Wednesday, July 11, 2007, Episode #5100

Ridge and Ashley continue to turn up the heat in the steam room. Ridge is all over her and doesn't know if he can hold himself back, because she's driving him crazy, but Ashley thinks they they should wait to make love. She admits he's turning her on, but she wants to wait until everything is perfect. Ridge agrees and continues to kiss her all over.

Brooke pleads for Taylor to keep listening to her.

In Taylor's office, Brooke continues to reflect on the way she always puts herself before her kids. She thinks about all the times she did it with Rick and Bridget; she would get into a moment of crisis and become obsessed with whatever man she was with, and she would even see how destructive her behavior was. But even though she knew what she was doing, she kept doing it anyway, over and over. But after what happened with Hope and R.J. last night, she sees that she can't continue with that pattern. Taylor thinks Brooke has hit a breaking point. Brooke asks Taylor what's wrong with her. Taylor reminds Brooke that she's here just as a friend, and not as a therapist, but Brooke begs Taylor to keep talking to her. Reluctantly, Taylor explains that there is a condition called love addiction that is similar to alcoholism or drug addiction, but with the state of being in love as the fix. It usually stems from childhood, like maybe how Brooke's father abandoned her, and it makes the addict feel so worthless that she runs from one man to another to find love and make herself feel better.

Taylor gives Brooke some advice.

Now that Taylor has decided what's wrong with Brooke, Brooke wants to know what to do about it. Taylor says that Brooke has taken the first step by admitting she has a problem. The next step is to recognize when she's seeking a man to bail her out and resist the urge. Brooke thinks about all the people that have been hurt by her misguided actions and envies Taylor for having fulfilled herself with a happy marriage and a baby on the way. Taylor suggests that Brooke focus on having that kind of life as a goal for stability, in order to get control of her emotions. Brooke thinks she's past that, because she's already a bad mother, and she doesn't know if she's fit to raise her kids on her own. Taylor disagrees; she thinks Brooke can do it on her own if she takes the advice Taylor has just given her to heal her issues and focus on her kids, and by reaching out for help when she needs it. Brooke says that she has to do it, so she can be the kind of mother that Hope and R.J. deserve.

Stephanie objects to Nick's watching the kids.

At Brooke's house, Nick berates Stephanie for her attempts to tear Brooke down. "It won't happen on my watch," he vows. Stephanie asks if "on my watch" means forgetting about the wife he has at home with a baby on the way and asks where he has the time to help Brooke and be a good husband and father-to-be. She suggests that the only reason he's even still with Taylor is because of the baby; if there was no baby, he'd be out the door by now. Nick thinks "out the door" is where Stephanie belongs, but Stephanie refuses to leave her grand-kids. Nick asserts that this is Brooke's home and Brooke asked him to watch those kids, so he's telling Stephanie to leave. Stephanie suggests that he be smart and stay away from someone as unstable as Brooke and tries to convince him that she cares about the kids, but Nick won't let her criticize Brooke as a mother given Stephanie's own poor track record in that department. Hope and R.J. run in and see "Grandma" standing by the door and ask if she's leaving. Stephanie gives them a hug and says she is leaving, but she'll be back soon. As Hope and Nick both chime in, "Bye, grandma!" Stephanie reluctantly leaves.

Social worker Dorothy listens to Stephanie's concerns.

Stephanie heads back to Forrester Originals and asks her friend Dorothy Bascomb from Child Services to come over. She tells the social worker how she went over to Brooke's house just now and found another incident to be concerned about. Dorothy asks if Brooke left the kids alone again. Stephanie explains that Brooke left the kids with a man named Nick Marone who is not competent of supervising those kids, and she cites the time Nick almost let Hope drown in the hot tub as an example. She doesn't want to sound like an alarmist, but she is worried about those kids, so she hopes Dorothy can look into the situation before someone gets hurt.

Ridge worries that his mother is starting trouble again.

A bit later, Stephanie is in Ridge's office - he's obviously finished his tryst with Ashley in the steam room - and tells her son about her chat with Dorothy, who is with Ashley getting a little "goodie bag" made up to take home. Ridge fears his mother is butting in again by involving child services and suggests that she's trying to make trouble for Brooke. Stephanie insists that she's trying to prevent trouble, not start it. Ridge thinks he'll go over to Brooke's and see for himself.. Stephanie tries to tell him not to go there when Brooke is around, but he's out the door before she can get the words out.

Pirate Captain Nick tells Brooke not to let Stephanie get to her.

At Brooke's house, Nick is counting to 100 as part of a game of "hide and seek" that he's playing with the kids. Brooke comes home and finds Nick up to "87." He greets Brooke and asks how she's feeling. She tells him that she's feeling better. She then guesses that he had a good time with the kids from the looks of the house. Nick tells her not to make him lose count and asks how her talk with his wife went, Brooke thinks that Taylor's advice will help her be the kind of mother she needs to be. Nick tells her not to even suggests that she's a bad mother just because she made a mistake and warns her not to let Stephanie get her down. Brooke asks why he's bringing up Stephanie; he explains that La Forrester was there to check on the kids and couldn't resist the chance to drag Brooke down. R.J. and Hope come out of hiding and grab Nick by the legs, announcing that they have him prisoner. As Nick falls over form his legs being held, Nick reminds the kids that he doesn't like prison. Brooke tells the kids that it's getting late and Nick has to go. The kids plead for him to stay, but Brooke tells them that Nick has to get home to Taylor and suggests they say their goodbyes. Nick agrees that he has to go but lets the kids wear his pirate hat. After giving the kids a goodbye hug, Nick tells Brooke that he's getting the hang of this kid thing. She says that there's one one she's trust her kids with more than him.

Nick stops by Taylor's office, where the Doc tells him that she just got done with a long appointment a while ago. Nick says he knows she was with Brooke, since he was watching the kids while Brooke was here, and he thanks her for helping Brooke out. He tells her that Brooke seemed calmer when she returned. Taylor admits that Brooke has issues she has to face. As in the Forresters and especially Stephanie, Nick remarks. Taylor tells Nick that it's not that simple and informs him that Brooke admitted to still being in love with him during their chat. Nick suggests she jack up Brooke's bill for that, but Taylor explains that she and Brooke just talked as friends and not as doctor and patient. When Nick takes out a cigar and goes to light up, Taylor asks when he's giving up that nasty habit. Maybe sooner than she thinks, he says, since he can't find his lighter. Taylor asks when he last used it. He was at Brooke's, he recalls.