Monday, March 02, 2009, Episode #5512

Owen and Marcus watch as Thorne vents.
In Eric's office, Thorne vents to his father about not being named president while Donna, Owen, Marcus and Pam look on. Eric tells Thorne not to overreact, but Thorne doesn't see how he can help it since he was supposed to get the presidency after Brooke fired Rick. Donna points out that Brooke changed her mind. Pam charges that Ricky boy got to his mom and asks Eric why he's letting a spoiled user like Rick get his way. After the way Rick killed Phoebe, pushed Marcus out of the way to make the moves on Steffy and now stole the presidency from Thorne, she thinks Rick needs to be taught a lesson. Thorne echoes his aunt's sentiments, but Eric gets fed up and demands that they all either treat Rick with respect as their president or just say nothing. "I'm tired of all this whining," he fumes as he storms out. "I'll treat him with respect, the same way he's treated me," Thorne mutters under his breath.

Donna tries to calm Eric down.
Donna follows Eric to Rick's office and tries to calm him down, but he hates the way everyone treats Rick. Donna points out that some of it is justified and tells Eric that she had to talk Marcus out of confronting Rick. Eric admits that what Rick did to Marcus was wrong, as were some of the other things Rick did, but he has to believe that Rick is trying to change. Donna hopes so, but she thinks they have a bigger problem to deal with in Pam. Eric tells her not to worry about Pam, but Donna still remembers what Pam did to her and her family. Eric assures her that Pam is harmless since the surgery, but Donna thinks Pam is a psychopath and begs him to get Pam out of the company for her sake. Eric says that he can't do that, since Pam is part of Stephanie's family. Before Donna can protest, Eric gets a call from someone he's meeting tomorrow and tells Donna that he has to take this.

Pam and Thorne discuss Rick.
Back in Eric's office, Pam crochets while she talks with Thorne, Owen and Marcus about Rick. Owen fears that Rick will fire him like he promised. Pam suggests that Owen's job might be safe if something changes, like Brooke changing her mind again and deciding to get rid of Rick after all. Marcus seethes that just thinking about Rick gets him riled up after the way Rick ruined his relationship with Steffy. Pam sighs that Steffy has no idea what she's getting into. Thorne wants to get out of there, and the others agree that they don't want to be around either while evil Rick is president. Thorne asks if anyone wants to join him for a drink, but Owen and Marcus decline. Thorne tells everyone to keep their heads up in case things change. Stranger things have happened, Owen muses as they go their separate ways.

Steffy tells Rick she's worried.
Steffy meets Rick at the beach house and they start making out. Rick wonders if her dad might have followed her over and calls his mom to find out where Ridge is. At home arguing with Ridge about his inability to accept Rick, Brooke gets Rick's call. Rick asks where she is. When she tells him that she's at home with Ridge, Rick asks if she's OK. She tells him that she and Ridge are working things out. Rick warns her not to let Ridge bully her. Brooke tells him to take care of himself and ends the call. Rick tells Steffy that they're in the clear, since his mom is working things out with her dad as they speak. Steffy wonders what that means. It means they'll be there for quite some time, Rick laughs. After playing at looking around for Stephanie, Rick tells Steffy that they're good to go. Steffy asks where they're going. "Wherever this leads us," Rick states, kissing her. Steffy worries about how crushed her dad was when she announced her intention to leave the company. Rick thinks Ridge will get over it, but Steffy isn't as sure. Rick reminds her that her father loves her and would never disown her, so he thinks they should be able to do what they please and answer to no one but themselves. Steffy asks how they can do that with everyone against them and suggests that they accept what their families feel is best, but Rick thinks that might make them miserable.

Brooke asks Ridge to work with her to find a solution.
In their bedroom, Ridge asks Brooke if that was Rick on the phone. When Brooke says it was, Ridge bets Rick was gloating. Brooke doesn't want to fight about Rick, but Ridge thinks that fighting is exactly what Rick wants them to do. Brooke disagrees, but Ridge thinks Rick will do anything that will tick him off, including going after Steffy. Brooke notes that she asked Steffy to leave Forrester to separate her from Rick, but Ridge thinks she could have just as easily kept Steffy on and tossed Rick out. Brooke doesn't think that would have worked, since Rick would have more chances to see Steffy if he wasn't working. Ridge thinks Rick will see Steffy no matter what they do. Brooke urges Ridge to accept Rick. Ridge points out that she's asked him to change his attitude toward Rick, but he's asked her to do the same thing and she won't do it. Brooke doesn't think that's true. "He's conned you, Logan, and now he's conning Steffy," Ridge asserts, lamenting that Rick has his claws in the two people he cares about most. He's never felt this level of despair and hate. Brooke begs him to see this from her side and suggests that they get help in therapy, but Ridge says that will only work if they're on the same page, and Rick is too calculating to open up in therapy. "Don't you see how destructive he is?" Ridge is. That's all the more reason to do something, Brooke argues.

Ridge refuses to be around Rick.
Ridge confides to Brooke that he felt like she was condoning Steffy being with Rick by asking Steffy to leave Forrester so Rick could stay. He's already lost one daughter, and he doesn't want to lose the other one or Brooke. Brooke assures him that he won't lose her. Ridge says that he's worried he might, but Brooke insists that they're too strong for that. Ridge tells Brooke that he loves her with all his heart, but the love and hate he feels inside are colliding. Brooke begs him to work with her and Rick to find a solution, but Ridge insists that Rick stay away from him and especially from Steffy. He doesn't want Rick anywhere near Steffy for any reason. Later, after he and Brooke lay down in bed, Ridge tosses and turns as he thinks about the times he tried to convince Steffy to stay away from Rick. He softly vows to himself that he'll do anything to protect his precious Steffy, no matter what it takes.

Rick shows Steffy his special "recipe."
Steffy asks Rick if they can get by without their parents' support. Rick doesn't think having that support makes a difference in how strong their feelings for each other are. He thinks that living by someone else's rules is a recipe for disaster. Steffy asks what his recipe is to avoid that. Rick tells her that it's a pinch of this and a dash of that, but there's one special ingredient he has to show her. He then leads her to the bedroom, which is lit by dozens of candles. "I love you and I want to make love to you," he professes to a stunned Steffy, who is impressed by this effort. Rick asks if she knows what a difference she has made in his life. Steffy tells him that she loves him, and that this is their time and nobody else's. Rick asks if she knows he loves her. Steffy says she knows, but she doesn't mind hearing it again. Rick laughs that he doesn't want to bore her with that. Steffy tells him that he has her heart and she trusts him with it, so the rest of her is his. Rick picks her up and carries her over to the bed, which is covered with rose petals. Gently setting Steffy down, he kisses her some more and starts to undress her.