Tuesday, April 24, 2007, Episode #5044

Ridge despairs over his situation.

Stephanie brings Ridge some heavy duty stain remover from the janitor's closet for him to use to clean Shane's blood from the carpet. Ridge applies the solvent to the rug, but it doesn't work, so Stephanie suggests that they try using club soda. Ridge doubts anything will remove the stain, so he thinks he'll have to call the police and hope they understand that Shane's death was an accident. Stephanie asks if he thinks the police will believe him once he tells them that he dumped Shane's body in the Santa Monica Bay. Ridge admits that he panicked. Stephanie says that she understands, since she might have done the same thing in Ridge's shoes, and she even understands why he panicked after recalling the situation with Grant. But at the same time, she sees nothing to be gained by going forward, and she refuses to let Ridge go to jail for something that was an accident. Ridge asserts that a man is dead because of him, but Stephanie reminds him that Shane had reached the end of his rope and chose to take his own life out of despair.

Stephanie tells Ridge that he'll get through this.

Ridge and Stephanie are interrupted by a knock at the door, followed by Ashley calling out to Ridge. Stephanie goes to the door and opens it just enough that she can see Ashley, who explains that she decided to stay and work some more after Ridge cancelled their date. She was about to leave when she saw the light under the door, so she decided to stop by and see if Ridge is OK. Stephanie assures her that Ridge is fine, but he had a stressful evening. Ashley remarks that Stephanie looks worried, but Stephanie tells her that everything's fine, and Ridge is even on the phone with Australia as they speak. She tells Ashley that she's sure Ridge will call in the morning and bids Ashley goodnight. Once Stephanie closes the door, she turns back to Ridge, who laments that Shane's blood is on his hands, accidentally or not, and he wonders how he can live with that for the rest of his life. Stephanie states that he'll have to learn to live with it, since the alternative is prison for the rest of his life, and she won't let him go to prison over an accident. She promises, "We'll get through this together. I'll be with you every step of the way."

Taylor gets disappointing news.

Taylor stops by the hospital to see Bridget, who called Taylor over. Taylor guesses this is about her recent tests and doesn't see any reason for concern, even though she's not pregnant yet. However, she can tell from the look on Bridget's face that something is wrong and asks what's going on. Bridget explains that she had some concerns about the tests, so she reviewed them, and she's afraid that Taylor may not be able to get pregnant after all. Taylor asks what she means. Bridget replies that there was a problem with one of Taylor's tests that wasn't caught upfront, so she reran the tests to see if Taylor's eggs are viable. Based on the hormone levels they found, she thinks the probability of Taylor conceiving is near zero. Taylor is clearly disappointed by the news. Bridget states that she knows how much Taylor and Nick wanted a child, and she reminds Taylor that she has other options. Taylor however is upset because she doesn't know how to tell Nick this after all he's been through. She promised to give him the child he's always wanted, so how can she tell him that she can't?

Brooke is thrilled by Nick's declaration.

Brooke is still with Nick in her living room. She's thrilled that Nick said that he doesn't know how to stop loving her. She can't believe this is happening, because she thought she had lost Nick forever, so she tells him, "I love you so much." Nick says that he loves her, too, and part of him always will. But at the same time, he can never have her, because she'll always be tied to Ridge through R.J. Brooke tells Nick that she wants him to be part of R.J.'s life, but Nick fears that Ridge will be around, too, since R.J. is Ridge's son. Nick can't shake the feeling that the bond over their son will draw Ridge and Brooke back together again, and he can't risk being hurt again if that happens. He knows this isn't what Brooke want to hear, but this is why they can never be together. Brooke promises to give Nick the security that he wants, but Nick insists that he already has security with Taylor, who he's planning a family with. Brooke asks Nick how he'd feel if he had a child with her. Nick doesn't know where this is coming from, since Brooke refused to have a child when they were married. Brooke explains that she thought raising her kids would be enough for him, especially since she also had her career, but she sees now that she was wrong. She "gets" that he wants a child of his own, and she can give that to him, and she promises never to leave him for Ridge again. Nick tells Brooke that he once would have given anything to hear her say these things, but that time has passed. He's committed to Taylor now and has finally found peace, which is why he's asking Brooke to please accept that and let him go.

Brooke asks Nick if he really wants her to let him go. Before he can answer, he gets a call from Taylor, who tells him that she's at the hospital with Bridget and just got some disturbing news. She asks Nick if they can meet at his house. Nick asks her what happened. She tells him that her fertility test showed that her eggs aren't viable. Brooke overhears as Nick asks what that means, that her eggs aren't viable. Taylor doesn't want to talk about it now and asks him again to meet her at the house. Nick says he'll be right there and tells Brooke that he has to go. After she hears Nick's car drive off, Brooke takes her car keys and leaves.

Nick tells Taylor that she's stuck with him.

Nick arrives at the Marone mansion and finds Taylor crying by the fire. He tries to comfort her, reminding her that they expected for it to take some time before she conceived. He's sure she can still get pregnant if they're just patient. Taylor explains that her eggs are not viable, which means there's almost no chance she can conceive. Nick doesn't want to hear this talk about odds, since they've both overcome enormous odds in their lives. Taylor tells him that she knows he's disappointed, because he wanted to have a child so much. She doesn't think it's fair for him to stay with her if she can't give him the child he wants, so she wants him to reconsider the "out" she gave him when she took the pregnancy test. Nick tells her that his desire to be with her isn't conditional on their having a child together. He loves her, not her ovaries, and he wants a life with her, even if that doesn't involve a child. Of course, he's disappointed by the news, but that just means that they have to accept it and move forward, "You're stuck with me whether you like it or not," he vows. Taylor sobs as she kisses him.

Bridget is stunned by her mother's request.

Brooke goes to the hospital to see Bridget and asks about Bridget's appointment with Taylor earlier. Bridget reminds her mom that she can't discuss her patients, but Brooke explains that she overheard Nick say that Taylor's eggs aren't viable and asks what that means for Taylor's chances of getting pregnant. Bridget rolls her eyes and again reminds Brooke that she can't talk about this, but Brooke presses the issue, wondering what this will do to Nick. Bridget tells Brooke to stop considering a situation she knows nothing about, but Brooke says that she knows Nick will be crushed once Taylor tells him that they can't have a child together. She bets that Nick will feel like he can never have a child of his own. Bridget points out that she knows how Nick feels, since she and Nick lost baby Nicole. She tells Brooke that Nick is with Taylor now and urges Brooke to listen. She knows that Brooke regrets not having a child with Nick. Brooke suggests that it's not too late. Bridget is stunned at her mother's nerve, especially when Brooke says that she wants to be tested to see if she can conceive a child. Bridget tells her mom to slow down and get a grip. She knows Brooke wishes things had ended differently with Nick, but he is committed to Taylor and is probably even comforting Taylor as they speak, She speaks from experience that things like this can pull couples together.