Ridge composed himself. He wiped away his tears.
"Are you okay?" asked Taylor, giving him a concerned look. Ridge nodded.
"Yeah, it's fine! Thank you!"
"That's all right! Maybe one day I will need your shoulder!" she added with a smile.
"Anytime, next time you have a breakdown, you can rely on my shoulder!"
"Careful, I'll take you up on that!" Despite the tragedy they started to laugh and embraced each other. Ridge pressed a peck on Taylor's cheek. Suddenly, they heard a distinguished clearing of the throat behind them.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt the sweet togetherness!" The two pulled apart. Brooke stood in front of them. She was seething with anger. Ridge walked up to her and tried to give her a reassuring hug.
"Logan, what are you doing here? It's good to see you!" Brooke brushed his arms away and headed towards Taylor. Before she could react, Brooke slapped her hard across the face.
"Listen, you bitch! You keep your hands off my man! Do you get me?" Taylor glared at Brooke, aghast. Ridge rushed to Brooke and held her back before she could slap Taylor again.
"Logan, calm down! We can explain all this."
"I don't need an explanation, Ridge! I saw enough! She shamelessly takes advantage of this opportunity to make a pass at you. This is really disgusting!"
"No Brooke, you're wrong. Taylor wasn't hitting on me, she was just comforting me because I had a breakdown!"
"Yeah right! Just comforting?!" Brooke rolled her eyes and snorted disdainfully. "Ridge, why don't you open your eyes for once! She still wants you back, but I won't let her! Do you hear me?" She turned back to Taylor. "You can do whatever you want, but Ridge loves me! Get that through your head already!" Taylor didn't have the nerve to argue and she realized Brooke wasn't open to reasonable argument at the moment.
"I'm sorry, but I really have better things to do than listen to this crap." She was about to leave the garden, Brooke still yelled after her.
"Yeah, go ahead and leave Ridge and me alone!" Just then Bridget approached the group.
"What's going on here? Are you trying to wake up the whole hospital with your yelling?!" Immediately, everyone looked guiltily at the floor.
"I don't give a damn what happened but will you please stop this kindergarten, at least here at this place! You should be ashamed of yourself! You all have other problems to deal with right now!" Ridge, still holding Brooke, let go of her.
"You're absolutely right, Bridget! Please excuse this scene! We'll calm down immediately!" He gave Brooke a bitter stare.
"I certainly hope so!" said Bridget sternly. "Because there are people here who need their rest!" Bridget went back inside.
"I think it's for the best if you leave now Brooke!" hissed Ridge angrily at her. "You have truly done enough damage!"
"Me? Are you out of your mind?"
"Don't start all over again! Just go!" Brooke realized she didn't stand a chance with Ridge. Snorting with rage, she stormed past Taylor.
"I'll talk to you later!"
When they were alone, Ridge grabbed Taylor by her shoulders.
"I'm terribly sorry! I didn't mean this to happen!"
"It's okay, it's not your fault! There's just a lot of nerves on all of our parts."
They left the garden and made their way back to the ICU. Ridge noticed Taylor contorted her face painfully and gently touched her cheek.
"Let me see!" He lifted her chin.
"Oh, it's nothing!" Taylor tried to placate him, but he wasn't buying it. He was horrified, the cheek was bright red and showed some welts.
"Ouch! That looks really bad!"
"It's no big deal!" Bridget approached them, she was also shocked when she saw Taylor.
"What happened? Don't tell me it was Mom?!" Taylor and Ridge looked at each other in dismay and fell silent. For Bridget their reaction was the answer.
"Now don't make a drama out of it!" Taylor was very uncomfortable with all the fuss.
"Wait, I'll get you some ice!" Bridget disappeared and returned with a cool pack, which Taylor gratefully accepted.
Brooke arrived at home. She was still boiling with anger and disappointment. She couldn't understand why Ridge had defended Taylor. After all, the matter had been obvious! At home, Donna and Katie were already waiting for her, but without another word, Brooke stormed upstairs to her bedroom. Her sisters guessed that wasn't a good sign.
The next day, the entire Forrester family gathered at the hospital. Stephanie and Eric, as well as Thomas and Steffy made horrified faces when they saw Taylor's cheek. Despite the cooling, it had turned blue purple.
"Mom, what happened to you?" asked Steffy dumbfounded.
"Oh, it's just..." Taylor hesitated for a moment, then answered in a flash. "It was just a stupid mishap! I wasn't paying attention and I banged into the door!" She gave Ridge a significant look and winked at him. Everyone else shook their heads in disbelief.
"No wonder, you're both exhausted!" commented Stephanie.
"You really should go home and get some rest! When was the last time you even ate, let alone slept for a few hours?" But Taylor didn't want to hear her advice.
"No way, I'm fine! I'm not leaving Phoebe's side!"
"But Taylor, be reasonable!" Eric agreed with Stephanie. "You're going to collapse one day!" Ridge intervened.
"Forget it! I've been running my mouth this whole time, but it's completely useless!"
"How's Phoebe doing anyway?" wanted Eric to know. "Did you talk to the doctor again?"
"Yes, just now!" recounted Ridge. "Her condition is still critical, but at least she's stable and her vitals have not deteriorated! The doctor said that's a good sign! Now we just have to pray there won't be any further complications!"
"Well, that doesn't sound too bad!" encouraged Eric them.
"By the way, we have something for Phoebe, that might help!" explained Steffy and Thomas held up Phoebe's CD player.
"What are you guys up to?" asked Taylor her kids, puzzled. "Well, it's a theory that music has a calming effect on people who are in a coma! Maybe listening to her favorite songs will comfort her!" Taylor and Ridge reacted rather skeptical at first. Thomas added.
"Don't worry, the device is already disinfected and it's all cleared with Bridget!"
"Well then!" Taylor gave in. "It can't do any harm!" Satisfied, Steffy and Thomas trotted off towards the ICU.
"I will go, too." said Eric. "I want to stop by and see Rick!"
Taylor and Ridge retreated with Stephanie to the waiting area. There, she told them about her conversation with Lt. Baker. Ridge listened in horror to his mother's account.
"So that means Rick actually is responsible for the accident?"
"Don't be so hasty, Ridge!" his mother admonished. "That's not what Lt. Baker said. He just remarked there are certain suspicions that raise some questions. That's why it's so important that Rick give his statement as soon as possible!"
"Does Rick know about this?" asked Taylor.
"Yes, I told him yesterday. Brooke was there too, she was anything but thrilled! She said it's too soon, Rick is not in the condition to make a statement!"
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ridge got upset. "He owes it to Phoebe. I will make sure by myself that he will go to Lt. Baker and if I have to drag him there by his collar!"
"Ridge, take it easy!" Taylor wanted to soothe him. "You should try to stay calm or are you about to provoke the next fight!"
"Provoke the next fight?" echoed Stephanie, she scrutinized them. But Taylor and Ridge refused to give her an answer. Stephanie suspected the two were hiding something from her.
In Rick's room, Brooke helped her son to pack up his things. The doctor had checked on him once more and gave Rick his discharge papers. Eric was visibly relieved.
"Rick, I'm glad you're allowed to go home. I'm sure you'll have a speedy recovery!"
"I have my serious doubts about that, though!" replied Rick with skepticism.
"Why?" Eric had no idea what Rick was talking about.
"Ridge will be there and right now he's not too fond of me."
"He'll come around!" said Eric confidently.
"Besides, Ridge is in the hospital most of the time!" added Brooke with a slightly snarky undertone.
"Well, Phoebe is still not better, unfortunately!" told Eric. "But the doctors are a little bit more optimistic now! Who knows, maybe Phoebe will recover faster than we all imagine and be home soon as well!"
"There you go Rick, that sounds pretty good to me!"
"Yes, certainly!" Rick didn't look at his father or his mother, but stared into the space.
"But for now, let's just rejoice that you at least are restored!" Eric patted him on the back.
"Indeed!" beamed Brooke. "Actually, that calls for a celebration!"
"I don't know, Mom, isn't that a little over the top?"
"I'm not talking about a big party, just a nice dinner with the entire family! Eric, I'm sure you'll come and maybe Bridget can join us too and then we'll invite Donna and Katie. How does that sound?"
"Yeah, pretty good!" said Rick without any enthusiasm. But neither Eric nor Brooke heard his displeasure.
"Eric, can you please give Rick a ride home? There's something I'd like to discuss with Ridge!"
"Of course, no problem!"
Eric and Rick left the hospital, Brooke went in search of Ridge. She passed Phoebe's hospital room, but there she saw only Taylor sitting by the bed. She finally spotted him alone on a park bench, where he was drinking a cup of coffee.
"Hey Ridge!" She approached him meekly.
"Hi Logan!" he replied offish.
"Is something bothering you?"
"You're seriously asking me that after last night?"
"Come on Ridge, don't be like that! I mean, the situation looked really obvious to me!"
"You got a totally wrong impression and you lashed out with some accusations for no reason at all! If you had looked more precisely, you would have seen it was me who kissed Taylor on the cheek and not the other way around! And that only because I was grateful. She was there for me when I felt miserable!"
"But you can't deny, she still wants you!"
"Even if she does, trust me, Taylor has more important things to worry about right now! Besides, I really don't wanna talk about this topic anymore!"
"Okay, I actually came to talk about something else with you!"
"So, what is it?"
"I want to ask you if you are coming home tonight? We could have a cozy, relaxing evening together. Besides, you desperately need a good night's sleep!"
"Maybe that's a pretty good idea!"
"So I'll see you tonight?"
"Yeah, I'll be home around seven!"
"Great, I'm looking forward to it!"
Taylor and Ridge spent the afternoon together in Phoebe's room. They listened to the music Steffy and Thomas had brought for their sister. Ridge pulled his face at some of the songs.
"Our daughter has a weird taste!"
"Where do you think she got it from?" said Taylor with a grin.
"Well, certainly not from me!" declared Ridge firmly. "By the way, thanks for your white lie earlier about Brooke and your bruise!"
"I thought it was better that way, before I provoke the next fighting battle!"
"Indeed! But I think Brooke realized she misread the situation. I spoke to her earlier!"
"Oh yeah?" Taylor glanced at him in surprise. "All right, then!" She wasn't convinced by Brooke's turnaround.
"By the way, I will leave soon and spend the night at home. Brooke thought it would be a good idea for us to have a relaxing evening together. Besides, it will do me good to sleep in my own bed for one night. That's not a problem for you?"
"No, not at all!" Actually Taylor was quite disappointed, but didn't show it.
Before he left Ridge said goodbye to her.
"If there's any emergency, you call me right away!"
"I promise! Now get the hell out of here or you'll be late!"
Ridge was in high spirits as he headed home. He was looking forward to a quiet evening alone with Brooke. Finally they would have the opportunity for a quiet talk for once and get all the bad vibes of the last few days out of their way. But when he arrived at home, he was almost struck. Brooke's entire family was already gathered in the living room and they all made a fuss about Rick. Ridge's expression darkened. He stepped towards him.
"What are you doing here? I didn't know you'd been released already?!"
"Yeah, this morning and Mom thought it would be a good idea to have a welcome home party for me!" Rick gave Ridge a triumphant look.
"Uh-huh, really?!" Ridge grabbed Brooke by her arm and whispered to her.
"May I talk to you alone for a minute?"
The two walked outside the front door. Ridge was outraged.
"I want to know why didn't you tell me that Rick and the entire family would be with us tonight?! And you didn't mention with one word this welcome party! Instead, you pretended you want to have a cozy evening with me! You knew full well that I most certainly wouldn't have shown up if I had known the truth!" Brooke was deeply hurt.
"But Ridge, isn't it a good thing to have Rick home at least. All I wanted was to have a nice evening with the whole family and I thought Rick's release would be a good occasion."
"I'm certainly not going to celebrate that bastard's recovery while my daughter is still fighting for her life! Especially not after what Mother told me, that it looks like he was actually at fault for the accident.
"That's not proven yet, Ridge! Besides, it isn't always about Phoebe and your family with Taylor! Rick is also a member of this family and even though he wasn't badly hurt, I'm very happy that he is fine and you should be happy for me!"
"And you should understand that I'm not in the mood for a celebration right now! I thought you and I would spend a cozy evening alone! You set me up because you knew full well I wouldn't have come home otherwise!" Ridge walked back to his car.
"Where are you going?" asked Brooke, frustrated.
"Where do you think? Back to the hospital! There is nothing left for me here, Rick will have more fun if I'm not at his party and I'm much more urgently needed at the hospital!"
Without another word, Ridge got into his car and drove off. Brooke called after him.
"Wait Ridge! Stay here!" Disappointed, she looked after him. Taylor was more than surprised to see Ridge again so soon, especially when she recognized how upset he was. Ridge told her what had just happened. Taylor was horrified and couldn't believe Brooke had betrayed him like that.
"This is Brooke at her best! The main thing is she and her family and if she has a reason to celebrate then fine, why should she care about our misery?!"
"Well, that's a little bit too harsh!"
"Ridge, please! But alright, I'll say no more about it! That's your business!" Ridge gave her a skeptical look and sighed.
"I can imagine what you wanna say, but I really don't want to hear it! Because right now, I can think of a damn argument to say in Brooke's defense!" Taylor was about to say something when they both pulled up, startled. The monitors were sounding the alarm. Immediately, they turned their attention to their daughter.
"What's wrong with her?" asked Ridge, anxious.
"I don't know!" cried Taylor frantically, pressing the emergency button. Within seconds, a doctor and several nurses were in the room. The doctor examined Phoebe briefly and instructed the nurses to take her to the OR immediately.
"What's wrong with her?"
"I'm afraid I have some very bad news for you! Apparently the second kidney has also failed, your daughter has blood in her urine! We need to get her prepped for another surgery right away!" Taylor and Ridge stared at the doctor with fearful eyes.