Tuesday, June 05, 2007, Episode #5074

Ridge questions the wisdom of Brooke's plan.

At the jailhouse, Brooke tells Ridge to fight for his freedom. Ridge doesn't see how he can make first degree homicide charges go away given his criminal record. Brooke states that she has a plan; she wants to find a way to make Rick remember that he shot Grant. Ridge wonders if that's wise. Brooke doesn't see any alternative, since she wants her youngest son R.J. to have the father in his life that she couldn't give his older brother Rick. Ridge worries about the damage this plan might inflict on Rick. Brooke says that she's weighed the risks wants to proceed. Ridge thanks her; Brooke urges him to believe in his innocence like she does.

Phoebe drops by to see her dad.

Phoebe drops by the jailhouse to see her dad. Ridge doesn't think this is the place for her, but Phoebe wants him to know that she's staying positive for his sake. She then changes the subject to her relationship with Rick, assuring her dad that she and Rick are taking things slowly. Ridge would rather talk about her new-found friend Constantine; he wants her to know that he thinks Constantine is a reputable guy with a solid recording company, so he has no qualms about her doing a few songs for Constantine. The only thing he asks is that she now sign any contracts without showing them to him or her mother first. Phoebe assures him that she's not going to start a new career while he's locked up here. Ridge tells her not to put her life on hold because of his problems, since Forrester Originals needs her. Phoebe promises not to neglect her job, but she admits that she needs some free time. To spend with Rick, Ridge surmises, pointing out yet again how complicated Rick's life is, something he doesn't see changing any time soon.

Rick tells Ashley to stop driving him crazy.

Ashley is in her lab at Forrester Originals, thinking about her Mexican getaway with Rick. Her fond memories are interrupted when Rick comes in with some statistics on the Mexican hat flowers she wanted to use. Sensing that Ashley is distracted, Rick offers to do this another time, but Ashley's fine with doing it now. She asks Rick how Brooke is holding up since Ridge's confessed. Rick states that his mom is hanging in there, just like she's done so many times before. Ashley asks what it was like growing up with a mother as dynamic and interesting as Brooke. Rick laughs at her kind description of his mom, joking that Ashley should go into politics. Ashley quips that she'll leave politics to her brother (who is running for State Senate on The Young and the Restless) and tells Rick that her question was serious. She knows what it's like to have a rough childhood since she was ten when her mother walked out on her family, and she bets it was just as rough for Rick to grow up as Brooke's son. Rick admits that there was a lot of drama, and he and Bridget often had to help pick up the pieces of their mom's broken heart. Ashley bets he had a lot of father figures with all the men in Brooke's life. Rick has less than fond memories of one of those men, Grant Chambers, a fashion designer who was briefly married to Brooke. Changing the subject, Rick tells Ashley that he still wants to be close to her, even though he is in love with Phoebe. Before Ashley can answer, she gets a call from Eric to come to his office. Rick tells Ashley to wait; he wants her to know that he doesn't want any bad, awkward feelings between them. Ashley assures him that there aren't any. Rick walks up behind her and whispers, "You've got to stop this. Whatever it is you're doing, it's driving me crazy, and you know it." Ashley insists that she isn't doing anything and leaves the lab.

Nick brings Taylor some crackers to settle her queasy stomach.

At the Marone mansion, Nick brings Taylor some crackers to settle her queasy stomach. Not wanting to talk anymore about her tossing her cookies, Taylor tells Nick that the hospital called, and they found the jacket he left behind after the ultrasound. She suggests he go get the jacket, but Nick doesn't want to leave her here alone if she's sick. Taylor assures him that she's fine, so Nick heads for the hospital.

Stephanie defends her actions to Taylor.

Soon after Nick leaves, Stephanie shows up. Taylor can't believe that Stephanie could even show her face here after her attempt to pin Ridge's crimes on Nick. Stephanie reminds Taylor of all the pain Nick has inflicted on the Forrester family, but Taylor doesn't think that excuses Stephanie's actions. She's glad Stephanie is out of her life and she has no intention of letting La Forrester back in, especially with the baby on the way. Stephanie is appalled that Taylor would let Ridge, the father of Taylor's children, rot in jail, but Taylor has no sympathy for Ridge since he chose to screw Nick over. Stephanie concedes that Taylor has every right to be angry, but she asks Taylor to take that anger out on her and not on Ridge.

Brooke asks for help.

Just then, Brooke arrives and shocks both Taylor and Stephanie by stating that Stephanie is right. She admits that Ridge handled things poorly, but she doesn't think that's a reason for Ridge to lose everything. Taylor doesn't see how she can help Ridge. Brooke explains that they need Taylor's help not just as a mother, but also as a psychiatrist, because she has a plan to get Ridge's charges reduced. Taylor still doesn't understand what this has to do with her. Brooke explains that she wants to tell Rick that he was the one who shot Grant, not Ridge. Taylor reminds Brooke that they already discussed this, but Brooke points out that the stakes have been raised since Ridge confessed. With the possibility of Ridge going to jail for Shane's death, Brooke asserts, they need to help Rick remember the truth so he can come forward and admit that he shot Grant.

Taylor has concerns about Brooke's plan.

Taylor reminds Brooke of her earlier concerns about telling Rick the truth. Brooke thinks that dealing with the emotional scars caused by telling Rick the truth can't be worse than the scars Ridge will incur behind bars, so the truth has to come out. She tells Taylor that she trusts her, and moreover, Rick trusts her too, so she urges Taylor to please do this for Ridge's sake. Taylor agrees to work with Rick, but she can't stress enough that she can offer no guarantees that this plan will work. Brooke understands, but is willing to do this to help Ridge. Stephanie is about to call the D.A., but Taylor reminds her that Ridge's mother and two ex-wives can't just come forward to the D.A. with a story like that. They will need Rick to come forward willingly - and for that to happen, Rick first has to remember that he shot Grant.

Dr. Caron tries to calm Bridget.

In the hospital, Bridget panics at the thought that she might have implanted her mother's eggs into Taylor because the wrong Marone eggs were fertilized with Nick's sperm. Dr. Caron suggests that Bridget calm down for now while they check the computer logs for both the research lab and the fertility lab, so they can find out which Marone eggs were implanted. Just then, Nick comes in to pick up his jacket; having heard Dr. Caron mention the name "Marone," Nick asks what's going on. Dr. Caron covers that she and Bridget were planning a procedure and wanted to use the same lab techs that handled Taylor's. Nick accepts that excuse, so Dr. Caron goes to investigate what she and Bridget discussed.

Bridget gets anxious over the egg mix-up.

Alone with Bridget, Nick senses that his ex- is jittery about something and asks what's wrong. Bridget deflects his suspicions by asking questions about how Taylor is coming along in her pregnancy. Nick says that he sees that she's busy, so he turns to leave so Bridget can get back to work. When the lab technician who worked on the fertilization of the eggs implanted in Taylor comes by, Bridget nervously snaps at him to come back in five minutes. She apologizes to Nick, who thanks her for all her help with the IVF procedure and gets on his way.