Tuesday, June 06, 2006, Episode #4823

Nick admits to Bridget that Dante was there for her when he should have been.

At the beach house, Nick apologizes to Bridget for coming and offers to leave. She tells him to work things out with her mom; for what it's worth, she wants him to know that she thought her mom had finally let Ridge go, until the heart attack dragged her back in. Nick says that's why he wanted Brooke to fire them; he knows Brooke and Ridge share a child, but he doesn't trust the Forresters, and he felt the only way to protect Brooke was to put some distance between her and that family. He asks what she thinks; she replies that what she thinks isn't as important as how Ridge and especially Stephanie will use the situation to their advantage. Nick says he gets that Brooke is connected to the Forresters, and that things won't change overnight. He then sees the blanket Bridget knitted for Nicole on the sofa and asks why it's not at Dante's with her things. She explains that she moved back here; that's why she told him to come here when he called. Nick says he's sorry and asks if she wants to talk about it. Holding the blanket, she says that she moved in Dante to be close to his son after losing Nicole; she thinks that may not have been wise, since Dante wanted more. Nick says that she has to feel for Dante what he feels or her. She says that Dante is good, loving and caring. "He was there when you needed him, when I should've been," Nick laments.

Bridget hopes she'll find love again.

Bridget asks Nick if he ever wondered what their life would have been like had Nicole lived. He takes out his wallet and removes Nicole's ultrasound photo, admitting he talks to it a lot. He asks if that sounds crazy. It sounds just like him, she says, an amazing man who fell in love with his child as soon as he knew he was going to be a father, and who still loves his little girl very much. And her mother, Nick adds. Wiping her eyes, Bridget apologizes for falling apart this way. He says she's not, since she's one of the toughest broads he knows. She jokes that he shouldn't let her mom hear him say that; he says her mom knows he cares about her. She hopes he doesn't think her being alone and vulnerable means she'll run back to him if things don't work out with her mom. Nick asks if that's her way of saying he's a fool. He's many things, she says, but he's not a fool. She sends him to find the woman of his dreams while she does some work and reads. He sees she's reading "Wuthering Heights" and recalls how Rick read from that book at their first wedding. They had a few, she jokes, until they finally said "I do." On the Marlin, he recalls. She remembers. Nick says he really wanted it to work. And when it did, Bridget recalls, it was everything she imagined and more. Maybe she'll be lucky and find that again someday, she muses.

Stephen drops by Jackie's place to celebrate.

Stephen drops by Jackie's and hopes he's not interrupting. If he's worried that she has a man in her bedroom, she says... He says that he's not in a position to judge; she says she's joking, but he says that Eric was a fool not to marry her. Relationships don't always work like you want them to, she says, asking if he came by to celebrate Brooke's taking control of Forrester, thanks to him. He reminds her that Nick put up the money, but she says it was his idea. She asks how he convinced Taylor to sell her stock. He explains that Taylor wanted to sever all ties with the Forresters. And he was happy to oblige, she says. He says that Taylor deserved something after the way Stephanie humiliated her publicly and privately. Even though she doesn't know Taylor well, Jackie agrees that the good doctor got a raw deal. Stephanie rewarded Taylor's loyalty by shunting her aside, Stephen states. She notes how strongly he feels about it. He just didn't want to see someone that special get hurt, he explains.

Jackie wants to get to know Stephen better.

Stephen suggests they find some bubbly to celebrate their children getting married, and Stephanie losing for a change. Jackie finds some champagne and they go out on the balcony, where Stephen admires how she looks in the moonlight. He guesses she doesn't need him to tell her that, though. What she needs, she says, is just what he's giving her: a lovely, albeit impromptu evening with her son's handsome future father-in-law. If that's her way of saying she's glad he stopped by, Stephen responds, he is, too. Jackie knows she shouldn't be saying this, but they're both adults and have been around the block a few times - or at least, she has. But she loathes playing games, so she wants him to know how sexy and captivating she finds him. He tries to stop her, but she says he can't argue, because she has great taste; that's why she wants to get to know him much better, she says as they kiss.

Brooke is stunned by Stephanie's revelation about Stephen -- and Taylor!

In the Forrester CEO's office, Stephanie tells Brooke to be honest and say if she's with Stephanie or not. Brooke thinks that sounds like a threat, but Stephanie says she just wants to do what else she has to do to prove herself to Brooke, who she thinks Nick and Stephen are manipulating by asking Brooke to fire the family. Brooke admits that she was wrong to consider firing them. But Nick still fears her working beside Ridge, she explains, so she's sort of solved that problem by agreeing to run Forrester from an office at Marone. She thinks that's the best solution for everybody, but Stephanie thinks that's just a sign of Nick and Stephen manipulating Brooke, and she asks Brooke why she's letting those two run her life as part of some crazy need for revenge. Brooke says Stephanie is wrong, but Stephanie says that Nick is angry that Brooke slept with Ridge, while Stephen's always been angry back to when they were all in college, when Eric first slept with Brooke's mother. She thinks Stephen would do anything to get back at her family, including sleeping with Taylor to get her stock! Brooke is stunned by that last accusation. Stephanie says that she just came from Taylor's; while neither Stephen nor Taylor admitted that they slept together, they didn't deny it, either, so she's sure Stephen slept with Taylor to get control of that stock.

Stephanie tells a disbelieving Brooke that Stephen is trying to prove that he's not the man who so callously walked out on his family, but he hasn't. She's sure Stephen just wants to get even with her family, and now he dragged Brooke into it. Brooke says she never wanted this to happen, as she really wants to run this company with Ridge, Eric and Stephanie. In that case, Stephanie states, it won't be a problem for Brooke to return the additional 2% of stock to her. Brooke thinks that if Stephanie really trusts her as she claims, she'll trust Brooke not to use that 2% against the family. Stephanie says that she trusts Brooke, but not Nick or Stephen. She also doesn't like the idea of Brooke running Forrester from Marone. Brooke again points out that Nick has a problem with her working beside Ridge. Stephanie doesn't care about that; she just wants to know if Brooke is with her family or against them. Brooke assures her that Nick and Stephen don't control her, but Stephanie thinks Stephen has been controlling her for years, since his abandoning his family is why Brooke has spent her life looking for love and approval. She says that she can offer Brooke the love that Stephen never did, just like Brooke was her own daughter. She predicts that Stephen will only disappoint Brooke again in the end. "Unlike you?" Brooke asks. Stephanie admits Brooke has reason to be suspicious, but she swears Ridge's brush with death changed her perspective, which is why she's begging Brooke to call Nick and tell him that she's returning the 2% AND that she'll be working here at Forrester.