Friday, November 03, 2006, Episode #4929

Ridge tells Eric and Stephanie that Brooke has ended her marriage to Nick.

At the Forrester mansion, Ridge tells Eric and Stephanie that Brooke has ended her marriage to Nick, but isn't yet ready to commit to him. Eric isn't surprised, but Stephanie frets that Brooke is punishing Ridge for Nick's infidelity. Ridge explains that Brooke is doing what's best for her and her kids, but Stephanie reminds him that RJ is his son, too. Ridge tells her that he hasn't given up hope that RJ will see his parents reunite someday; he just has to be patient and accept that it just won't happen now, and he hopes Stephanie can do the same. At least Brooke's free of Nick and Jackie, Stephanie states, admitting that she's surprised at how long Brooke put up with Nick's rules and ultimatums. Eric and Ridge agree that such "rules" aren't good for a marriage. Or for their business, Stephanie adds, pointing out how absurd it was to have Brooke running Forrester from Marone. Ridge and Eric agree that it will be good to have Brooke back in the office, and Ridge even has some new designs he wants to show to his dad. Eric begs off for now, as he wants to go check on Jackie. He feels bad that her accident happened in his home. "Because she wouldn't leave," Stephanie points out. Eric still has trouble understanding how Jackie just fell over a waist high rail. Stephanie asks if he's suggesting that she threw Jackie over. Rather than answer, Eric says he has to go.

Jackie continues to slowly recover.

At the hospital, Nick enters Jackie's room and asks Dr. Hillman how Jackie is. Hillman is encouraged by the improvement Jackie has shown, but he cautions that it will still take time before they know the extent of Jackie's recovery. She's made remarkable strides, the doctor tells Nick, but she still may not be the woman she was before the fall.

Brooke asks Donna to hold off on telling Nick what she saw.

In the hall, Brooke tells Donna to hold off on telling Nick what she saw. She explains that on top of Jackie's condition, Nick also has to deal with her decision to end their marriage. Donna asks Brooke if that means she's going back to Ridge. Brooke replies that she needs to learn how to be on her own right now, so she's not going back to Ridge, either. Even so, Donna frets that Ridge is still hung up on Brooke. She laments that she's now lost her man and her job, so she doesn't know why she should stay in L.A. Brooke tells Donna to stay, as it was wrong for Stephanie to fire Donna. Still, she wants to be sure Donna is certain about what she saw. Donna tells her sister that Stephanie is out of control, and she's surprised that Brooke can't accept that after everything Stephanie has done to their family. Now Stephanie has turned that wrath on Jackie, so La Forrester has to pay. They go into Jackie's room, where Nick tells them that Jackie is trying to talk. Donna asks if Nick got her message; when he says he didn't, she tells him that what happened to his mother wasn't an accident. She was at the Forrester mansion and saw Stephanie push Jackie - hard! Nick is stunned. Brooke again asks Donna if she's sure, since she was outside the patio door. Donna responds that she wouldn't say anything if she wasn't certain. Then Stephanie lied when she said his mother fell, Nick fumes. Jackie mutters Nick's name, so Nick goes over to his mother and asks if what Donna said is true. "Did Stephanie push you?" he asks. Jackie nods slightly; Nick tells her that he'll handle it now. He tells her to get some rest and says that he loves her before leaving.

Brooke tries to call Nick on his cell phone to calm him down. Driving in his car to the Forrester mansion, Nick lets the call go to voice mail, so Brooke leaves him a message to please call her. She then asks Donna what she hoped to accomplish by just blurting out what she thought she saw. Donna insists that Nick deserved to know, just as Stephanie deserves to finally be held accountable. Brooke worries that Nick will be held accountable for what he does to Stephanie. Donna doesn't think Nick is homicidal, but Brooke fears that he might be so caught up in what happened to his mother that he could do anything. Donna hopes that Brooke is worrying about Nick with all this concern, and not Stephanie. Just then, Eric arrives and asks what's happening. Brooke asks him where Stephanie is. At the house with Ridge, Eric replies, asking why. Brooke and Donna explain about what Donna told Nick. Brooke frets that Nick went ballistic and ran out after he heard what Donna said, and now they can't reach him. They fear that Nick is on his way to Eric's house to confront Stephanie.

Eric slips into Jackie's room.

At the mansion, Stephanie again insists to Ridge that no matter what anyone says, what happened to Jackie was an accident. She can't believe that Eric would think otherwise. Ridge reminds her that she admitted she and Jackie argued. Because Jackie wouldn't leave, Stephanie again explains. Ridge gets a call from Sally that he's needed at Forrester to sign some papers, so he leaves his designs with his mother and says he'll be back. After he leaves, Stephanie gets a call from Brooke, who warns that Nick thinks Stephanie is responsible for what happened to Jackie. Brooke fears Nick is on his way over. Eric takes the phone from Brooke and tells his wife to lock the doors - or better still, get out of there. Stephanie says she can handle Nick and hangs up. Brooke thinks that they should get over there, but Eric tells her that Ridge is there. Ridge being there might make things worse, Brooke fears. Donna thinks Ridge can handle himself. Eric asks Donna if she's sure about what she saw. When she says she is, Eric can't believe that his wife could do something like that. Brooke suggests they shouldn't jump to conclusions. Donna asks why Brooke is defending Stephanie. Because it may have been unintentional, Brooke says, suggesting that Eric get over to his house. Eric says he will as soon as he does one thing. He slips into Jackie's room and says he's sorry if his wife did this to her. He gently kisses her on the lips, which makes her smile. Out in the hall, Brooke asks Donna if her feelings for Stephanie colored her perception of what she saw. Donna stands by her story, lamenting that Jackie was a vibrant, confident, capable woman until Stephanie took that away from her.

An enraged Nick corners Stephanie.

Nick arrives at the Forrester mansion; finding the front door locked, he pounds on the door and calls Stephanie's name. She tells him to go away, as she doesn't want to argue. She listens for Nick's response, but his shouting and pounding stop. Stephanie goes into the living room, just as Nick comes around to the terrace doors, picks up a chair and smashes through the glass door! Stephanie asks if he's lost his mind. He says that he knows what she did when she claimed his mother's fall was an accident. She asks if he's been drinking and tells him to get a hold of himself, but Nick comes at her, fuming that she pushed his mother. Stephanie threatens to call the police. Go ahead, Nick challenges, eager to have a talk with the cops about what she did. She tells him that he is trespassing and orders him to leave; Nick says he's in control now, so he's not going anywhere! He asks her what his mother ever did to her to deserve to lie in a hospital bed for the rest of her life. Stephanie insists that it was an accident, but Nick says he knows the truth and tells her to stop lying!