The Bold & The Beautiful Update Friday 7/8/05

By Wanda
Pictures by Boo

At Brooke’s house, she is picking up toys while Thorne is asking about Ridge and remarks that he has not seen his brother since Ridge said his vows. Brooke more or less has the same conversation she’s been spouting the last few days about Stephanie using her heart attack to influence Ridge in making his decision to re-new his vows to Taylor.

In her hospital room, Stephanie is sitting up in a wheel chair, sipping on a shake and telling the nurse it’s very tasty….and much better than the mystery meat they had last night. The nurse leaves as Ridge walks in and says he’s happy to see her so perky. She replies her heart is definitely on the mend “thanks to you. You saved my life, sweetheart.” He asks if she means by his saying his vows with Taylor. Steph replies it must feel good to be husband and wife again; the children must be thrilled. Ridge says that depends on which children she is talking about. Giving it a moment, humbly she says yes……. Hope and the baby….well, she will do everything she can to help him give them all the love and attention they need. Ridge ponders and says “no, no you won’t.” As he strolls over and stands tall above her looking down at somber Steph, he says “no more meddling….from now on, you keep your nose out of my business….or else! “ She bobs her head and pulls back in quiet surprise.

At Tridge Mansion, Nick knocks on the door and Taylor answers. She’s had her hair trimmed since we saw her earlier in the day and he remarks “cute cut” to which she answers she needed a change. And tells him Ridge is not there but he says he is there to see her. He doesn’t wait to be invited in; walking past her. Shades on, Mr. Cool indeed. He saunters in, casually looks around and asks if the kids are home and she tells him no. “That’s good. You’re the queen of this castle now so I guess congratulations are in order", he remarks.

She asks why does she get the idea he’s not there bearing wedding gifts? Very civilized, he tucks his shades in the V of his shirt and offers “I don’t think gifts would be appropriate to someone who steals a father from his children.” She stresses that Ridge is not abandoning R.J. and Hope. Nick gets sterner and says a part-time father doesn’t work; she knows that and he knows that but obviously she doesn’t care. She denies it; she does care very much….he continues “but not enough to put YOUR needs aside.” She sidesteps him but he continues “those kids aren’t going to have the life your kids had….two parents living under the same roof.” Taylor points out that even though their father’s heart belongs to another woman?….. she didn’t think that was a very healthy environment. Ridge chose her and hmmmmmmm she wonders…..he was over at Brooke’s last night and now he’s here desperately defending her and HER children….. Nick says he thinks she needs someone to stand up for her. Again from Taylor, “Hmmmmm (here comes the doctor’s psycho babble)…..Classic hero complex….he has this need to defend and protect the damsel in distress….it gives him a purpose in life; makes him feel needed and powerful; even seductive at times. He shakes his head “easy, Doc, this isn’t about me.” Taylor continues that didn’t he take this opportunity to protect Brooke, comfort her, make her feel better….like he did that night in the foundry (when he and Brooke had made comfort love one day after they thought Ridge had died).

Across town at the Bikini Beach bar, Bridget is sitting alone at a table sipping a huge drink as her mind wanders to earlier in the day when overhearing Nick tells her mom that she and the kids were the most important things in his life. Her thoughts are jolted as Dimples Dante appears; she gets up and hugs him and says she couldn’t believe when he called her…….well, she had always said if he ever was in the States. Yes, he says, despite the fact that he was going to return last night; he had this certain urge. She laughs that she is so afraid to ask! He smoozes that she’s beautiful as always causing her to blush.

They reminisce that when she was at school, Mass had asked him to show her around Rome and he pictured this serious medical student who was “a total dork?”, pipes Bridget. No, more like a wallflower and little did he know she was quite the opposite. She sighs the time they spent together was …..so nice….away from all her problems and he offers he has far better ways to keep her mind off her troubles. A liaison with a handsome Italian painter? Sounds like the perfect antidote. “Not for Bridget Forrester”, he quips to which she says the timing just wasn’t right. He takes her hand and fingers the huge rock on her ring finger and says “it is for some lucky guy…..why the sad eyes?” she quickly nixes that hint of suggestion and says it’s because of her mom. He says he’s sorry and she replies it’s not his fault….and yeah he states, it sorta is. She knows he helped Taylor escape Prince Omar and Dante says he’s sorry her mother was hurt. She gets up and says that was Ridge’s decision; “not yours”. Dante explains he went over to Mass’s last night and had met Ridge….and her fiancée….Bridget is surprised at why he hasn’t mentioned it before. Dante says he’s an interesting guy. She exclaims that he shouldn’t be fooled by his exterior; he actually has a warm and genuine heart. Dante pries “and you really want to be with a guy like that?” She studies him and says she thought he would just be happy for her. He says “I wish I could, but I have to tell you, Bridget, I’m not.”

Thorne asks Brooke if she really blames Ridge’s decision on his mother. Brooke counters isn’t that what happened? He was there, isn’t that what happened? Thorns says not like she thinks; Ridge had made the decision he thought was right. But Brooke offers that he wasn’t thinking; he didn’t give one thought how those vows would effect her or her children.

Stephanie wheels her chair around the room to follow Ridge, with his hands on hips, as she says he’s upset with her? Ridge says “and that surprises you?” He reminds her that this was the biggest decision of his life and he’d gone down to the beach-house so he could be alone and clear his head and come up with a solution that would be right for everyone (nope, sorry, not possible). She reminds him he did that; he re-committed to Taylor; the family was healing; she certainly was. Ridge tells her but it wasn’t about HER….at least it wasn’t supposed to be! He re-states his case how she had not respected his time alone with either Taylor or Brooke. She had come down to the beach-house, not once, but twice.

She argues that Brooke was the one who broke the rules. Ridge says it was his rules; his decision but she couldn’t leave well enough alone; she had to go down there and bash Brooke some more. Steph hangs her head and says “fine…I guess I came on too strong….but at least this period of indecision is over! You’ve chosen Taylor. ” He concludes yeah, right here in this room when he thought she was dying. She had him scared to death and she damn well knew it!

(Oh, here it comes)….Simply put, she says “well, forgive me for having a heart attack. Maybe it would have been better if I had just quietly died at the beachhouse.” He points out that what should have been his decision and what was best for his family suddenly became what was best for ‘you’. “Once again the most important decision in my life is all about you!” he remarks. She stares back in disbelief.

Nick lounges around and says what he finds fascinating is this last mysterious chapter in her life….to which Taylor replies is like an open book….like himself. He replies super, then she won’t mind filling him in…one particular name….Dante Damiano. They pussyfoot as to how each of them knew Dante and Nick says when they spoke earlier, Dante had said he didn’t know Taylor….why would he say that unless he was protecting her. She admits yes he must have been protecting her and fills him in how Dante was hired to paint her portrait and that he knew she didn’t like to talk about that portion of her life at the palace…..and long story short, he’d helped her escape. Nick whistles “whew….portraits, palaces, some hero.” She reminds him she was in real danger and he wonders if Forrester knows about him? She smiles and says” so sorry, Nick, if you were looking for some big, dark, deep secret there, there’s nothing there, forget it, Dante and I are friends.”

Nick responds wow, all he can say is she sure has some friends; here’s this guy riding in on a white horse (as he talks with his hands); saving her and getting her back to her husband and she has her best pal, Steph, there pretending she’s dying so she can re-new her vows. Looking right at her, he balances his hands on his knees and says “pretending she is dying; that is the way it happened, isn’t it, Doc?”

Dante finds it interesting that this is the same man (Nick) that she’d once told him was involved with her mother. Bridget scoffs that is all water under the bridge. Still he knows the issues she’s had with the men in her mother’s life. She dismisses that and tells him that she and Nick are very much in love. Dante slips his shirt off and asks how come he isn’t here on a gorgeous day like this? She retorts, “well if he knew I was hanging out with a cute flirt like you, he’d be here in a heartbeat.” Dimples chides that she is a beautiful, young woman, no need to rush into a marriage with Nick, she should enjoy life. “Give another man a chance.” She asks if he is hitting on an engaged lady?

He smiles no, he’d never be that presumptuous….”.but then if she was as beautiful as you”…..and he moves closer and kisses her.

Taylor is shocked that Nick is implying that Stephanie faked her heart attack so he says let’s look at the facts. She didn’t have Forrester call 911. She insisted on calling University Hospital instead of the local clinic and the hospital where she is all chummy with the people there……”and then while she’s clinging to life, you two do your vows and her cheeks get all rosy and red……the real question here…..is were you in on it?” Her mouth falls open and she is beyond shocked and dismayed and can’t even find the words to defend herself. Did Brooke put all this garbage in his head? He scoffs that this one seems to be giving her a little trouble…….and that she always wants to throw it off to something….Brooke, the foundry, this, that and ever since she miraculously came back from the dead, all he’s heard is Stephanie yapping about the Forrester family, restoring the Forrester family, good triumphing over evil…”well I tell you what’s really evil….a mother who doesn’t stop at anything until she gets her son to do what SHE wants.”

Steph lays her hand on her heart and asks if Ridge believes she brought this on herself. He tells her she shouldn’t have even been at the beach-house….but she keeps repeating her mantra, she was there because she CARES about him.

He tells her all his life he heard people talking about how controlling, obsessive, manipulative she is….and he always defended her, did she know that? He defended her because even though he didn’t always feel she was totally right, he thought she had good intentions. ….”but now I’m beginning to see things a little differently….in their eyes….I’m learning something,…..at a time when I should have had a beautiful renewal of my vows…I should have felt the most at peace at any time in my life…..I was consumed by the fact that YOU needed something. I’ve never felt more manipulated in my life!

Thorne continues but Brooks says she doesn’t need a lecture from him. She’d like nothing more than Ridge to drop by and admit he’d made a mistake and that he sees his mother for who she really is but she wasn’t going to wait around for that to happen; she was going to move on with her life…and she was going to accept what happens…for herself and for her children. She wasn’t going to put her life or their lives in limbo on the off chance that Ridge might take off his blinders where his mother is concerned.

Ridge sits on the bed as Stephanie finally finds words to say she did not force him to choose Taylor. Ridge says but she did take advantage of the situation by using his love for her to get what she wanted. Folding hands, she says “you feel guilty because you didn’t choose Brooke, and you’re going to blame me.” He says any guilt he feels comes from him letting her treat Brooke as she does. She deserves better, from her and from himself. Steph only emphasizes that Brooke got what she deserved. They spar; she’s doing it again. Steph says he is losing sight of what is really important here – he’s back with Taylor where he belongs and this family is finally at peace! He states, “actually I am not losing sight of anything; I am seeing very clearly now…..it means you’ve gone too far this time, Mother, I just hope it’s just not too late to fix it.” He stalks out with Steph calling after him not to do anything foolish.

Taylor confronts Nick and tells him just because he has these feelings for Brooke gives him no right to come over here and make these sick accusations about Steph and herself. She beams that “Ridge re-newed his vows because HE wanted to live his life with ME……not because his mother laid some sort of guilt trip on him.” He tells her she can defend “the old broad” all she wants….actually Steph is lucky to have a best friend like Taylor. Slipping his shades back on he says still it makes you wonder, just how far “your best friend” would go for you. He looks at her one last time as he opens the door, gives a semi-friendly wave of fingers and is gone. She seems concerned…..picks up cell phone and calls Stephanie. She asks if Steph is ok, she doesn’t quite sound like herself. Steph replies she’s ok, how is she. Taylor hesitates and says ok, but Nick was just there. Steph inquires what does he want? Taylor again hesitates and says she can’t believe she is going to say this but he had the gall to come over and suggest Steph faked her heart attack. And that she was doing all of this to influence Ridge….wasn’t that the most ridiculous thing she’d heard in her life? Stephanie is thinking that over.

Ridge bounds to Brooke’s door, pounding with his fists on the door demanding she open up, he has to talk to her. Exasperated, she comes to the door and asks what does he want?

He blurts out he listened to his mother and he shouldn’t have, alright? Still blocking the door, she asks what is he saying? He lowers his head and says ”I’m saying I made a mistake….a horrendous mistake.” Suddenly she has a look of disbelief but hope in her eyes.

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