Friday, April 11, 2008, Episode #5288

Brooke asks Ridge why he fired Storm.

Ridge is in his office, talking with Brooke about the situation with Taylor and Rick. Brooke promises to handle the situation, but Ridge doesn't think that's a good idea. Since they're talking about bad ideas, Brooke asks Ridge why he fired her brother Storm, banned him from the building and ordered him to stay away from Hope and R.J. She reminds Ridge that Storm is in therapy, but Ridge doesn't care. He's still worried about how dangerous Storm is, especially since he found out that the woman Storm has been seeing here at Forrester is Ashley - a fact that Brooke neglected to tell him. Brooke argues that one lunch meeting hardly qualifies as a date, but Ridge fears that Storm's interest in Ashley is less than professional and rushes off to warn Ashley.

Ashley asks Storm about skeletons in his closet.

Meanwhile, Storm and Ashley are having dinner at Cafe Russe. Ashley laughs at the fact that Storm seems to know all about her past and asks kind of skeletons he has in his closet. Storm tries to duck the question, but Ashley presses him for answers. Storm smiles as he admits that he did something scandalous and surprising recently by sneaking around the office with plans for an unsuspecting woman, but then he covers that he trapped that woman by getting her to go to lunch with him! Ashley laughs as she asks if she should notify the authorities. As their dinner starts to wind down, Storm asks Ashley to join him on the dance floor, but the lovely chemist isn't really in the mood, especially since no one else is dancing. His request rebuffed, Storm goes to pay the check.

Ridge warns Ashley.

While Storm is away, Ridge slips over to the table. Ashley asks what he's doing there, so Ridge tells her that he found out she she was here from her assistant and rushed over, since he had to warn her to stay away from Storm. Ashley asks why this is any of his business, so Ridge explains that he fired Storm because he thought Storm was too dangerous to be around anyone he cared about. Ashley asks what makes Storm so dangerous. Ridge reveals that Storm is the person who shot Stephanie. Ashley finds that hard to believe, but Ridge assures her that it's definitely true, which is why he wants her to be careful. Ashley agrees that it's best to end things with Storm now, since they really haven't even gotten started yet. Ridge advises her not to let on to Storm that she knows about the shooting, since he's not sure how Storm will react if he finds out that she knows the truth. Ashley is a bit hesitant about hiding her feelings, but after some prodding from Ridge, she promises to handle the situation.

Storm confronts Ridge.

But Ridge doesn't realize that Storm has observed Ridge's chat with Ashley. As Ridge heads for the elevator, Storm confronts him and asks him what he told Ashley. Ridge reminds Storm of his orders to stay away from anyone he [Ridge] cares about, including Ashley, but Storm insists that he doesn't have to take Ridge's orders anymore since Ridge fired him. Storm asks Ridge if he told Ashley about the shooting, but Ridge doesn't answer. Storm returns to the table; as Ridge watches from afar, he thinks to himself, "You're in danger, Ashley, very serious danger."

Bridget tells Nick that she'll take things slow.

At the Marone mansion, Bridget stands behind the door and listens to Katie cry to Nick about how she feels like an idiot for getting involved. Bridget starts to cry when Nick consoles Katie with an embrace. Bridget enters the house and asks what's going on. After Bridget admits that she saw Katie in Nick's arms, Nick tries to cover and says Katie came over and was quite upset. Trying to go with the flow, Katie tells Bridget that she can explain. Bridget says she'd like to hear that explanation, since she overheard Katie lamenting that she ever got involved with something. Katie lies that she came over to tell Nick that she can't babysit for Jack anymore, since she's becoming too attached to the baby. Bridget feels like she's still missing something, but Nick assures her that there's nothing else going on other than Katie's concern for Jack. Bridget says that she has some concerns of her own, which is why she came back after leaving earlier to take a break. She tells Nick that she still loves him, because of the bond they shared when they were married. He was the love of her life then, but they've both changed since, so she realizes that Nick was right when he said he wanted to take things slow. She tells Nick that she's willing to wait as long as she has to and is ready to let things progress naturally, even if it means not being intimate with him until he's ready. "This time," she confides, "I am not afraid to fight or compete with anyone or anything." She knows that Nick still loves her, which is why she doesn't intend to give up the dream they had of raising a family.

Nick thanks Bridget for being in Jack's life.

Katie watches uncomfortably as Bridget apologizes to Nick for coming on too strong. Bridget looks to Katie and says that they all make mistakes, but what's important is that they learn from those mistakes. Katie agrees, so Bridget thinks they all know where she stands. She thinks she can provide stability for baby Jack. Nick and Katie agree that Jack is lucky to have Bridget in his life. When Jack starts crying, Bridget goes to check on him. Alone with Nick, Katie asks if he thinks Bridget suspects, since Bridget was acting strange. Nick thinks all is well when Jack stops crying, but Katie urges him to tell Bridget the truth once she comes back down. Nick scoffs about Katie's belief that Bridget is suspicious, but Katie can tell something's going on and urges Nick to come clean with the truth once Bridget comes back down. "The truth," Nick reminds Katie, "is that you kissed me." Katie admits that she did, but only after his big speech to her about doing something impulsive. She wishes she had never listened to him and feels sick at the the thought of continuing to lie to her niece. Nick sits her down to calm her nerves, but Katie insists that the situation is just way too complicated. She thinks the only solution is to tell Bridget the truth.