Thursday, September 25, 2008, Episode #5405

Ridge tells Brooke that he'll do anything for her.

Brooke sits on her bed, looking at photos of Jack on her cell phone. Ridge comes in and is surprised that Brooke is back. Brooke tells him that Katie just helped put the kids to bed and informs him that the day at Big Bear turned out to be a very special day. Ridge apologizes for not accompanying her to the Apple Fest as he usually does, but he wanted to spend time with his father. Brooke thinks it was good for her to have some time alone with her kids to bond with them. Ridge marvels at the amount of love she gives her kids. Hugging Ridge, Brooke tells him that there's no trick to it, since there's lots of love to go around. As Brooke goes to change, Ridge tells her that Bridget talked to a lawyer about ending her marriage. Brooke is glad, as she thinks they need to put this behind them quickly with a child involved. Ridge thinks she's talking about Katie's baby, who's unlucky enough to have Nick as its father, but Brooke says that she was talking about Jack. Ridge hopes Katie has the sense to stay away from Nick, even though Nick is now available, since there's probably no future for Katie with Nick. Brooke tells Ridge that she'd rather talk about their future. Ridge tells her that he thought they settled that already, although he wants her to know that he'd do anything for her. Brooke smiles at him and asks if Nick is still an issue between them. Ridge admits that he probably has taken advantage of her forgiving nature, but he wants to believe that she's done with Nick. Brooke tells him that Nick is no threat to them.

Katie has an awkward confrontation with Bridget.

Downstairs, Katie is sewing on the couch when Bridget comes in. There is an awkward moment of silence as Bridget sees Katie sitting there. Bridget asks if Brooke is back from Big Bear yet. Katie says that Brooke went up to change and should be down soon. Bridget snipes that she's surprised that Katie hasn't moved in with Nick yet. Katie admits that she and Nick and can barely look at each other right now, and she doesn't think that ending Bridget's marriage is something that either she or Bridget wanted to happen. "My marriage is over," Bridget states, telling Katie that she talked to a lawyer about ending it. Now she just wants to move on. "Nick loves you, and a lawyer can't change that," Katie suggests. Bridget is sure that Nick will get over it, especially since there are two kids involved, Katie's unborn child and Jack. Bridget confides that she'll probably miss Jack more than she'll miss Nick.

Brooke asks Ridge to keep his heart open for something good.

In the bedroom, Ridge reminds Brooke that things went pretty badly when he found out Nick was his half-brother, since their family ties meant little to Nick. Brooke reminds him that Nick was as blind-sided as he was to learn he had a half-brother. She praises Ridge for trying to expand his concept of family to include Nick, even though she knows she never gave Ridge any credit for doing that. Ridge thanks her for saying that. Brooke suggests that children have an easier time with things like that, citing the way that Hope and R.J. are so close despite their having different fathers. With all this talk about family, Ridge asks Brooke if she's saying that he's going to be a father again. Brooke says she isn't, but she wants to know how he'd feel if she was pregnant. "I'd be ecstatic," Ridge states. Brooke thinks they should keep their hearts open for anything good coming their way and kisses him. Ridge then starts to undress her and they make love. After, Ridge thinks about all the drama going on in their family and suggests that they have a small wedding with just them, Hope and R.J. in attendance. Brooke considers the idea, since the only thing that matters to her is her kids, but she tells him she has something to talk to him about first. Ridge is then stunned as Brooke tells him that something happened at Big Bear and Taylor wants her to be a mother to Jack.

Bridget tells Katie that there are no shoulders to cry on here.

When Brooke doesn't come back downstairs, Bridget turns to leave. Katie asks Bridget to wait, because she wants Bridget to know how much she misses their friendship. "I won't stop hoping that we can be friends again," she pleads. Unmoved by Katie's plea, Bridget says that she's already cleared the way for Katie and Nick, and that's the most they should expect of her. "I'm sorry, but shoulders to cry on are in short supply," Bridget gripes before leaving.

Nick takes Jack from Taylor.

Taylor drops Jack off at Nick's house and tells Nick about Jack's day at Big Bear with Brooke, Hope and R.J. Hearing that Jack had fun with Brooke's kids, Nick suggests that they arrange for Jack to spend more time with other kids. Taylor agrees that it's a good idea. She then tells Nick that she's going to need his support, since she has an idea about how to give Jack what he needs that she can't give him. Jack starts to cry, so Nick takes him from Taylor. After putting Jack down in his playpen, Nick asks Taylor what Brooke told her. Taylor says that she's not trying to blame Brooke. Nick asks why they're even discussing Brooke. Taylor kneels down by Jack's playpen and calls out to him, but he doesn't respond. "That's not how a baby should respond to his mother," she sobs. Nick suggests that she just needs time and patience, but Taylor reminds him that she's the psychiatrist here, so she knows what her son needs. She says that Jack needs to identify with the person he sees as his mother at this stage of his life, but that's not her. Nick asks what she's saying. Taylor confesses that she has always compared herself to Brooke in looks and style, but she's lost to Brooke every time, and that's caused her to devalue herself. So when she found out Jack came from Brooke's egg, she made it into another competition between her and Brooke. Confused, Nick asks what she's trying to say. She tells him that it's time for her to step aside for Jack's sake.