Monday, March 20, 2006, Episode #4767

Taylor thanks Nick for being there for her.

On the Shady Marlin, Nick tells Taylor that he was glad he could help her through her pain. For the first time in a long time, she admits. Taylor makes it clear to Nick that she wasn't trying to cause trouble or come on to him; she just wants to thank him for his help in her time of chaos. They went to a bar to drown their sorrows, Nick says, and if he helped her do that, it's good. Taylor suggests that he call Brooke. Nick says that's his problem. Besides, he wants Taylor to be straight on something first. He points out that she was married to his brother, and she and he never got along before. Still, he wants her to know that he wasn't playing games last night, even though she's likely had a lot of that thanks to her mother in law. Life with Ridge can be complicated, Taylor admits. But she would go back to it, Nick guesses. Maybe that's why she connected to him last night, Taylor says. He was looking for an escape and so was she - and maybe she found hers in him. Still, she knows that doesn't excuse what she did, and she even tried to tell that to Brooke. She talked to Brooke? he asks.

Nick tells Taylor that she has a friend.

Taylor explains to Nick that she just came from Brooke's, where she tried to get Brooke to see her side of the story before Brooke could go running to Ridge. Fortunately, she found that she and Brooke are both so concerned about their respective kids not to say anything about last night. Brooke is concerned about Bridget finding out, Nick says, so he's sure Brooke will stay mum. Taylor agrees. She tells Nick that she hopes things work out for him, whether with Brooke or with someone else.. Nick admits that he didn't like her much when they first met, because everyone told him what a "saint" she was. She never was a saint, Taylor confesses, and she doubts that anyone sees her that way these days. Still, Nick thinks it took guts for her to go see Brooke with the truth. Taylor reminds him that her motives weren't completely unselfish. But she wanted Brooke to know the truth, Nick says, and he has to thank her for that. How about giving her something for a hangover induced headache? she asks. Nick laughs, having killed his share of brain cells in his time. She admits that she's been warned about her drinking, which started when Ridge left her, but she was too messed up to see it. Nick knows he's not a professional, but he can see that she needs a friend, so he wants her to know that she has one in him.

Dante brings Dominick to see Bridget.

At the beach house, a tearful Bridget is packing Nick's things when Dante drops by with Dominick. He thinks the baby needs her more than ever, so he wanted them to spend some time together. Bridget thanks him, but she thinks they need to talk about something first. Dante sees that the baby is getting hungry, so he puts Dominick in a high chair and gets some food he brought. He then tells Bridget that his son is going to need a constant in his life with Felicia gone, so he hopes that won't be a problem for Bridget. Bridget admits that she loves Dominick, and she knows that he needs her. But at the same time, she's also scared of losing the baby. That won't happen, Dante assures her. But how does he know that he won't meet someone and want to build a life with that woman? Bridget asks. Or what if he wants to go back to Italy? Dante assures her that won't happen. But how does he know? Bridget asks. Dante says that he knows because he knows his heart. He loves her and cannot imagine meeting another woman who he'd feel that way about. He knows she's afraid, but there is no risk of her loving his child. He reminds her of their promise to Felicia to raise Dominick, a promise he plans to live up to. He knows she's been though a lot, but he's sure she can do this, just as he's sure that Dominick won't like his veggies. Right on cue, Dominick spits up his veggies on Dante, causing broth Bridget and Dante to laugh.

Stephanie urges her daughter to fight.

Meanwhile, at the medical clinic, Stephanie sits by Felicia's bed; even though Felicia is unconscious, Stephanie just knows that Felicia can sense her here and knows that she's safe. She urges Felicia to fight, because she knows Felicia is a fighter like her. But it will be a hard fight, and she just hopes this is what Felicia wants. She recalls Felicia saying "Help me" on her deathbed and explains that she tried to help in the only way she knew. Now that she has, it will be up to Felicia to fight, to make her way back to her son. Stephanie then laments that she hasn't even told Felicia's father or siblings yet, for fear that they will try to stop her. She's not willing to take that chance, so it will just be her and Felicia, fighting together so that Stephanie can being her little girl home to Dominick.

Dr. Ramirez has a candid talk with Stephanie about Felicia.

Just then, a young man comes in and introduces himself as "Dr. Ramirez." Stephanie tells the young doctor that Dr. Harwood told her that he [Ramirez] was just back from Europe and would be handling Felicia's case. That's right, he says, and he assures her that he'll do his best for Felicia. However, he wants to be frank with her about Felicia's chances. Honestly, he says, a dozen things have to go right and nothing can go wrong for Felicia to even have a 50/50 chance at recovery. First, they'll start chemo and radiation treatments today to get the cancer in check, with Felicia in a drug-induced coma. He asks Stephanie if she'll be staying. As long as she can, she says, although she has to get back to Los Angeles later. If the chemo eradicates the cancer, the doctor says, then they can move forward with a liver transplant, and even that will only work if they can find a donor. It could take weeks or even months, assuming it works at all. Her job, he explains, will be to support Felicia as much as possible. Stephanie thanks him for his honesty and admits that she knows that even a transplant won't cure Felicia. All she asks is that Dr. Ramirez gives Felicia a fighting chance, for baby Dominick's sake. She wants her daughter and grandson to have more time together, even if it's only a little. Ramirez says he will do his best. He can't emphasize how much support Felicia will need, although he will have to limit visitors to two at a time.

A tale of two mothers...

Stephanie says that she understands the risk, but she'd like the doctor to tell Felicia what her best case scenario is. Ramirez walks over to the bed and tells the comatose Felicia that she can beat the cancer if all goes according to plan. She can recover her health and return home to her loving family. Stephanie thanks him.