Friday, March 07, 2008, Episode #5265

Bridget gets Jack to calm down.

At the Marone mansion, Nick can't figure out why Jack keeps crying, so Bridget gives it a try, and the baby calms down as soon as she takes him. "You're good," Nick praises. "This is what it should have been like with our little girl," Bridget muses as she puts baby Jack back down. Nick thanks her for saving the day, admitting that he didn't realize how hard this single parenting thing would be. Bridget offers to help him with the baby any he needs it. Nick thanks her for the generous offer, but he worries that helping him with Jack might be hard on her given that they lost their baby. Bridget confesses that she's thought about that a lot lately, and she may hate herself for saying this, but maybe the mistake that led to Jack's conception was... She stops in mid-sentence, but Nick asks her to go on, so she comes out and asks Nick if maybe the whole egg mix-up was meant to bring them back together. She tells Nick that Katie suggested that to her that and wonders if maybe Katie was right about that.

Nick talks to Bridget about his being a single parent.

Walking over to Jack's bassinet, Nick looks at his son and tells Bridget that he doesn't know why any of this happened. All he knows is that he's a single parent and he's alone. Bridget tells him that he's not alone, because he's been blessed with a beautiful boy in Jack that he can nurture and love. "You have so much to look forward to," she predicts. Bridget then tells Nick that she thinks about Nicole all the time, and she decided while thinking about their little girl today that she had to come here to bring him something. She presents him with the baby blanket she knitted for Nicole while she was pregnant. While she knows it's very, very pink, she'd like baby Jack to have it. Her voice cracking, she sobs, "When you wrap him in it, there's gonna be an angel watching over him." She and Nick look at each other for a moment and then move close, leading to a passionate kiss. They then pull away from the kiss and gaze intently at each other.

Ridge tells Brooke to sort through her feelings.

At Brooke's house, Ridge asks his Logan for an answer: does she want a life with him, Hope and R.J., or does she want one with Nick and Jack? Brooke tells him that he is the man she wants to spend her life with. Ridge believes her, but he thinks she needs to sort through some critical details first. Brooke doesn't think she needs to sort anything through, because she knows she wants a life with him, and she suggests that they get started on that right away by running away to get married right away. They could reveal the wonderful news to the family at his parents' anniversary celebration and then fly off on the Forrester jet to elope and have an impromptu honeymoon. Floored by the sudden offer, Ridge asks Brooke if she's serious. Surprised by Ridge's hesitation, Brooke asks if he's having second thoughts. Ridge admits that he might be acting a bit cautious, but he can't help it, since she's still obviously seeing Nick.

Brooke proposes to Ridge.

Brooke tells Ridge that she's only seeing Nick because she's concerned about Jack, but Ridge suggests that she's using Jack to keep a foot in the door to Nick's life. He tells her that they can't move forward with their life together until she asks herself if she'll always be longing for Nick and Jack. Brooke understands his skepticism and asks him to understand that she just got caught up in the situation with baby Jack once she found out she was the child's biological mother. Ridge points out that he told her not to get involved when they first found out about Jack's maternity. Brooke admits that he did, but she couldn't help but be drawn to that little boy, because Jack needed her. But she assures Ridge that she loves him as much as ever and wants to prove that to him. Ridge tells her that she's not ready to prove that to him yet, but Brooke stands firm and tells him that this is their time. Although she knows it's traditional for the man to propose to the woman, she's coming to him this time. She gets on bended knee and proposes, "Be my husband, Ridge Forrester, for as long as we both shall live."

Donna asks Eric to stay with her.

Eric stops by the love nest to see Donna before heading over to the mansion to celebrate his anniversary with Stephanie. Donna asks him to stay with her, but he reminds her that he can't. Donna admires him for living up to his obligation to his family, but she worries about what he might be getting into tonight. Eric assures her that she has nothing to worry about, because his heart belongs to her, and she has the ring on her finger to prove it. While he knows that his children will do anything to keep him with their mother and that this will be an emotional evening for all of them, he wants Donna to know that his future is with her. He intends to fulfill his obligation to his family tonight and come right back her to Donna when it's over. "I hope so," Donna sighs.

Katie gives Donna some advice.

After Eric leaves, Donna calls Katie and asks her to come over. Once Katie arrives, Donna vents about her fears that Eric is going to be ambushed tonight by his family their party. She worries that Eric's kids will use their "big, freakin' Forrester family lovefest" to lure Eric back to Stephanie. Katie asks why she feels threatened if she's convinced that Eric is committed to her. Donna reminds her sister that the Forrester kids will do anything to keep their beloved mother happy, which is why she expects them to pull out all the stops tonight. Katie reminds Donna that Stephanie could've sent Storm to jail, but she didn't, and all she asked in return was to spend her anniversary with Eric; Eric's just living up to his end of the bargain. Donna knows that, but she still fears Eric might be affected by the guilt trip his kids will lay on him. "I can't even imagine losing Eric to Stephanie," she sighs.

Stephanie senses that her kids have something planned.

At the Forrester mansion, Felicia checks on the flowers while Stephanie greets Kristen, who has come up from Florida for the anniversary party. Kristen and Stephanie are chatting about "the boys" - Kristen's husband Tony and their adopted son Zende - when Stephanie's sister Pamela walks in the door carrying a tray of lemon bars. Stephanie is thrilled to see her sister and rushes over to greet Pam, who notes that their mother Ann sent her congratulations. Felicia tells her mother to just wait, because she intends to make sure that her parents won't forget this night. Soon after, Eric arrives and tells Felicia that she's outdone herself with this party. Felicia escorts him into the living room to greet their "special guests" for the evening. Eric is thrilled when he walks in and sees Kristen talking with Thorne. He tells Kristen how wonderful it is to see her and declares it, "the best anniversary gift ever," but Kristen thinks the best gift is seeing him and Stephanie back together. Pam comes over to greet Eric, who is equally excited to see that she came all the way from Chicago for the occasion. Stephanie warns Eric that their kids have something secret planned for the night. "It's true," Felicia proclaims, "this is going to be an evening that will change our family forever."

Eric is glad to see Pam.

While the others chat, Pam comes over and presents Eric with the tray of lemon bars, since she made them just the way he likes them. Eric can't wait to sample some, but Pam tells him that he'll have to do it without her, since she has to stop by her hotel for a short while to walk Tiny. Eric thanks her again for coming all this way for him and Stephanie. Speaking of her sister, Pam asks Eric to remember that Stephanie is very much a product of her rough childhood. While she knows Stephanie can be difficult, Pam hopes Eric will consider how much Stephanie loves him. Having made her plea, Pam asks Eric to tell Stephanie that she'll be back and leaves to tend to her Doberman.

Kristen, Thorne and Felicia feel magic between their parents.

Eric heads back into the living room and joins Stephanie. Thorne, Kristen and Felicia watch their parents together, and Felicia predicts that magic is in the air tonight. Thorne agrees, although he wonders what might be keeping Ridge and Brooke. With their big brother still MIA, Felicia decides to gather everyone together for the first of many toasts of the evening. As her parents and siblings each take a glass of champagne, Felicia states that tonight will remind them of what matters most in this world: family. Since no family loves and fights more than their family, she proposes a toast to the Forrester family. "Long may we reign," Stephanie chimes in assent as they all clink their glasses together.