Thursday, April 30, 2009, Episode #5553

Taylor stands by her principles.

Stephanie urges Taylor to fight for Ridge, but Taylor refuses to pursue a married man. Stephanie argues that Ridge's marriage to Brooke is not working, but Taylor values the sanctity of marriage too much to pursue a man who is spoken for, even if Brooke wouldn't show her the same decency. Stephanie tells her that she's a good woman who is entitled to be happy, but Taylor has too much self-respect to throw herself at the feet of a married man, even if it is Ridge. She appreciates Stephanie's concern, but she won't compromise herself that way. Stephanie suggests that the things that occurred the last few months within Taylor's family would never have happened if Taylor had stayed with Ridge. Taylor admits that she's thought about that, and she actually agrees. But she doesn't think Ridge spending one family night with her and the kids is going to change anything, especially since Ridge went home to Brooke the next night. While nothing would make her happier than to reunite with Ridge, she won't live her life clinging to a dream of a future with Ridge. She doesn't think Brooke and Ridge's problems will last given the number of times those two have gotten back together. Stephanie thinks this time is different because of Rick and the damage he has inflicted on Brooke and Ridge's relationship. She urges Taylor to keep an eye on Steffy, since that "little son of a bitch" Rick will come sniffing around again, and that will lead to Brooke making a mistake that will cost her dearly.

After Stephanie leaves, Taylor looks at a family photo that sparks memories of happier times with Ridge. She says to herself that she wants Ridge back and believes that it will happen so badly that she fantasizes about Ridge joining her in bed and telling her that he's leaving Brooke for her and their family.

Ridge tries to open up Brooke's eyes.

At Brooke's, she asks Ridge why he went running back to Taylor after storming out yesterday. Ridge says he felt like his kids needed him, but Brooke thinks his running to Taylor every time they have problems makes it look like their marriage is vulnerable. She's sure Taylor would try to take advantage of that. Ridge tells her that Taylor understands their commitment and respects their marriage, but Brooke can't understand why he defends a woman who'd love to see their marriage fail. She knows he worked with Taylor to set Rick up because he and Taylor agreed about Rick, but she thinks it was wrong. Ridge says that he wanted Steffy to see how demented Rick was when she wasn't around, and it worked. Brooke finds it tragic that he's taking pleasure in this, but Ridge thinks that the real tragedy is what happened with his kids because of Rick. That's why he wants Rick fired and shipped back to Paris. Brooke refuses to send her son away and asks Ridge why it isn't enough to have broken Rick and Steffy up. Ridge says that he's concerned that Rick will try again, since Rick hates to lose, and he can't help thinking about how Rick took advantage of both his daughters and their mother. Brooke reminds him that Taylor is a grown woman and a trained psychiatrist who should have known better than to let herself be "taken advantage" of. Ridge just wants Rick gone, but Brooke reminds him that Eric won't allow it. Ridge knows Eric wants him and Rick to co-exist, but he doesn't see that happening. But even more than that, he's worried about how Rick continues to affect their marriage with his twisted acts.

Brooke makes Ridge a promise.

Brooke reminds Ridge that he promised not to let Rick come between them, but Ridge doesn't think they can get past this until she opens her eyes and sees the twisted things her son has done. "He's my son. He's not some kind of monster!" Brooke fumes. Ridge suggests that she continues to protect Rick because she feels guilty about the way he was raised, but he points out that Bridget was raised in that same home and turned out fine. He assures Brooke that she's a loving mother, so she doesn't have anything to feel guilty about. Brooke wonders if he's right that she's ignoring Rick's faults because she feels guilty about the way she raised him, but she also feels like Rick has no one left who understands him other than her, and she won't just abandon him. Ridge tells her that she has to cut the apron strings here with Rick, since that will be good for them and for Rick. He wants to get back to the two people who got married on the beach in their special spot. Brooke wants that, too, but she can't just turn her back on her son. That's why she thinks they have no choice but to weather the storm around Rick's actions. At the same time, she knows he is relieved that Rick and Steffy broke up. Ridge says he'll feel that way as long as Rick respects Steffy's decision and stays away from her. Brooke thinks he will. She tells Ridge that she already told Rick to respect Steffy's decision, and he agreed. She assures Ridge that she won't support any involvement between Rick and Steffy going forward and promises to make sure Rick never touches Steffy again. Ridge thanks her for saying that, since he needed to hear it, and they share a warm embrace.

Pam freaks out about her stupid mistake.

At Forrester, Pam freaks out about her stupid mistake. She bets that Ridge will never forgive her when he finds out what she did. Stephanie drops by to see Ridge and spots her sister. Pam tells her that Ridge left and pulls her into Eric's office to chat. Stephanie asks what's wrong, but Pam won't say anything unless Stephanie promises to keep what she did a secret and asks Stephanie to pinky swear to stay silent. Stephanie promises and then asks Pam to open up to her. Pam reminds her sister that she was always a terrible typist, and it's gotten worse as her eyesight has diminished. But what she did involves more than just a few typos. Now that her crochet work has gone out of style, she's back to playing receptionist, but she got so distracted watching Drew Carey on THE PRICE IS RIGHT that she screwed up royally. Stephanie tells Pam to calm down and tell her everything, so Pam admits that she put in the wrong social security numbers and the wrong dates on the papers that were filed, and now everything is messed up. It's all her fault. Stephanie asks what she's talking about, so Pam explains that she screwed up Brooke and Ridge's marriage license!