Monday, September 29, 2008, Episode #5407

Katie accepts Nick's offer to move in.

Katie and Nick awaken in his bed after making love last night. They cuddle as they predict that this is going to be a good morning. Lying in bed next to Nick, Katie looks at her scar. Nick tells her not to be ashamed of that, since he wants her in his bed - and not just now, but permanently. Katie asks if he's serious. He tells her that he wants the two of them to be together here with Jack and their baby, if that's OK with her. Katie tells him that it sounds great to her and accepts. Soon after, Nick is alone in the living room. As he picks up Jack's toys, he finds the Nerf basketball he gave Katie and flashes back to challenging her to a game of Nerf hoops there in the living room.

Ridge wants Brooke to formalize her rights with Jack.

Brooke and Ridge awaken in their bed after making love last night. As they bask in the afterglow, Brooke thanks Ridge for agreeing to let her share custody of Jack with Nick. Ridge says that she already thanked him, but she doesn't think it was enough, since she knows it was a hard decision for him. Ridge admits it would have been harder for him to see her unhappy. More importantly, he knows this is as much for Jack as it is for Brooke, so he wants to make it official. Brooke thinks he's suggesting that they talk to Nick, but he wants to talk to a lawyer to make sure they do this right. He thinks that if she's going to have joint custody of Jack and give Jack a parent's love then she should have all the rights and responsibilities of a parent, too. Brooke is ecstatic and shows him how incredible she thinks he is with a kiss. As they get dressed, Brooke tells Ridge that they should talk to Taylor and Nick before calling the lawyer. Since lawyers can be intimidating, she doesn't want Nick or Taylor to be blindsided by a lawyer's involvement. Ridge agrees and suggests they stop by Nick's house on the way to the office. Ridge then asks what's going on with Nick and Katie. Brooke tells him that Nick and Katie aren't rushing into anything as this is a high risk pregnancy. Ridge is glad Jack will have at least one reliable female presence in his life in Brooke, since the women in Nick's life come and go. Brooke suggests he keep comments like that to himself at Nick's, but Ridge reminds her that Nick may not be crazy about his being part of Jack's life to begin with.

Beth wonders if Katie is moving too fast.

Katie stops by Brooke's house to see Beth and tell her mom about the amazing night she shared with Nick. She asks if Brooke and Ridge are still home. Beth informs her that Ridge and Brooke left for the office and she just dropped the kids at school, so they're alone. Still, she asks Katie to spare her the graphic details of her night with Nick, since she doesn't want to think about her baby girl that way. Katie senses that her mother has reservations. Beth asks Katie if she's sure this is what she wants. Katie admits that she was worried at first about what other people would think about her hurting Bridget. She was especially worried about Brooke, since Bridget is Brooke's baby girl. [And what does that make Hope, Katie?] But now she feels like Bridget gave her and Nick the green light, so she thinks it's OK to move in with Nick. Beth tries to be happy for Katie about the news that she's moving in with Nick, but she cautions that Brooke might not feel the same way. She explains to Katie that the hardest thing for a mother is to watch her children suffer, and she wonders if Katie might be rushing things a bit. Katie knows it might seem that way, but she's so elated at the thought of being with the man she loves and raising their child together that she's sure that this is the future she's always dreamed of, and she thinks her child will have the sense of a full family that neither she nor Nick had growing up. Katie then tells Beth that Storm knew she had something like this to live for and insists that everything is working out like it's supposed to.

Nick has questions for Ridge.

Brooke and Ridge stop by the Marone mansion to talk to Nick about the custody situation with Jack. Ridge is glad to hear that Taylor already told Nick about her wish for Brooke to be a mother to Jack, since that means they are all on the same page already. He thinks it was an incredible gesture on Taylor's part for her to admit that she couldn't raise Jack and ask Brooke to take over. Nick agrees that Brooke would be an amazing mother to Jack, but it isn't as simple as that. Most importantly, he wants to know if Ridge can accept this plan, since it means he'll be a permanent fixture in Ridge and Brooke's lives, and he doesn't want to pull his son out of one tense situation just to throw him into another. Brooke assures Nick that Ridge supports her on this. Ridge agrees and states that he won't stand between Brooke and her son. Nick however wonders if Ridge can step aside and let Nick and Brooke be Jack's parents without having any say in Jack's life. Ridge says he can as long as Nick can deal with his being Jack's step-father, and he wants it on paper for Brooke's sake. If he and Brooke are going to welcome Jack into their lives and their hearts, he wants to be sure that neither Nick nor Taylor decides to just take Jack away on a whim. "Can you deal with that, Marone?" Ridge asks, stating that this is the only way this arrangement will work.