she's not happy about Nick's therapy, since she fears Nick will seize the chance to hurt another member of her family. Jackie retorts that Taylor is the one who approached Nick with her agenda of helping him find "inner peace" in return for him giving back the company. Stephanie warns Jackie not to disparage Taylor. "Or what? You'll throw me out the window?" Jackie asks. "If I thought I could get away with it," Stephanie replies. Jackie insists that she has no issues with Taylor's ability as a psychiatrist; she just doesn't think her son needs therapy, since he had a normal, healthy childhood, Stephanie says she thought that about her own childhood, too, but they're talking about Nick right now. She bets that Jackie is responsible for making Nick an angry man. Jackie argues that Stephanie knows nothing about her. Stephanie retorts that Jackie is just a fraud with a phony accent and fake manners, and she hopes Taylor can prove just how much of a fraud Jackie is!

Taylor tries to get Nick to relax.

Nick boards the Marlin and is distracted by a ship's foghorn. Taylor comes on board and tells him that it was just a horn, so he can relax. She asked why he needed to see her. Nick explains how bothered he is by the gaps in his memory about Capt. Kramer. He remembers liking the man, but he also remembers kicking the man out of his apartment, and he can't remember why. Taylor suggests that we often try to forget things that bother us, but Nick just can't see something like that slipping through the cracks of his life. Taylor responds, "Let's shine the light down there and see what we can find." Nick recalls Kramer hitting him once, for sassing back to Jackie, but he doesn't know if that would explain his hating the man. Taylor tells him to sit down, take some deep breaths and relax. She advises that what they're about to do might be scary, but he's a strong man, and she's here with him. She then tells him to think back to the times he was in his and Jackie's Seattle apartment with Kramer. She wants him to remember every little detail, in the hopes that they can uncover what made him hate Kramer so much.

Memories of the past disturb Nick.

Closing his eyes, Nick remembers the sound of the ship's horns all day and night. He then remembers being in his bed and hearing Jackie moaning in the other room. He went to the door and knocked, asking if his mother was OK. Jackie told him she was fine and told him to go back to bed, so he went back to his room. But he couldn't sleep, because he heard the noises and knew someone was hurting his mother. Taylor asks if it was Capt. Kramer. Nick isn't sure; getting up, he cries out in frustration that he can't remember! Taylor tells him to just hang on. She tells him to sit back down and relax again, since he was doing so well when he was sitting. Nick sits down and closes his eyes again. Taylor asks him if the sounds he heard could have been his mother and Kramer making love, since he was so young. Nick reminds her that he knew about sex, since he hung around with sailors. But the actual sounds still might have frightened him, Taylor points out, telling him again to relax. She asks him to think about the sound of the ship's horn; Nick recalls that Kramer always blew his ship's horn when as he got near the apartment. And did he hear the sounds from his mother's bedroom once Kramer got there? Taylor asks.

Nick finally remembers what went on in his mother's room.

Nick recalls going to his mother's door and peeking in the keyhole. He saw Capt. Kramer get dressed and then hand his mother some money. Jackie at first refused to take it, but Jerry insisted. He remembers thinking that Jerry was his mother's boyfriend - but why did she take the money if that was the case? Maybe it was a loan? Taylor suggests, urging Nick to try to remember. Nick thinks back to other times when he peeked through his mother's keyholes; he saw many other men with her, and each one of them gave her money after they got dressed. Back in the present, the memories disturb him so much that he cries out, "Oh, god!" Taylor urges him to tell her what he remembered.