Monday, July 17, 2006, Episode #4852

Stephanie gets some bad news.

At the Forrester mansion, Stephanie gets a call about Darla’s accident [presumably from Thomas, who was told by Ridge to call the family in the last episode]. She says she’ll get to the hospital ASAP. She then calls Sally with the news; she tells Sally to call Clarke and offers to pick the two of them up. Sally says she’ll be ready.

Thorne tells Taylor not to blame herself.

In Darla’s room, Taylor tells Thorne that she’s so sorry, as this is all her fault. Thorne softly tells her not to blame herself. Taylor insists that he doesn’t understand, but Thorne thinks he does; he thinks Taylor feels guilty because she didn’t get to Phoebe before Darla. He promises her that the only one to blame for this is the sick bastard who hit Darla and left her for dead. Just then, Christian and the nurse come in. Thorne hopes they have good news; Christian says that he’s reviewed Darla’s test results, but he needs to examine her now to get the full picture. Thorne doesn’t want to leave, because Darla needs him, just like he and their whole family need her. Taylor meanwhile slips out of the room and breaks down outside.

Lt. Baker is on the case.

In the waiting room, Hector asks his contact on the phone if he’s sure about Taylor driving under the influence of alcohol. When the contact confirms, Hector asks to keep this between them for now. Meanwhile, across the room, Phoebe is flashing back to the accident when Thomas startles her by bringing her something to drink. Police Lt. Baker arrives to investigate the accident and has some questions for Phoebe, who admits she should have left the car and waited at Thorne and Darla’s for her mom to arrive. Ridge and Hector asks Lt. Baker if the questions can wait, since Phoebe has been through a lot. Baker replies that he has a job to do. Thorne comes out of Darla’s room just as Stephanie, Sally and Clarke arrive; he tells his mother how he saw the accident scene while driving back from Sally’s, and he was stunned to learn that some son of a bitch hit his lovely wife. He adds that there’s been no change, and Darla is still unconscious. He sends Sally and Clarke in to see Darla. Meanwhile, Lt. Baker approaches Taylor, noting that he saw her leaving Darla’s room earlier. Taylor says she was in the chapel and asks if there’s been any change. There hasn’t, Hector says as he approaches with Phoebe. He knows Taylor and Phoebe have been through a lot and offers to drive them home; he suggests Lt. Baker continue his questioning in the morning. Lt. Baker agrees and adds that it’s good that Hector is driving Dr. Hayes and her daughter home; it seems to him that the good doctor has been drinking, so it’s probably not wise for her to drive tonight.

Hector pains a grim picture for Taylor's future.

Hector pulls over on the way to Taylor’s house. Taylor asks why they stopped and tells Hector to turn around, so she can be with Darla and tell Thorne what really happened. Hector tells her to listen very carefully if she wants to avoid the worst trouble of her life. Taylor says that Darla is the one in trouble, because of her. And if she tells anyone that, Hector warns, she’ll be going to jail. “Jail?” Phoebe asks from the back seat. Hector tells Taylor that admitting the truth will only make things worse for her. Taylor responds that she doesn’t care what happens to her, because she hit Darla and should be paying the price. Hector concedes that she’s probably wracked with guilt, as anyone would. But while everyone is concerned about Darla, he’s also concerned about Taylor, since he loves her and wants to protect her. He tells her that he knows that she had her license suspended because of a DUI charge. Taylor is surprises; he tells her that he’s sorry it had to come out this way. Phoebe thinks there must be some mistake, because her mom would never drink and drive. Taylor tells her daughter that Hector is right and explains that she got into some trouble a few months ago. Because it was her first offense she got off with a fine and a suspended license, with her only being allowed to drive to and from work. Hector tells her that driving with a suspended license is bad enough, but they both know something more is going on - and now, so does Lt. Baker.

Phoebe freaks out at the thought of losing her mom again.

Phoebe asks Taylor what Hector means about more going on. Taylor replies that she doesn’t want to make any excuses, but something happened earlier at the house, when Ridge came to pick Thomas up for the party. Taylor explains that some of the things she and Ridge talked about were a bit upsetting, so after Ridge left, she had two or three glasses of wine before pouring the rest down the drain. Phoebe doesn’t think a few glasses of wine are a big deal, since she’s seen Taylor have wine before. The big deal, Taylor says that she’s been depending on alcohol to cope with her pain, even though she knew it was becoming a problem. Then Phoebe called and she rushed to get to her, and... Phoebe starts to understand, especially after Hector explains that Lt. Baker smelled alcohol on Taylor’s breath. However, Hector adds, Lt. Baker doesn’t know that Taylor was responsible for hitting Darla. She’s NOT responsible, Phoebe insists, since it was an accident. She was there and saw her Aunt Darla fall onto the road, so she knows there was nothing her mom could have done. But Taylor was convicted of driving under the influence, Hector explains, and she was drinking just before driving with a suspended license. He’s sure that would weigh against Taylor if she admitted she was driving the car that hit Darla, and Taylor would then see some jail time. Phoebe freaks out that she already lost her mom once: she refuses to lose Taylor a second time!

Clarke visits with Darla.

Sally and Clarke hesitate at the door before entering Darla’s room. Clarke approaches the bedside and gently kisses Darla on the forehead before leaving Sally alone to have time alone with Darla. Sally tells her “I may not have given birth to you, but you are my daughter in every way that counts. You hear me, Darla? You listen to me; you are not going anywhere, and that’s an order!”