Tuesday, November 04, 2008, Episode #5433

Ridge says that he enjoyed his time with the family yesterday.

It's a new day in L.A. Having spent the night in Taylor's guest room, Ridge comes out on the terrace and finds that Taylor has his favorite spinach, mushroom and feta omelet waiting for him along with the newspaper opened to the style section and a cup of black coffee prepared just the way he likes it. Ridge thanks Taylor, who is glad he spent the night there instead of going to a hotel. After kicking his and Steffy's butts at tennis with Thomas yesterday and watching some alien vampire movie with the kids last night, she felt like nothing had changed between them. "It was fun hanging out with you and the kids," Ridge concurs. Taylor has to leave, so she tells Ridge that she ordered pepper steak from his favorite restaurant for dinner tonight. Ridge isn't sure he'll be back tonight, since he fears he might be sending her mixed signals if he stays over again. Taylor assures him that she knows that he still intends to marry Brooke once Rick gets better, but she thinks she can handle his being here. She suggests that he treat it as an unexpected opportunity to spend more time with his family.

Donna gets a surprise when she moves back into the mansion.

At the Forrester mansion, Donna wheels a suitcase in and calls out for Eric, but he doesn't answer. When she sees Stephanie standing by the door, Donna sighs, "You're still here?" and asks where Eric is. Stephanie informs Donna that Eric is visiting Rick at Brooke's. Speaking of family members who need medical help, Donna asks Stephanie if Pam checked into a treatment facility in Chicago yet. Stephanie confirms that Pam did and thanks Donna for not testifying against Pam. Donna still isn't sure that was the right move but she can live with it as long as Pam is no longer a threat to Eric or her or her family. Stephanie assures Donna that she has nothing to fear from Pam. Seeing some boxes that have arrived for her, Donna offers to give them to Stephanie once she unpacks so Stephanie can move back to the beach house, but Stephanie declares that she's not going anywhere. Donna is surprised. Stephanie notes that Eric has not said anything to her about staying married to Donna, but Donna thinks Eric will do that once Rick gets better.

Eric tells Rick that they want him back at Forrester when he's ready.

At Brooke's, Eric brings Rick letters and well-wishes from all over the world. Rick shows little interest, so Eric assures him that they want him back at Forrester as soon as he's able. Rick isn't sure if he wants to come back. Eric insists that Rick will continue to run their international division, but Rick isn't sure if he can deal with it if it means being under Ridge's thumb. Eric reminds Rick that Ridge works in the design department and has nothing to do with the international division, but Rick charges that Eric is also part of the design department and therefore always takes Ridge's side. Eric denies the accusation, but Rick refuses to put up with Ridge any longer. Eric assumes that Rick is still angry at Ridge and assures Rick that what happened on the roof was an accident. Rick counters that this isn't about his legs; it's about how Ridge lords it over people at Forrester and about how Ridge treats Brooke. Eric defends Ridge, pointing out that Ridge and Brooke have been in love for decades, but Rick wonders if the reason his mom and Ridge are not married yet has something to do with the mixed signals that Ridge is sending to Taylor. Eric thinks Taylor might be misinterpreting something Ridge said or did, but Rick insists that Ridge said something that led Taylor to think she still has a chance with Ridge. Eric thinks those relationships are complicated, but Rick implores his father not to keep defending Ridge. Rick then tells Eric about how Ridge planned to divide up Forrester while Eric was in a coma, with his kids by Stephanie getting the largest share of the company and him and Bridget being treated like ugly step-children. Eric asks Rick to stop and assures that he loves Rick and Bridget as much as his other kids. Even so, Rick is tired of Ridge's power trips and of being treated by Ridge like a kid, and he refuses to come back to work unless Eric gives him equal footing with Ridge at Forrester.

Rick seethes about Ridge's influence on the family.

After Eric leaves, Rick gets out of bed to walk around a bit. Grunting a bit as he slowly shuffles across the room, Rick makes his way over to a stack of papers that Eric left and picks it up. Shuffling through the papers, he finds a photo of Ridge, Eric and him. After looking at the photo for a moment, he rips the photo on one side, removing Ridge from the picture. Holding the piece of the picture of Ridge in one hand and the one of him and Eric in the other, Rick throws the piece with Ridge in the trash and seethes, "It's over, Ridge. You are finished controlling this family."

Stephanie asks Eric what he wants to do about his dilemma.

As Stephanie and Donna continue to argue about which one of them should live with Eric, Eric walks in and overhears. He makes his presence known and asks about the boxes in the room. Donna explains to her honey bear that those are hers, since she thought she should move back in now that Pam is in a facility. Stephanie asks "honey bear" if that's what he wants. Donna points out that she and Eric are still married, but Stephanie retorts that divorce proceedings had started. The two women fire barbs at each other until Stephanie tells Eric that he has a dilemma here with two women who both think they should be his wife. "What's it going to be?" she asks Eric, who smiles and says that he knows exactly what he has to do to solve this problem. "One of us has to go, and one of us is gonna stay. Who will it be?" Donna asks in response as Stephanie looks on.

Taylor is amused by Brooke's strip tease.

Taylor drops by Forrester and goes to Ridge's office. Once she closes the office door, she hears Brooke call out from behind a screen. Thinking Ridge has just arrived, Brooke tells "him" that she has a surprise to show how much she missed him last night and turns on some sexy music. Taylor holds back a giggle as she sees one of Brooke's legs come out from behind the screen as part of a strip tease. Brooke comes out from behind the screen and continues her dance, screaming when she sees that Taylor is watching! Taylor breaks into a fit of hysterical laughter at the sight of Brooke's shocked face. After Brooke gets dressed, the two women bicker about Brooke's dance, leading to an argument about Rick's situation and Brooke's throwing Ridge out of the house so Rick can stay with her while he recovers. Taylor offers her professional services to help Rick cope with what's happened, but Brooke politely declines and warns Taylor to just stay away from Rick. Taylor questions Brooke's judgement in such situations based on the way Brooke made Ridge feel like he was being tossed out like yesterday's garbage. Brooke makes it clear that she knows Taylor wants Ridge back and advises her rival that she still intends to marry Ridge once Rick gets better.