All that she wants is another baby

Katie assured Thorne he wasn't going to lose his "baby," and Hope couldn't get past losing hers. But Steffy had babies on the brain so much, she made it easy for Reese to go with the Flo! Line the bassinet with Two Scoops' Mike!

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did you plant the seeds of your own marital destruction? Did you let everyone know they had gone to the dogs? Did you find out your creditors were about to foreclose on your daughter? These and more situations faced the Forrester-Logan-Spencer-Spectra-Buckingham clan this week!

I wanna be your baby, Scoopers! At least that's what Steffy thinks "Phoebe" is telling her, as Steffy jumps in to inadvertently adopt Hope's "stillborn" infant. Many of you don't seem to be "baby on board" with this story, but I'm still curious to see how it plays out. Characters do seem to be aware of how fast this tale is moving. But does Reese's get-rich-quick-scheme-on-steroids track? Let's Scoop about it!

I'M YOUR BABY TONIGHT

Even though Hope had already apologized for blowing up at Sally over bringing her a consolation puppy and forgiven Sally for being so doggone thoughtful, Sally was still beating herself up by the time she got home with Wyatt. Sally does that, doesn't she! Wyatt comforted the redhead, emphasizing how impressed he was with her gesture. Wyatt should be impressed with Sally-Sal for more than that!

After all, it wasn't long ago that Sally and Hope seemed ready to dogfight, first over Liam, then over Sally's place in a company where Hope didn't feel Sally belonged. So, that Sally even thought to try to help Hope heal, and that Hope even offered mea culpas for ripping Sally a new one, is kind of a big deal. Anyway, it didn't matter, because Wyatt had the solution that would make Sally forget all about it: his chest!

Now who's the lucky dog? I guess that would be us, as Wyatt gave us a long, leisurely look at his pecs. Not to be outdone, across town, Thorne also showed us the goods as he chatted with Katie in bed...about Bill. Guess that would make him Buzzkill Bill! Katie empathized that Bill's reemergence into their lives couldn't be easy on Thorne. But Thorne, who's used to playing second class in the basement, shrugged.

Thorne was just glad everyone was getting along, mostly for Will's sake, though he wondered if Bill's "one-eighty" was for real. Katie couldn't be sure. Thorne then let us in a bit, noting that totally opening your heart to someone was dangerous -- because of the way he had lost Darla and then Aly. I'm glad the show is having Thorne talk about his double tragedy. He's moving on, but that's going to color him forever.

Katie assured Thorne he wasn't going to lose her, and Thorne said his love for Katie would never change. That is Soaptalk for ish is gonna hit the fan soon! With Ingo Rademacher leaving B&B, it's not likely Katie will simply find her husband with a different face one day. Hints have been dropped for Batie: Part III, and I hope I'm misreading it. Katie deserves way more than serial cheater Bill!

ICE ICE BABY

Do any of you remember the second season of the original Dynasty, where Krystle was inconsolable for months because of losing Blake's baby? That's who Hope is reminding me of right now. She's withdrawing inward, increasingly blaming herself for the stillbirth, and getting pissy with anyone who tries to comfort her. Not that any of that isn't understandable! But after just three weeks, it's getting a little old.

If we think it's hard to watch Hope grieve day after day, think how Annika Noelle must feel acting that out for us; she's a real trouper. Liam gently reminded Hope they had to let people in and that he would never pretend to know what she was going through, which should easily earn him a nom for Husband of the Year. Because Liam is grieving, too, yet shelving that to keep Hope from falling into the emotional hole.

Though Liam tried to put a more positive spin on Hope wondering if this was just who they were now, Hope read it as Liam asking her to let Beth go, which she wasn't about to do. "Am I not forgetting fast enough for you?" Hope snapped. Mama Brooke didn't fare much better with Hope, and I figured out why. Everyone keeps offering Hope food! I don't know if that's clunky writing or just a natural tendency in times of strife.

Brooke tried to convince Hope the pain would subside, but once again said nothing about her own miscarriages; surely seeing that Brooke had survived them would give Hope something to hold onto. Thankfully, Wyatt and Hope acknowledged losing their own baby last week, and this week, Hope bitterly brought up having lost two of them. Then Hope asked the $64,000 Question: what if she hadn't passed out?

Doesn't that make sense? Everything was fine, if challenging, during Hope's labor, but when Hope came to, her baby was gone. Which brings us to what doesn't make sense -- the fact that Hope has not been back to see Dr. Phillips. I said this last column; Hope wants answers, and her usual doc would probably be able to tell right away that Hope didn't have a placental abruption. Instead, Hope sulks.

LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY

But don't worry: Hope went AWOL the rest of the week while others decided the fate of her baby. Reese somehow got himself a fake birth certificate for Beth (is there an app for that?) while newcomer Florence felt like Reese was faking her out. Ah, so it seems Flo was one of Reese's lady friends in Las Vegas and a casino dealer who cashed more than Reese's chips. Flo did not like that Reese was crushing on Taylor.

I thought Reese came straight to L.A. from London? Maybe that was his cover story for Zoe, because clearly what happened in Vegas didn't stay in Vegas. Flo was torqued and felt that Reese was just using her, and she wouldn't go a step further in this scheme until Reese told her exactly why they were doing all this.

Gotta give it to Flo: for a woman who is ready to commit crimes for the man she loves, she also has her head screwed on straighter than most of her new acquaintances. Reese filled in some blanks about that infamous night in Catalina: the rest of the clinic's staff was stuck on the other side of the island because downed trees were blocking the road, which left him alone to treat an in-labor mother.

And that mother wasn't Hope! It seemed pretty obvious to me that Reese's patient before Hope would be the woman who lost a baby, but there have been so many details since then that that bit of foreshadowing could have fallen through the cracks for some people. As Reese told Flo about Hope's labor, we got an another-piece-of-the-puzzle flashback in which Reese clearly had delivered Hope's baby alive!

With Hope out, Reese realized that two babies in one clinic meant he might be able to turn a profit to protect Zoe from his loan sharks, even if it meant putting the dead baby in Hope's arms. "You switched the babies?!" Flo exclaimed. Ah, shades of Sheila admitting her own Genoa City swap to Mike back in 1995. Again, with both Sheila and Reese connected to Il Giardino, it's too bad Sheila couldn't have directly inspired him.

Reese hated what he did, but not as much as Flo! She was decidedly pro-Hope as she bitched Reese out, declaring his ordeal "couldn't be any worse than what you did to that poor mother!" Reese took solace in the fact that his baby and Hope's baby would be safe, prompting Flo to come back with, "What about the mother who thinks her baby is dead? Where's her safety?" Huh! I think I like Florence.

BABY ONE MORE TIME

In Malibu, Steffy was goo-goo eyed, not wanting to get ahead of herself while imagining the new baby and Kelly in matching outfits. Outfits treated with BeLieF, I hope. Neither Steffy nor Taylor could "BeLieF" it -- it was all meant to be! Let's get that phrase out of the way now, because the mother-daughter team couldn't stop repeating it, and that goes for Liam and Wyatt, too. One of B&B's worst habits.

Who else thinks it's funny that Steffy didn't talk about Phoebe for ten years, and now Phoebe comes up all the time? Steffy couldn't stop thinking about her. Too bad she did stop thinking about how she took up with Phoebe's man (Rick) before Phoebe's body was even cold. But I digress. I was genuinely moved that Steffy was worried about how adopting "Phoebe" might be a hurtful, constant reminder for Hope.

Taylor and Steffy were surprised when Reese's "right now" offer for Steffy to meet the baby turned into "later," yet they registered shock when Reese then scheduled it for "this afternoon." Is all this baby talk addling these ladies' brains? Taylor wanted Amelia to put Kelly in the jumper with the elephants on it, because they were good luck. Where did Taylor pick that up? When she was a princess in Morocco?

The success of the whole scheme now fell to Flo, who had to meet Steffy and Taylor by herself. Flo was dubious: what if Reese split for London and stuck Flo with a baby? Sounds like Reese has pulled this stuff on Flo before. But Flo entered on cue, feeding Steffy her B.S. about the baby daddy who bailed. The one true thing Flo said was that "love does make us do things we never thought we would." Preach, sister.

Steffy then told Flo about her own life, smiling that she got to pick her own hours at Forrester. You know that's right! When was the last time any of these people were at work? Okay, Hope gets a pass, and so does Liam, even though he showed up at the office later that day. But who's running Forrester, the interns who are more interested in auditioning for some TV talent show? Talk about a shutdown.

Steffy wasn't sure what to think about Florence; the woman's lack of curiosity bothered her. Likewise, Taylor, a psychiatrist, should have pinged, especially having experienced her own baby brouhaha, like not telling Ridge that Thomas was his son right away. But once Florence brought "her" baby in, all logic left as Steffy and Taylor turned into big piles of mush and "goo-goo-ga-ga, I must have this baby now!"

Maybe it really is meant to be -- Beth will be raised with a different name by Steffy, who was temporarily raised with a different name (Stacey) by Morgan, who had kidnapped Steffy and let Ridge and Taylor think Steffy had died! See why Taylor should see through this? Taylor is also incredibly normal, considering her sanity just made waves at Christmas. Sweeping Bill's shooting under the rug again, are we?

NOBODY PUTS BABY IN A CORNER

Zoe was surprised by the spontaneous lunch invite she got from her father. Despite having been humiliated getting his credit turned down there, and having been confronted by goons there, Reese still picked Il Giardino. Is this the only restaurant in L.A.? Man, that garlic bread must be to die for. Obvi, because Zoe stood closer to that as a new goon stood watching her and Reese lunching.

Wait, was this Thigpen's original goon furloughed? Guess the uniforms come from the same place, because the new guy was also all in black. Why not just give him a Snidely Whiplash mustache to complete the stereotype? Nyah-ah-ahhhh! Zoe must have left her brain in the UK, because Reese has dropped so many hints, between suggesting German Shepherds and the constant I-love-yous, that Zoe should be catching on.

Okay, to be fair, maybe she is. Reese inexplicably asked her to get up and look for their waiter (like servers in a highfalutin Beverly Hills eatery wouldn't be hovering over you every second) so Reese could try to shoo away his latest bad guy shoo-fly. More realistically, Zoe came back in the middle of that convo -- waiter-free, but enough to know that "something feels off." Reese pooh-poohed it, but Zoe is woke.

So is Wyatt, because he visited Liam, only to suggest that Steffy finding a baby to adopt faster than you can find a hookup on Tinder wasn't passing the smell test for him. Man, I love me some Liam/Wyatt brotherly love. But Wyatt was even more concerned what would happen when Hope found out about the adoption, and he looked pained talking about Hope's loss -- natural when you remember Wyatt's loss with her.

That Wyatt and Liam are BFFs after both having been married to the same women is more of a miracle to me than Liam, etc., keeps saying this new arrival is. By the way, how did Hope handle her first miscarriage? Liam's lucky Hope doesn't split for a European locale; I have to wonder if Hope moped around Milan for weeks, too. Not that I'm saying Hope isn't entitled to grieve. I just can't help thinking back to that.

BABY DID A BAD BAD THING

Flo seemed super jazzed about her solo meeting with Steffy and Taylor as she gave Reese a report about it; Flo even jumped on the it's-meant-to-be bandwagon. Reese thought it was meant to be that he'd end up with a pile of cash, which he told Taylor was the only method of payment. I'll have to chalk this up to Taylor still not being fully in control, because there's no way she shouldn't red-flag this black market sale.

Imagine Taylor standing at an ATM, pulling out that $50,000 down payment with cash flying everywhere -- a sight Reese would be used to. It was all good to Taylor, who handed over her bag of Benjamins and said she'd do anything for her daughter. Hmm...you mean like shooting Bill? I think on some level, Taylor's motivation is to give back what she thinks Bill took from Steffy. And where's Ridge in all this?

Taylor did find it odd that there was no paperwork to fill out but laughed when Reese offered to give her a receipt for the baby. Would it come with a coupon for 40% off her next purchase? The second Taylor closed his door, Reese jumped on his phone and told the Men in Black (make your neck work!) that he had his first big chunk of change for them. Well, tough titties, Reese was told! Too late! Click!

Reese immediately called Zoe, who was at -- get this -- an audition for one of those "reality" talent shows. (Don't get me started. A pox on that genre!) First off, why would successful model Zoe need to go the Star Search route? She probably has enough cred to cut a record on her own at this point. And since when does she sing -- or show an interest in it? Will Intimates now feature her lullabying the lingerie?

But it gets better. Zoe had formed a singing group with teen intern Tiffany...and Emma! You heard it right -- these girls who hated each other a few months ago because of their mutual interest in Xander are now two-thirds of this millennial version of the Supremes. Not that their harmonies aren't kick-ass! It's just that this makes even less sense than some people say Beth's baby switch does.

Reese had Zoe text him the audition location...and was somehow let in to skulk around in the background. That would never happen. For that matter, how did Bad Guy #2 manage to get in? Whatever; Bad Guy put on his black gloves, which of course means something was about to go down. This while Zoe and the Pussycats inexplicably rehearsed their act for their fellow competitors to hear!

Here's the thing: Reese promised the thugs their dough before New Year's, and they should have done something to Zoe by now. Not that I want anything to happen to her, but how about kidnapping her, and then Reese switches babies? He'd be more sympathetic that way, right? Hell, these baddies could have kidnapped Zoe's cat Harry, who got killed off so his presence wouldn't have to be mentioned.

BABY I LOVE YOUR WAY

Flo snarked to Reese that Kelly and her soon-to-be sister were babies, so how much bonding could happen? But Flo played her mother-giving-up-child role to the hilt (maybe she did some shows back in Vegas?) when she stopped over per Steffy's request to introduce the infants, who were probably too busy drooling to have a convo about their favorite toys.

"Mama" Flo, on the other hand, oohed and aahed about Malibu and the view and the luxury. Seems like every poor person on this show (or is it all soaps and I never noticed?) is always envious of the Forresters and their riches. I know when I get my millions, I won't want Ferraris, a seven-digit mansion, etc. Anyway, for some reason, Flo didn't want to stick around for Liam's arrival, citing a desire to sightsee.

It was probably that Flo didn't want to meet another extra person she could slip up in front of. As for Steffy, she'd invited Liam to meet the baby because she didn't want him to feel excluded. What about Hope? Steffy's been so compassionate to Hope, considering their history, yet we haven't yet seen Steffy come over and comfort Hope as a woman who also lost a baby of Liam's.

When Liam arrived, Steffy was super mysterioso about the reason she'd summoned him. Didn't she already ask him before if he was willing to come and meet Kelly's potential sister? "It's not much of a surprise," Liam actually said when Steffy finally told him of her infant guest. Steffy hoped it wasn't an insensitive time, given Liam's loss of Beth; as Steffy retrieved the child, Liam's expression was pure "holy $#!%."

Liam then took a lingering glance at the giant Sears Portrait Studio pic of him and Steffy mounted on her wall. I hope that doesn't mean Liam is tiring of Hope's misery and is thinking of teaming up with Steffy, Kelly, and this new kid. Of course, she's not just any kid...as evidenced by Liam's reaction when Steffy put her in his arms! Like Steffy, Liam felt an immediate connection. It was a miracle. It was meant to be!

Fully reminds me of when Liam had amnesia and thought he was Adam -- and how he basically put together a collage that resembled Steffy because he felt such a pull to her. Hey, I'm all for mystical connections, and maybe even it only being Liam who's feeling it, because he was holding his own daughter. But Steffy? I wonder what will happen if Hope ever has the opportunity.

"She even looks a little like Kelly!" Liam exclaimed. This is my nose, and this is these declarations being too on it. "It makes me miss Beth...but there's something more...it's like she belongs here with you and Kelly...and maybe even to me!" I wish we'd held off longer on knowing the baby is actually Beth...and longer still on this convenient it's-like-I've-always-known-her stuff. Call me old school!

What do you think, Scoopers? Is Hope carrying her bereaved mother role too far? Should someone be smelling a rat with this "heaven sent" adoption? And how long do you think it will be before Reese and Flo get caught? Let us know in the Comments section below or on the Soap Central message boards, or simply click here to submit feedback. Your comments could wind up in a future column! Like these!

"This was so contrived to fit what may be. No one questioning anything is not plausible. It is a despicable storyline." -- Sunni

"The other girl could not have lost a full term baby. If she had just delivered a baby she wouldn't have been leaving the hospital so soon. It must have been an early miscarriage or very bad writing." -- Colleen

"The baby stealing plot is cheap and tawdry and has so many plot holes...[Dr. Phillips] approved of [Hope] taking a helicopter to Catalina while knowing that she was having cramps earlier in her pregnancy? ...Most airlines won't let pregnant passengers on board after the 36-week mark. Catalina has no hospital? Only a stinking unmanned clinic? In fact it does have a hospital. How did Dr Reese get the baby back to LA without anyone noticing? How did he conceal a crying baby in a tiny clinic without anyone hearing a baby? How did he care for a baby while also caring for an unconscious Hope with no nurse to assist? ...Only a...monster could kidnap a baby and fool the mother into thinking the baby was dead. Yet, as this is B&B, we can be sure that Reese will never be punished for his horrendous crimes." -- "Portage"

The baby switch is in full swing, so keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold. And remember: no matter color, creed, religion, gender identity, orientation, or nationality, we're all beautiful.

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