Wednesday, May 24, 2006, Episode #4814

Bridget feels funny giving advice to Nick.

At Insomnia, Nick asks Bridget if there's something he's not seeing about Brooke. She says there isn't much hidden about her mom, although we all have things about ourselves that we just don't see. He asks if she thinks Ridge will always in Brooke's life. If she answers honestly, she asks, will it matter? He supposes that they just can't make this transition without much hurt. She bluntly notes that she never agreed to give him advice about his love life with her mother. He responds that he thought they could talk about anything and offers to talk about Dante instead. She tells him that Dante proposed. He asks where the ring is. There is none, she states, getting back to him and her mom. She says that he's very binary: when he makes up his mind, he doesn't change it. But her mom isn't like that. What looks bad to Brooke today may not look bad tomorrow, she explains. And her mom sees redeemable qualities in people she loves, like Ridge, and even some she doesn't, like Stephanie. She thinks he has to accept that. Nick finds that hard to do in Stephanie's case after the way that woman abused Brooke over the years. Bridget thinks that proves what she said earlier: he makes up his mind and rarely gives second chances, much like Stephanie. She can't tell him how to lure her mom away from Ridge; in fact, she can't even tell him if that's a good idea, as they're not divorced yet. Nick guesses that it's still too early to have this conversation. She replies that she's done her share for him and her mom to be happy; the rest is up to them, she says as she gets up to leave.

Felicia gets comfortable as she models for Dante.

In Dante's studio, Felicia has a sheet draped over her as she poses for his latest sculpture. As he gives her direction on how to stand, she jokes that he's going to have her looking like a sculpture if Napoleon's sister Pauline. Call it an update, an homage or a ripoff, he says. She says people see the resemblance all the time. And Ridge looks like a taller Napoleon, he quips. She asks him not to make her looks like a boy. That will never happen, he states. She asks what he's doing about her scar. He leaves it up to her, so she tells him to leave it in. She asks if he ever thinks about what it will be like when he's gone. Not really, he replies. She says she does, including how the only thing missing when it happens will be her. Dante tells her to drop her rib and stop raising her breasts. He can adjust her if he wants, she says. As he says he will, she says that she feels more comfortable naked than any reasonable person should; it's not exhibitionism, it's reassurance. Not that she took life for granted before, but she can't get used to not being dead. He says she seems nervous. Maybe it's not knowing where they're going with this, she says. Dante thinks knowing will get you in trouble. She agrees as he tells her to drop her left rib and let herself float.

Dante wonders what brought Bridget's mood on.

After a while, they take a break. Felicia wraps her sheet around her and goes to make some coffee, so she's not there when Bridget comes in. Bridget tells Dante that she can see why he would hate her after what she's done to him over the last year. Dante doesn't see how he could and asks where this is coming from. She says that he took care of her and cooked for her, but she just talked to him endlessly about Nick. He asks what brought this on, so she tells him how Nick asked her for advice about her mother. She doesn't think Nick meant to be thoughtless, and neither did she. But she was selfish, because she didn't realize what a miracle he's been to her. Felicia enters and watches as Bridget puts her hands on Dante's shoulders and thinks about how he must have felt every time she said Nick's name since she left Nick. She knows now that she never would have made it through without him. Dante says that he was glad to be there for her as a friend. Bridget says that he's more than a friend, and... Just then, Felicia walks in, still wrapped in her sheet, and tells Dante that he's out of coffee. Bridget looks at Felicia and then at Dante, who looks back at her.

Taylor feels slighted by Stephanie's gift.

At Taylor's office, Stephanie apologizes for misjudging things. She really thought Taylor had already accepted what she couldn't, that Ridge and Brooke belong together. So why not tell a national audience that she's a big mistake? Taylor asks. Stephanie recalls all the times Taylor advised her to accept Ridge's decisions. There's a difference between accepting them and shoving them down people's throats, Taylor argues, pointing out that Stephanie anointed Brooke as Queen by giving her half the company. Stephanie apologizes and admits she mishandled things. She assures Taylor that she IS family and thinks she has a way to show that. She opens an envelope and takes out the stock certificates, explaining that she has redistributed the stock in Forrester Creations among the family. She hands Taylor the certificates for her share; Taylor looks them over and thinks that the 2% is quite generous - were she Stephanie's gardener, and not the mother of her grandchild!

Stephanie tries to apologize.

Stephen approaches outside and listens as Stephanie tells Taylor that the stock is just for her. The grandchildren will be provided for in a different way, she promises. Taylor hands the certificates back to Stephanie and tells her thanks, but no thanks. Stephanie asks Taylor why she seems offended. Taylor asks if she's supposed to jump for joy after Ridge and Stephanie wipe their feet all over her and then try to buy her off at a bargain price. She guesses she shouldn't be surprised, since Stephanie did this to Brooke and to Brooke's father. Stephen nods as he hears that. Stephanie feels like she's in a no-win situation and asks if she shouldn't have offered the stock. Taylor says that Stephanie can't win by hanging a friend out to dry. She thought they had this mother-daughter relationship, but all Stephanie was doing was staying in charge in order to keep her and Ridge married. Now she doesn't have Ridge, she fumes, and she gets 2% for all that? She slams the papers down and orders Stephanie out. Stephanie tearfully pleads that she thought the love between them could survive anything, including this. Taylor is too choked up to respond, so Stephanie just leaves.

Stephen has some advice for Taylor.

After Stephanie leaves, Stephen steps out of the shadows and knocks on the door. Taylor thinks it's Stephanie and goes to the door with the stock papers in hand, ready to throw them at Stephanie, so she's surprised to see Stephen. He asks if he came at a bad time. He says that he expects Taylor heard about Stephanie's offer to Brooke, and he bets she can predict how he feels about it. Taylor knows there's no love lost between him and Stephanie. He admits he was glad to see Brooke free from that family of vipers, but he also knows how much Forrester means to Brooke. He wants to advise her, but he doesn't trust himself to think of what's best for her. Taylor thinks that's because he resents how the Forresters treated him. The Forresters think they can solve anything with money, he states. She says he came to the wrong place at the wrong time, since there's lots of resentment to go around. She shows him the stock papers; Stephen plays dumb as he looks them over, and he guesses that Stephanie didn't see this as a slap in Taylor's face. Taylor thinks the less said about it, the better, but Stephen doesn't think that is better. He tells her that the Forresters run people over with their truckload of money and just expect those people to be polite, rather than scream bloody murder. Taylor points out that it is Stephanie's company and can do anything she wants with it, so she didn't know what she could do. It WAS Stephanie's company, Stephen corrects. He tells her that he's learned a bit about business and thinks the two of them are in the same boat, so what would she say if he had a way they could help each other gets their dignity back? Taylor looks intrigued.