Friday, April 03, 2009, Episode #5534

Brooke suggests that Ridge not go to the beach house.

Brooke and Ridge discuss Stephanie's dismissal from Forrester, agreeing that it's the end of an era. Brooke still can't believe that Eric asked Stephanie to leave. Ridge doesn't think his mother deserved to be let go that way. Brooke encourages him to carry on in Stephanie's tradition, but Ridge doesn't think anyone can fill his mother's shoes. Ridge decides to go check on Rick and Steffy at the beach house, but Brooke doesn't think that's a good idea given his reservations about his daughter's relationship with her son. Ridge just hopes Steffy wises up soon and realizes that marriage to Rick is a bad idea, because there's no way those two are ready for marriage.

Rick and Steffy lie on the couch after making love.

At the beach house, Rick and Steffy lie on the couch and bask in the afterglow after making love. Steffy stares at the huge rock on her finger. Rick laughs that the gem is going to blind him. Steffy offers to buy him a cane if that happens, since she doesn't plan to take the ring off any time soon. She's thrilled to be here, engaged and living by the beach with the man she loves so much.

Rick and Steffy share their plans with Brooke.

Later, Brooke drops by the beach house to see if Steffy needs any help moving in, but Rick and Steffy tell her that they're done. Brooke sees the ring on Steffy's finger and is shocked that the kids made it official. Rick wonders how Ridge will react when he sees Steffy's ring. Brooke thinks he knows exactly how Ridge will react. She reminds the kids that Ridge is trying very hard to understand their relationship. Steffy tells Brooke that they've chosen a date in about three months, so they should start looking for a church now. Brooke asks why they want to rush into this marriage. Rick tells his mom that he loves Steffy and doesn't want to keep her waiting. Steffy asks Brooke to help them plan the wedding. Brooke agrees to help them find a chapel, but Rick points out that they don't have to get married in a chapel; he wants to look at other venues as well, since he wants this wedding to be really unique and special. Brooke sighs that she'll check out some other venues, but she still feels like they're rushing into this. Rick tells his mother that this is exactly what he needs, because he's in love. Steffy lovingly agrees.

Ridge leaves Taylor a message about their daughter.

Ridge leaves Taylor a message to call him so they can plan a strategy to keep Rick and Steffy from getting married. Soon after, Brooke returns to Ridge's office and tells him that "the little homemakers" seem very happy. "Spare me," Ridge snipes, rolling his eyes. Brooke tells him that the kids are eager to get married, but Ridge insists that's not going to happen. Brooke doesn't think there's anything he can do to stop them. Ridge tells her that the kids can live together and let this little thing of theirs play out, but marriage is where he draws the line.

Eric tells Taylor that he fired Stephanie.

Eric calls Taylor to his office to tell him about Stephanie's firing. Taylor asks why he would do that, since this company means everything to Stephanie. Eric knows that, which is why he asked Taylor to come over. He admits he's worried about Stephanie. Taylor asks him to tell her exactly what happened, so he explains how he got sick and tired of Stephanie constantly disparaging his leadership of the company, his wife and his son. He admits that Stephanie always brought a lot of tension to the company, especially where she and Brooke are concerned, but this time, she went too far. He still thinks he was right to fire her, but he fears what that decision might do to her.

Taylor assures Eric that she'll be there for Stephanie.

Taylor assures Eric that she'll be there for Stephanie, but she thinks Stephanie might be a little stronger than he thinks. Eric agrees that Stephanie has always been a strong person, admitting that he's never really worried about her a day in his life. But today was different, and he wonders what she's going to do next. He just prays that she's going to be all right.

Nick offers Stephanie some advice.

As a pensive Stephanie stands on the rocks looking out at the ocean, Nick arrives at the marina and spots her. He calls out to her and then escorts her to the Shady Marlin, where he offers her a blanket to warm up and asks what she's doing here. Stephanie explains that she needed some peace and quiet and decided to take a walk here, where she and Eric first agreed to stay in California to raise their children and start Forrester Creations. Nick assumes that some kind of anniversary at the company sparked this walk down memory lane, but Stephanie tells him that something else happened today, since this was the day she was told she was no longer needed at Forrester. Nick offers Stephanie some instant coffee. Stephanie asks if he put whiskey in it, but Nick shakes his head and asks her to tell her how Eric managed to throw her out of the company without her using her strong-arm tactics to resist. Stephanie states that she doesn't have any "tactics" and asks what that Logan girl he's engaged to told him about her. Nick says that he and Katie don't talk about work, but he does hear things. He can't help wondering why she let Eric fire her. Stephanie says that she could have stayed and kept banging her head against a wall, but it would eventually start to hurt. Stephanie sees Nick has the book about the history of Forrester. Nick explains that he's using it for research, hoping to find some ideas about ways to save Jackie M Designs. His father taught him about the shipping business, but this fashion stuff is completely different, so he's hoping to learn from her company's example.

Stephanie reflects on her lot in life.

Stephanie asks if he's heard from Massimo. Nick says he hasn't and asks if she's spoken to the old man, aka Ridge's biological father. Stephanie asks him not to go there, since that was hard for Eric to accept. She admits she always blamed Brooke for the problems in her marriage, but now she wonders if she and Eric ever really recovered from his finding out that Ridge wasn't his son by blood. Nick thinks Eric is a wimp, but Stephanie disagrees. Nick offers her some unrequested advice and suggests that she's better off without Eric. Stephanie concedes that he might be right about that; she looks at the photo of herself on the dust jacket of Nick's book and admits that she doesn't even know who that person is anymore. She muses that life is a paradox where you keep moving forward until you reach the top and start looking backwards. That's what made her realize that it's over between her and Eric. They had a dream to live together into their golden years, but he lost sight of that and found a beautiful younger woman to take her place. She also wonders if Eric finally tired of her controlling ways. She knows she can't compete with Donna, but she always thought there was more to a marriage than just rolling around in the sack. That's why she turned a blind eye to Eric's involvements with other women until Brooke came along. After Brooke married him, they had children, and she's still reaping the harvest of that one. Still, she always thought Eric would eventually come back to her, but this time, he didn't, and he's probably going to stay with Donna. She supposes that's life's cruel joke on her. Nick tells her that she's too strong to act like a victim, but Stephanie thinks she spent so much time focusing on Eric that she didn't know what to do when they reached a dead end. She pauses and thanks Nick for the coffee and blanket and for offering her a port in the storm. She says she has to go and leaves the boat.