Ridge wakes up!
Taylor was caught completely off guard at first, but then she invited everyone inside.
"Could you please explain to me why you're here?"
"Dr Hayes, we have received an anonymous call, your son's welfare is supposed to be in massive jeopardy. It was said, you are suffering from an alcohol problem and therefore you are not capable of taking care of your son properly. We were just told, we might even find you drunk and unconscious!"
"What? That has to be a mistake…As you can see, I'm neither unconscious nor drunk."
"So you are saying that you haven't consumed any alcohol today?"
"No, I don't drink any alcohol at all!"
"Then surely you agree to a breath test?"
"Of course!" The policeman stepped up to her and conducted the breathalyzer test. He nodded to Mrs. Smith.
"Indeed 0 per mille!"
"Have you ingested any other substances or drugs?"
"No, definitely not!"
"We would like to run a blood test on you to verify this if you are willing to do so."
"Fine by me!" Just as one of the paramedics was drawing blood from Taylor, the door opened again and Ridge stepped inside. He was very irritated by the scene. Mrs. Smith stepped toward him.
"Good afternoon Miranda Smith, CPS! May I ask who you are?" "Ridge Forrester!" She looked briefly at her records.
"Ah you are the father of Dr. Hayes's baby."
"Right, excuse me but what are you doing here?"
"We received an anonymous call that your ex-wife is not able to fulfill her motherly duties. She is said to have a drinking problem. Do you know anything about that?"
"That's absurd, my ex-wife doesn't have a drinking problem and she is perfectly capable of taking excellent care of Jack."
So you're saying that you've never seen your ex-wife drunk or witnessed her using other drugs?"
"I didn't witness any of these, I certainly would have noticed it if there was something wrong."
"Really? According to our records, you two don't live together." "That's correct, but we see each other almost every day, so I would definitely recognize it."
"Dr Hayes, do you have any alcohol in the house?"
"Yes, I do, but I don't drink! He's just for visitors."
"Hmm I see...But it's true that you had a problem with alcohol in the past?" Taylor blushed and became highly embarrassed.
"I did have a drinking problem at one time, but that was long before Jack was born and I went through rehab and therapy and I've been absolutely sober since then!"
"I can attest to that. She hasn't touched a drop since and she is an excellent mother to our son! I mean, take a look at our little boy. He's doing great!" Everyone looked over at Jack, who undisturbed by all the commotion played happily with his building blocks.
"Your son indeed seems to make an amused impression and I can't see any traces of negligence." Slowly, she and her colleague realized that there had probably been a false alarm. "Well, as far as I can see there is indeed no truth to the suspicions, but surely you will understand we have to take such a grave accusation seriously."
"Of course! I understand that, you're just doing your job."
"To get a definitive picture, I would like to see the house."
"Please, follow me!" Taylor showed Mrs. Smith around the house, showing her the nursery and the other rooms. Mrs. Smith checked everything keenly. Meanwhile, her colleague said goodbye to the two paramedics and the police officer, since there was nothing more for them to do. Mrs. Smith and Taylor came back into the living room.
"Well I have nothing to complain about, on the contrary, this house is an exemplary model concerning safety and child-friendliness. If the blood test is also negative, we will close the case. We're sorry we had to interrupt you, but we're just fulfilling our duty!"
"Of course, it's not your fault!"
"We'll say goodbye then. All the best for you and your son!"
Ridge led them to the door. After they left the house, Taylor sank down on the couch, exhausted and rattled. Ridge joined her and exhaled deeply.
"I know this is totally insensitive and inappropriate right now, but I really could use a drink." Taylor couldn't help it, she started to laugh hysterically.
"Please help yourself, I'm sure you'll understand if I pass." While Ridge went to the bar, Taylor sat down with Jack, who was still sitting on the floor, looking rather confused.
"Hey my little boy, you don't have to be scared anymore. Everything is alright! Mommy's with you!" She hugged him tightly. She packed up the building blocks and pulled out the box with Jack's little stuffed animal. "Here, play with these." She joined Ridge on the couch. He noticed she was still shaking.
"Hey, calm down. It's over. Nothing more can happen now."
"That's easy for you to say! I'm all messed up!"
"No wonder!"
"By the way, thanks for your support!"
"Hey, I just told the truth but can you explain to me what that was all about?!"
"I can explain it to you in one word: Brooke!"
"What does Brooke have to do with this?"
"She called the CPS on me!"
"Come on, we don't know that for sure!" retorted Ridge, though he wasn't truly convinced, he also suspected Brooke was behind it.
"Oh Ridge please! Who else would have an interest in taking Jack away from me. Besides..."
"Besides, what?"
"She was here earlier, just before this invasion stormed the house. She wanted to talk to me, that she wants to spend more time with Jack, well the same as always. Call it female intuition, but immediately I was on to her that she was up to something. Then she lured me out of the room. I went along with it, I watched her from the balustrade and I could see she was pouring something into my iced tea. I couldn't tell what it was, but I had a really bad feeling. When I came back, she practically forced me to drink." Ridge's horror grew.
"And what did you do?" Taylor grinned mischievously.
"I made sure she was distracted for a while. Then I dumped the tea, rinsed out the glass and poured myself another one. Brooke came back just as I emptied my glass. Of course she assumed it was the original one. Shortly after she disappeared, there was this mob at the door." Ridge didn't know what to say.
"I just can't believe this, I mean I don't wanna say you're making it up, but this is so adventurous and disgusting. I simply don't get why Brooke should do something so awful?"
"There's something Ridge, you don't know yet. What I've wanted to tell you all along. That afternoon when I was at your house to pick up Jack, I heard Brooke babbling to him. Brooke wants to start a family with you and Jack and in order to do that, she needs to get rid of me."
"What? You've got to be kidding!" Ridge jumped up excitedly and paced around the room. "No, that's impossible! She never gave me any hints..okay she keeps saying she is worried about Jack and she thinks you are unreliable and..." Suddenly Ridge froze. He remembered a scene. "The other day she came and insinuated, you're drinking again. I brushed it off as nonsense, but she was absolutely sure. She even suggested I should take Jack to live with me."
"See, she wants me out of Jack's life." Everything fell into place in Ridge's mind like a jigsaw puzzle and it was a very horrible picture that presented itself to him. He was completely shaken.
"Why didn't you come to me sooner?"
"I wanted to, but then you were so mad at me because you thought I went after Brooke again. I was so afraid you wouldn't believe me and stick up for Brooke. I thought I have to regain your trust first, before I could confront you with this!"
"Oh my God! I still can't progress it, I never thought Brooke would go so far. I just figured it's a good idea for her to play with Jack occasionally. I'm so sorry Taylor for all of this, that I didn't believe you, that I didn't listen to you and that I was so blind. I'm so ashamed, I just didn't realize what Brooke was really up to!"
"Well, you've never been objective when it comes to this woman!"
"I don't even want to imagine what could have happened if you had drunk the tea...But I promise I'll make it up to you! From now on you can rely on me. I will protect you and Jack. Brooke will never come near you again. I'll make it up to you Doc!" He took her in his arms. She smiled, he hadn't called her by her pet name in a long time. She was immensely relieved that everything was out. Just then Ridge's phone rang. He pushed the call away.
"Was that Brooke?"
"Yes!"
"She probably wants to find out what came out of this."
"This woman will get to know me." Ridge was angrier than he'd ever been in his life. "I'm going to confront her right now!"
"Wait! I come with you!" They packed up Jack and immediately headed to Forrester Creation.
Before Ridge and Taylor went to Brooke, they first knocked on Eric's office, Stephanie was also there.
"Hi Dad Mother, could you please watch Jack for a moment? Taylor and I have something very important to do." Stephanie could tell by the looks from her son and former daughter-in-law that they were both outraged.
"Did something happen? You guys seem extremely upset."
"We can't explain it right now, the situation is pretty complicated. Please take care of Jack and stay in the office with him!" And before she could ask any further, they were gone.
"Do you have any idea what's going on?" turned Stephanie to Eric. The latter took his grandson out of the stroller and gently rocked him.
"I haven't the faintest idea, but something is definitely wrong!"
"You bet, I have a very bad feeling!"
Ridge yanked open the door to Brooke's office.
"Hey Brooke, we have to talk!"
"Ridge, I'm glad you're here. I've tried calling you a couple of times. I wanted to...Taylor what are you doing here?" She was very startled when Taylor entered the room as well, but tried not to show it.
"Hello Brooke, I guess you are surprised to see me?"
"Surprised? No, I just wasn't expecting you."
"What did you expect? I suppose you thought I'd be lying in the hospital unconscious and in a complete daze."
"What are you talking about? Ridge, what's this holdup?"
"I just went to Taylor and Jack and guess who else was there?"
"How should I know?"
"CPS guys! Do you have any explanation for that?"
"Why would I have an explanation for that?! But I'm sure they showed up for a good reason!"
"Indeed! They got an anonymous call."
"Fine and what have I got to do with it?"
"Now don't deny it Brooke! It was you! You've been trying to convince me for weeks what a terrible mother Taylor supposedly is, that she doesn't care about Jack, neglects him, doesn't fulfill her duties and so on. Who else but you would have called them. Now at least admit it!"
"Alright, yes I made that phone call, but only because I'm worried about Jack. I just feel obligated to him and I can't stand by and do nothing when I have the fear that he is not safe! I only did it for Jack and for you."
"Well it's funny that the CPS didn't find anything wrong. They had nothing to complain about!"
"But that can't be..." Ridge and Taylor could tell she was more than taken aback by this news. "... I mean, that's good news, isn't it? Then it settles."
"Not quite, because the CPS showed up there because someone told them Taylor would be drunk and unconscious. Do you have an explanation for that as well?"
"Um...yeah...all right, I may have exaggerated a little bit, but that's just because I wanted to make sure that they would really come. I mean, you always have to put a little pressure on these authorities."
"Cut the crap Brooke!" Taylor couldn't hear Brooke's excuses anymore. "I saw it with my own eyes, you put something in my iced tea! You wanted the CPS to find me totally delusional!"
"That's not true ! Ridge, please don't believe a word she says! I swear to you, I have nothing to do with it!"
"Oh yeah, well then I'm sure you won't mind if I take a look in your bag!" Without further ado, Taylor grabbed Brooke's purse, which was on the table and rummaged around in it. Brooke tried to stop her.
"Hey, leave my bag!" But Taylor already found what she was looking for. She pulled out a small vial. When she opened it, they clearly smelled the alcohol. Ridge was horrified.
"Brooke, what's this?
"Just rescue drops, I take them sometimes. Completely harmless!"
"Don't try to fool me! Dish what is it? If you don't tell me the truth right now, I will go to Bridget and ask her to check it!" Brooke realized the game was over.
"All right, it's cognac spiked with a hypnotic." she admitted, hesitant. Ridge stared at her, aghast.
"I don't believe it! And you seriously put that in Taylor's iced tea? Are you out of your mind?! You could have killed her!"
"Now don't make it worse, I only used a tiny bit, it's half as bad as it seems. She would have just keeled over."
"Just keeled over? You play with a person's life and health and say it's all no big deal?! And Jack, do you realize what could have happened to him? He could have drunk it too or Taylor could have fallen with him or..."
"But that's why I called the CPS right away."
"Are we supposed to be grateful to you for that? I want to know why?"
"I did it for you Ridge, for us! Taylor is no good for Jack! He would be much better off with us! We could be a real family with Jack and Hope, I mean Jack was supposed to be our son and I love him like my own child."
"But you're not his mother and you never will be! You're just insane and all the time I didn't realize what a sick game you were playing. I believed you all along. Taylor didn't push you, you bruised yourself and then told me this heartbreaking story. Am I right?"
"Don't ask if you know the answer already."
"I've been such a fool, but that's over now. I'm done with you! You stay away from Taylor and from Jack!"
"No you can't do that, okay I may have gone a little bit too far, but..."
"You don't seriously think I'll let you anywhere near my son again. If you approach him once more, I swear to you, I'll put up as many charges as possible and you'll end up in jail for a long time! Ridge is absolutely right, you're insane! You really need some professional help."
Taylor and Ridge left Brooke's office. They went back to Eric, Stephanie and their son. Of course, they had heard the yelling and now wanted to know what was going on, but the two brushed them off, saying they would explain it to them another time."
Back at home, Taylor put Jack to bed before she rejoined Ridge in the living room.
"Our little rugrat is really chilled, snorrs peacefully like nothing ever happened. Enviable!"
"Thank goodness he's too small to realize what is going on." Still completely shaken up, Taylor ran around.
"I still can't get it in my head!" Ridge gave her a reassuring hug.
"Hey, it's over! Brooke won't hurt you or Jack ever again." They sat down on the couch. "The best thing would be, you file for a restraining order first thing in the morning, so you and Jack will be safe."
"Do you really think Brooke will abide by it?"
"Yes I do. She's way too afraid we'll actually turn her in if she doesn't. I'm going to talk to her again and make it clear that she has to stay away from you and Jack." He reached for her hand. "I promise you I'll do everything I can to make sure Brooke doesn't put you in danger once more."
"Thank you, that's really sweet of you!"
"Hey, it's the least I can do after creating this whole mess. I can't tell you how sorry I am for all of this, for putting you in this situation and for not believing you for so long. I really should have known better. I was so stupid!"
"Well, Brooke was pretty clever."
"Still, I know you well enough, but you have to believe me. I never doubted that Jack is in good hands with you and I know you're an incredible mother. Jack can be very lucky to have you." Taylor smiled sheepishly.
"Well, he also has a reasonable father, who maybe is a bit stubborn and always wants to go with his head straight through the wall, but otherwise has his good sides, too." She winked at him. "Important is that you trusted me at the crucial moment and drew the right consequences." They sat together and talked for a long time. Both of them were glad that they could be completely at ease with each other again without any tension. He explained to her, he wanted to call a family council the next day to enlighten the others about the situation. He invited her to accompany him, but Taylor declined. She didn't feel like retelling the whole story and going through it again. Ridge understood her very well. He wasn't too keen on it either. As they said goodbye, they embraced once again.
The next morning, Taylor was in high spirits. She felt greater than in a long time. The nightmare with Brooke was finally over and Ridge and she were getting along better than ever. Finally, there was no more tension or inconsistency between them. While she changed Jack, she joked and goofed around with him. Jack was also in a splendid mood today, apparently his teeths were making a break. He laughed and squealed as his mother tickled him. The doorbell rang.
"Who could that be?" Taylor picked Jack up and put him in the playpen.
"So Sweety, you stay right here. Don't run away! Mommy will be right back!" She hurried to the door, almost unable to believe who was standing there. It was Brooke! Taylor immediately wanted to slam the door shut, but Brooke held it open with her hand.
"Please Taylor! Listen to me, just for one minute."
"Not even thirty seconds. You have no right to be here Brooke. Get out of here right now before I call the cops."
"Please, I don't even want to come in. I just wanted to ask you for a little favor."
"You forfeited the right to ask me for anything a very long time ago. Now get the hell out of here!" Brooke took a few steps backwards.
"Please. I just want to ask you something and then I'll be gone."
"Alright, you have one minute!"
"First I want to apologize. I know I made a huge mistake. I'm really sorry! I don't know what came over me but I realize this whole thing was completely wrong." Taylor gazed at Brooke suspiciously.
"I'm sure you understand that I'm having some problems to believe you!"
"Of course, but I realized I've messed up big time and that I have to do something. That's why I'm here." Taylor was curious what Brooke was getting at. "You were probably right about what you said yesterday about getting some professional help. I got way too caught up with the idea that Jack should be my son. I see now that I need help."
"Please don't say you talk about me or I'll scream!"
"No, no! Of course not! But I thought you might have some contacts for me. Some good colleagues or a clinic you could recommend to me." Taylor mused, she was far from trusting Brooke, that she had come to her senses so quickly. But on the other hand, if she was serious. Finally, she relented.
"Okay fine, but don't come in. I have a list of good contact information I can give you. Wait a minute!" She turned and went back into the house.
Meanwhile, Ridge was sitting with his parents, Thorne and Felicia in the Forrester Creation conference room. He had just filled them in on the whole situation with Brooke and Jack; everyone was shocked about what Brooke had done. Stephanie was beside herself with rage.
"I can't believe it! This woman has no morals, for years she has only brought misery to our family! Will this never end?!" Eric still didn't quite want to believe it all.
"Are you guys absolutely sure that Brooke is actually responsible for everything?"
"Dad, she admitted it herself and the evidences speaks for themself. She'd been trying to convince me for weeks now that Taylor is an unfit mother and she took every opportunity to provoke a fight, and when she realized that I didn't buy her suspicions, she went one step further!"
"But I just can't believe Brooke would really be so careless and cruel. I mean, she's a mother herself!"
"She thought very little about Hope lately, she's completely fixated on the idea of us becoming a family again."
"What I don't understand..." asked Stephanie, irritated "..why didn't you tell us about this much sooner? Felicia you knew about the whole story, you knew what Brooke was up to, why didn't you and Taylor say something?"
"Taylor didn't want to, Mother! Ridge and she had a rough time lately, she was afraid he wouldn't believe her but would side with Brooke. And she certainly didn't want you to know anything about it! Everyone knows that you always lose your temper immediately when it comes to Brooke. You despise her more than anyone. She was afraid you would completely lose control again and make things even worse. She wanted to be reasonable and deliberate, her main concern wasn't taking Brooke down, but to protect Jack!"
"So what are you and Taylor going to do now?" Thorne curiously asked his brother.
"Yeah, are you guys going to turn Brooke in?"
"First Taylor had that in mind. But now we're not so sure, we should really do it. If we actually turn Brooke in, there will be a huge scandal and the press will certainly not just leave it at the story with Brooke, but will dig out every little detail. It's possible that this whole story with the in vitro pregnancy and the mix-up will come out. We could even hurt Bridget with this. Not to mention what would become of Hope if Brooke goes to jail." Eric agreed with his son.
"I also don't think you should go along with this. Brooke has certainly gone too far, but it serves no one's interest if she is in jail for an extended period of time.
"In any case, Taylor is going to file for a restraining order against Brooke so that she has to stay away from Jack and her."
"I think that's very reasonable!" agreed Felicia "That woman needs to be kept away from them at all costs!"
"Actually that is one reason why I've gathered you here today. It's about Brooke's employment here at Forrester Creation."
"What are you trying to say?" wanted Eric to know "What does Brooke's job have to do with any of this?".
"Dad please, Jack stays at my office nearly every day, Taylor certainly won't tolerate it any longer though, as long as Brooke still sets her foot into this building. And to be honest I don't know if I want to work with Brooke any longer."
"I don't want to have anything to do with that woman anymore!" declared Felicia firmly. Stephanie agreed wholeheartedly.
"I feel the same way. I was against her rehiring in the first place. I just want her out of our life, for good!" Thorne also had his reservations.
"I don't think it's a good idea for Brooke to work here any longer either. Taylor will definitely feel betrayed if we continue to work with Brooke."
"Wait a minute, I agree that Brooke did something very obnoxious, but we can't just abandon her. She's family!"
"Dad, we all know how you feel about Brooke, but for once in her lifetime she has to face the consequences for her behavior! Besides, Jack is my primary responsibility. I have to do what's best for him!"
"Ridge is absolutely right, there can only be one way. Either Brooke remains at Forrester Creation, but then Taylor will certainly not set a foot in here with Jack or we kick Brooke out!"
"I see it the same way as Felicia, I've always tried to help Brooke, that's why I started this whole mess with her and Jack in the first place and now we see where it got us. I have to think about Jack. He's my son, I can't continue to put him in any danger or act like nothing happened!" Thorne took the floor again.
"I would suggest we take a vote. Who thinks Brooke should leave Forrester Creation?" All but Eric raised their hands.
"So it's set! Brooke has to go!" announced Stephanie. Eric conceded defeat to his family's vote, even though he still thought the decision was wrong. He could understand Ridge's anger at Brooke and of course. Ridge wanted to protect his son. But he feared this story could rip the family apart forever. He would have preferred it, if they had come up with a solution together with Brooke.
At that moment, Ridge's cell phone rang.
"Hey Doc! What's up?...Taylor please calm down, I can't understand a word you're saying! What's going on?" Ridge's phone fell out of his hand. He literally collapsed. Felicia and Thorne had to support him, so they put him back onto his chair. Ridge was white as a sheet. Felicia looked at him piercingly.
"What's the matter? What's happened? Is something wrong with Jack?" Ridge froze, barely able to speak.
"Brooke...she..."
"What is with Brooke? Tell us!"
"Brooke… She took Jack...She kidnapped him!"
*The next chapter will be very emotional! I would be happy about some feedback!*