Friday, April 24, 2009, Episode #5549

Steffy tells Rick that it's over.

Rick begs Steffy for one more chance. Steffy asks him to end his vendetta against her dad, but she doesn't think he can do that. "You're being unreasonable!" Rick shouts. Upstairs, Taylor and Ridge continue to anxiously wait. Ridge wants to go down, but Taylor thinks they have to trust Steffy to handle this. Ridge states that Rick is the one he can't trust; he wants that relationship ended tonight, before Rick can convince Steffy to give him another chance. Hearing Rick yell at Steffy, Ridge bolts downstairs, with Taylor right behind. In the living room, Steffy tells Rick that he's the one who's being unreasonable by treating her like a piece of property and saying that he owns her. Rick admits that he was wrong, but Steffy tells him that it's over. Rick promises to play nice with Ridge, but Steffy doesn't want him to "play" at anything. Ridge and Taylor arrive, and Ridge tells Rick to get out. Steffy tells her dad that she's handling this and tells Rick again that it's over, but Rick says they're not done here and blames Ridge for causing this mess by provoking him in an attempt to get Steffy back under his thumb. Steffy refuses to let Rick insult her father that way and asks Taylor to get Rick out of there now! Before Rick leaves, Ridge tells him that Steffy now sees him for who he really is. Ridge then orders Rick to get out, or he'll throw him out! Rick leaves and Ridge gives Steffy a comforting hug.

Ridge tells Steffy she has nothing to apologize for.

Steffy sits down with her parents on the couch and asks how she could have been so wrong. Ridge tells her that Rick was the one who was wrong by putting on a false front. Steffy asks if this fight with Rick will ever end; she fears that Rick might try again to break Ridge and Brooke up. Ridge assures her that he and Brooke will not let Rick come between them and tells her to just focus on getting her life back on track. Steffy recalls all the times her parents told her not to trust Rick and just wishes she had listened. Taylor tells her that Rick took advantage of the fact that she was grieving and felt alone and vulnerable, but Ridge doesn't think any of that matters anymore. Steffy thinks it does, because they warned her and she ignored them, and Rick took advantage of that and made her believe that he loved her. Now she has to wonder if Rick even knows what love is. She tells Ridge that she's sorry, but Ridge tell her that there's no need to apologize. He's just glad to have her back, since he was starting to feel like he had lost another daughter. Steffy tearfully vows that he'll never lose her. Ridge, Taylor and Steffy all embrace.

Katie asks Brooke about her marriage.

At Forrester, Brooke assures Katie that her marriage to Ridge is fine because she and Ridge promised not to let their issues with Rick come between him. Katie asks about their problem in the bedroom. Brooke thinks that's just stress and is sure she can deal with that. Katie asks if Taylor might be a factor, but Brooke doesn't answer. Katie wonders if Rick's marriage to Steffy might bring Ridge and Rick together. Brooke hopes that it will. Rick walks into the room. Brooke and Katie have some questions for him about the wedding, but Rick tells them that the wedding is off! Katie excuses herself and leaves so Rick and Brooke can talk.

Rick tells Brooke about the recording.

Brooke asks Rick what happened. Rick tells his mother that Steffy doesn't trust him anymore thanks to Ridge, who resorted to lame, underhanded methods to set him up so Steffy would want to leave him. Brooke asks what he means, so Rick explains that Ridge provoked him into saying some ugly things he didn't mean and recorded them so Steffy could hear them. "He stabbed me in the back, pure and simple," Rick seethes. Brooke agrees that it sounds horrible. She knows Rick isn't exactly innocent, but she can't believe Ridge would do that and guesses that he must have said some pretty nasty things. Rick admits that what he said was nasty because he and Ridge were arguing. Brooke suggests that he stay away from Steffy for a while and let this blow over, but Rick says it's too late and recounts how Ridge came to the airfield to stop him and Steffy from taking off on the company jet. Once Ridge stopped the jet, he and Taylor came on board and Taylor took Steffy away to play the recording for her. It's clear to him that Ridge and Taylor were working together to break up his engagement at any cost. Brooke says it's not over, but Rick thinks it is. He fell into Ridge and Taylor's trap and now Steffy hates him. He's just sorry he won't be able to marry Steffy on the beach, since he thought that would fix everything. Brooke tells him again that it's not over, but Rick doesn't see how he can stand up to the team of Ridge and Taylor. Brooke says that they're not a team, but Rick disagrees, because what they did today to break him and Steffy up was planned and was evil. He thinks Steffy could have made him a better person, but he'll never get that chance now that he's lost her for good. Brooke tells him to wait there and she'll be back. After Brooke leaves, Rick looks at a photo of Steffy and recalls their romantic interludes and his proposal to her.

Steffy removes her enagagement ring.

Back at the Bel Air mansion, Taylor takes Steffy upstairs and then rejoins Ridge in the living room. The ex-spouses agree that their heart is breaking for Steffy, but they truly believe that she's better off now without Rick. Ridge tells Taylor that Rick can't hurt their daughter anymore and he's glad that they have their family back. What's left of it, Taylor laments. Ridge comforts her with a hug. Upstairs in her bedroom, Steffy cries as she looks at her engagement ring on her finger. Taylor enters as Steffy takes off the ring and puts it down on the table. Taylor tells Steffy that she was very brave, but Steffy weeps that it still hurts pretty badly. Taylor says that she knows and hugs Steffy.

Brooke confronts Ridge about what happened.

Downstairs, Brooke barges in and tells Ridge that she spoke to Rick about what happened. When she confronts him about the recording, Ridge says that it had to be done. Brooke asks if he really did what Rick said. Ridge admits he made the recording, but he assures that he didn't provoke Rick. He informs Brooke that Rick has been saying those kinds of things for months, but only when the two of them were alone, and Steffy would never have believed him had he just told her about what Rick said. He had to record what Rick said to show Steffy how Rick talked about her. Brooke reminds him that they agreed to work past this, but Ridge thinks they are past it now. Brooke accuses him of destroying a wonderful relationship, but Ridge sees nothing wonderful about Rick making Steffy a pawn in an ugly little game. Brooke thinks the only ugly thing here is how he treated Rick, but Taylor returns and tells Brooke that she and Ridge did what they should have done long ago. Brooke accuses Taylor of putting Ridge up to this, but Ridge tells her that the plan was his idea. But Taylor just admitted they worked together, Brooke points out. Taylor states that she and Ridge did indeed work together to protect their daughter from Brooke's sick, spiteful son. Brooke doesn't think it was Taylor's place, since Rick and Steffy are both adults, but Taylor claims that Rick is emotionally a child and only does what's good for him. "But he was good enough for you to take to bed," Brooke retorts.