Bold and Beautiful Recaps: The week of February 23, 2004 on B&B

Jackie promised Dr. Paxton that 'their' secret would go to her grave. Massimo asked his sons to make peace, but Ridge refused. Brooke's son Rick told her to choose Nick. Caitlin's father expressed his dislike for rich people, which included Thomas.

Monday, FEBRUARY 23, 2004

by Alex

At Insomnia, Caitlin continued to talk optimistically about Ridge's family's future. Ridge questioned why she was so convinced, but Caitlin would only say that things would change. Massimo called Ridge and told him about Brooke's fall. Massimo tried to convince Ridge that he shouldn't go to the hospital, but Ridge wouldn't hear it. He and the kids took off for the hospital.

Jackie and Massimo left Brooke and Nick alone. Brooke apologized for the things she had said earlier. Nick felt terrible that she was in the hospital because of him and about all the animosity he had created. But he was determined to make sure it was all over by the time the baby arrived. He tried to push her into being optimistic about what had happened with more sailing metaphors, but Brooke was not convinced.

Jackie went to the chapel and thanked God for the baby's health. She then pleaded with God to make the baby Nick's and asked what she should do. Nick walked in, and they talked about how happy they both were that Brooke and the baby were fine. Jackie still did not let on that the baby might not be Nick's. She said she was going to see Brooke again before she left and started to go. She stopped in the doorway and watched as Nick thanked God for everything that he'd been given in the past year -- a father and a son.

Ridge, Thomas, Phoebe, and Steffy visited Brooke in her room. Brooke assured them that she was fine. The kids left for a while, and Ridge and Brooke were alone. Ridge said he hadn't been able to get there fast enough when he had heard that she had been hurt, but it felt wrong to be told by Massimo and not to be the one to comfort her.

The kids returned with balloons and flowers. Steffy offered to take the flowers home and put them in Brooke's room, but Ridge told her that Brooke wouldn't be going home with them. Brooke tried to explain to them that she loved them all very much, but sometimes people had to do things for other people's happiness.

Jackie saw Caitlin outside of Brooke's room and questioned what she was doing there. Caitlin explained that she had been with Thomas' family when they had gotten the call about Brooke. Jackie asked nervously if Caitlin had mentioned anything to Ridge about the baby. Caitlin said that she hadn't, although she would really like to. After all Thomas' family had been through, they would be thrilled to find out that the baby could be their little brother.

Ridge told the kids that things sometimes happened that everyone had to accept. Steffy remarked that it was just like with their mom. An intern walked in thinking it was Brooke's family and turned the monitor on so they could have one last look at the baby. Thomas commented that it was Nick's baby, and the room became very tense.

Brooke asked the children not to blame their uncle Nick for what had happened. Phoebe wished that the baby were their little brother so that they could all be together. Tears sprung to Brooke's eyes while she told them that she would always love them and would always be a part of their lives. The girls hugged Brooke; Thomas and Ridge looked dejected; and Jackie watched the scene from the window.

Tuesday, FEBRUARY 24, 2004

by Sugarloafer

While Ridge, Phoebe, Steffy, and Thomas visited Brooke at the hospital, the doctor showed them Brooke's ultrasound. The doctor had assumed that it was Brooke's family.

Meanwhile, outside Brooke's room, Caitlin was trying to convince Jackie to tell Brooke that the results of the paternity test might be incorrect. Jackie refused to agree to Caitlin's request.

Outside of Brooke's room, Nick and Ridge confronted one another once again. Nick advised Ridge to accept not being the father of Brooke's baby. Ridge boasted that Brooke's heart would always be his. Nick asked that he and Ridge no longer argue for the baby's sake. Ridge nixed Nick's suggestion.

Brooke told Stephanie, who was visiting, that she had slipped on Nick's boat after hearing Nick and Ridge argue. Brooke admitted that after she had fallen, it had been as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulder. Brooke's only concern was for her baby. She was no longer concerned about her separation from Ridge.

Brooke disclosed to Stephanie that she did not envision herself parenting her child alone. Stephanie reminded Brooke that she had much support. Stephanie offered her support and assistance. Brooke accepted Stephanie's offer of support.

At Dr. Paxton's funeral, Jackie struggled with the decision of whether or not to inform Nick and Brooke that the results of the paternity test might be incorrect.

Wednesday, FEBRUARY 25, 2004

by Anna

Nick took Brooke home from the hospital. Hope ran to Brooke. Nick picked Hope up and flew her around the room while Brooke watched. He showed Hope the ultrasound picture of her brother. Nick told Hope what a great mom she and her little brother had.

Later, Brooke got ready for bed. When Nick entered her room, she thanked him for taking care of her and Hope. He asked her if she had thought about his proposal that they love their son together. After showing her how much he thought the face in the ultrasound picture looked like him, he left.

After Brooke fell asleep, Nick quietly entered. He watched her sleep and tucked in her blankets. After lovingly stroking her hair, he left the ultrasound picture on her nightstand.

At Dr. Paxton's funeral, Jackie decided no one would ever know what Dr. Paxton had been going to tell Brooke the day of the accident.

Samantha stopped by to see Ridge at his office. She wondered how Brooke and the baby were doing. Ridge admitted he was upset. He told her that Nick wanted to call a truce for the sake of Brooke and the baby. Ridge hated how possessive Nick had become of Brooke. Ridge felt that Nick had robbed him of his family and that Nick was using the baby to get closer to Brooke. He admitted to Samantha that when he had seen the ultrasound picture of the baby, he had felt that the child was his.

Caitlin entered Eric's office and was happy to see Eric using Stephanie's face in his designs. Eric wished that Ridge could be as happy as he was. Caitlin was sure that Ridge would get some good news soon. She was about to tell Eric about the questionable paternity results when Jackie entered, looking for Caitlin.

When Eric was called out of the office, Caitlin asked Jackie why she hadn't told anyone about the paternity test yet. Jackie lied and told Caitlin that she had found out at Dr. Paxton's funeral that the results had been accurate. Jackie convinced Caitlin that she didn't need to mention it to anyone.

Thursday, FEBRUARY 26, 2004

by Alex

Ridge arrived at the Marone house at Massimo's request. Massimo expressed his concern for Ridge's situation but reiterated that he believed that Brooke had made the right decision, and he respected her for it. Ridge noted sourly that everyone seemed to have a newly found respect for Brooke since she and Ridge were not together. Massimo was convinced that the entire Marone family would have been thrown into chaos if Brooke had handled things differently. Ridge didn't feel that his kids should have to suffer because one night, at the lowest point in Brooke's life, Nick had exploited her.

Jackie, who was listening at the top of the stairs, half-heartedly told Ridge that she was sympathetic to his pain but that he needed to accept that Nick and Brooke were having a child together. Ridge took her entrance as his cue to leave, but Nick ran in the back door, raving about his beautiful new baby boy and flashing the ultrasound picture around. Ridge exchanged unpleasant words with both Nick and Jackie until Massimo jumped in to try to force a truce. Massimo forced Ridge and Nick to shake hands, but Ridge grabbed Nick by the collar and shook him, saying that he would never accept it, and stormed out into the Santa Ana winds.

Caitlin was at home when her father entered and found Thomas' prep school jacket. He insisted that she and a prep school boy could have nothing in common and that she would only be setting herself up for a fall if she continued to see him. Caitlin tried to defend Thomas, telling her father that Thomas had lost his mother the same as she had and that they were only friends anyway. Her father, being a firefighter, was on call all night due to the winds and dry heat. He went into the back room to get his things before leaving, and Thomas knocked on the door. She opened the door but heard her father approaching before she had a chance to say anything and quickly slammed the door in Thomas' face.

Once her dad left out the back, Caitlin opened the door to a stunned Thomas, who was upset from the events of the day. He said that he was there to get his jacket, but he also wanted to talk. She apologized and invited him in. Thomas explained that seeing the look on his father's face for that moment when he had seen the baby on the screen, knowing that for a second Ridge had felt that baby was his, until reality had hit, had been very difficult for the whole family. He said if only the baby were his dad's, they could all be a family again.

Rick visited Brooke and tried to encourage her to give Nick a chance, since things never seemed to work out for her and Ridge. However, Brooke only wanted to be with Ridge, not Nick. Still, she was determined to do the right thing. Once Rick left, Brooke went back to sleep, only to be awoken by the winds. She asked aloud why it was happening to her and Ridge. The terrace doors in her bedroom rattled and blew open. A shining, glowing, ghost of Taylor walked through the doors and said that she could tell Brooke why.

Friday, FEBRUARY 27, 2004

by Alex

Thomas mentioned that his mother was gone, and Caitlin said she thought that both of their mothers' spirits were looking out for them. Then Caitlin got defensive about Thomas' family's money. Thomas guessed that she was repeating her father. She admitted that her father had reminded her that she and Thomas were from different worlds. Both of their fathers had needed to raise their families alone, but that was where the similarities ended.

Thomas thought it was only the beginning. He and Caitlin had both lost their mothers and that was something that was hard to relate to for most people. Caitlin felt as though she had never had a mother to lose. She told Thomas that her father was always taking people in who had lost their homes to fires. Those people had helped to take care of her when she had been a child. Thomas was impressed with Caitlin's dad and said he had never met anyone like her before. He thanked her for listening and kissed her cheek before he left.

Brooke was shocked to see a vision of Taylor in her room. Taylor seemed to be there in body as well as spirit, and the two women embraced. Brooke explained that she had tried to be a better person and that she wanted to emulate Taylor. Taylor thanked Brooke for the compliments but said that it was easy to idealize people when they were gone.

Taylor told Brooke that she had a great heart and that she had been a good influence on Ridge and the kids. She assured Brooke that Brooke would find a way through if she listened to her instincts. Brooke said that her instincts were telling her to be with Ridge. When Brooke asked Taylor for insight into whether she and Ridge would ever be together again, Taylor insisted that those were Brooke's answers to find but that it would work out for her.

Phoebe tried to get Ridge to open up about the difficult day Ridge had had. Ridge told her that she reminded him very much of Taylor. He felt terrible that he didn't always know what to say the way that Taylor had. He was sorry that she hadn't gotten to have more time with her mother.

Thomas returned home and found Phoebe and Ridge talking about Taylor. He told them that he had been thinking about his mother that night also. Later, Ridge was woken from his sleep and found Taylor's spirit in his room.