In Reese's apartment, Zoe couldn't believe that her father had done something as heinous as he had. Though Reese insisted that he'd done it for her, she refused to let him put the blame for his actions on her. She declared that Hope deserved to know the truth about Beth.
Reese knew that he'd screwed up. He couldn't sleep or eat, and he hated what he'd put Hope through. He swore he'd only done it to save Zoe, whom he loved more than anything. Reese was certain that if Zoe went to Hope, he and Flo would go to jail, and life as he knew it would cease to exist. Zoe asked about Hope and Liam's life and family.
Reese was truly sorry about it, but he felt his job was to protect his daughter. He warned Zoe that if Hope went to the police, the police would sniff around Reese's loan sharks, who wouldn't respond positively to the attention. He believed the goons would go right back to the start, using Zoe as leverage against him.
Reese implored Zoe to leave things as they were. He said Steffy would be a wonderful mother, and Hope would still be in the baby's life. Zoe noted that he'd found a way to justify the horrible thing he'd done. He claimed to be ashamed of it, but said that, as selfish as it sounded, he didn't want to go to prison. Yanking open the door, Zoe said that she didn't know if she could keep quiet.
Later, Reese was drinking alone when Flo arrived, wondering if he'd talked Zoe down. He replied that it wasn't happening. Flo said he had to do it because Zoe knew too much. He asked whose fault that was, and she wondered if he was really blaming her. He apologized.
Flo demanded to know if she was about to be named an accomplice, so she could get out of there. Reese replied that he didn't know what Zoe would do. Flo reasoned that Zoe wouldn't turn in her father. "Right?" Flo asked. Reese didn't think Zoe would go to the police but figured that she might go to baby Phoebe's mother.
In the Forrester studio, Xander greeted Zoe upon her arrival and noticed that she was upset. Zoe revealed that she'd argued with her father about how selfish and reckless he was. She asked why Reese couldn't just do the right thing. Xander asked if it was about Steffy's mother. Zoe asked if Xander had time to go with her to Steffy's house.
At the cliff house, Steffy noted how comfortable baby Phoebe was in Hope's arms. "She fits. Just like -- Well, you know, when they're this tiny, they're easy to hold," Hope replied.
Steffy took baby Phoebe back to bed. Steffy returned to the living room and remarked that she'd check in with Hope occasionally to make sure that the visits continued to do more good than harm to Hope. Hope understood but reassured Steffy that baby Phoebe was filling a void within Hope -- "And Kelly, too," Hope added.
Later, Hope straightened up in the living room alone. She glanced at the portrait on the wall, and her mind churned in thought. Steffy returned to the room, saying that everything took twice as long when both girls were awake. Hope thanked Steffy for letting her be a part of it. Being with baby Phoebe gave Hope peace, and Hope thought Steffy was lucky to be the child's mother.
Hope left, and sometime later, Zoe and Xander arrived at the house. Zoe asked if she could talk to Steffy about Hope's baby, Beth. Steffy expressed surprise that they wanted to talk to her about Hope's baby. Zoe mentioned that losing Beth had been hard for Hope. Steffy replied that her heart broke for Liam and Hope, especially Hope.
Zoe stated that it shouldn't have happened, and there had been no reason for Hope to lose her baby. Steffy said that Hope had just been there, visiting the girls. Zoe expressed surprise, and Xander remarked that being with the girls had to be a painful reminder to Hope. Agreeing, Steffy said she'd been concerned about it, but Hope seemed to find comfort and peace there.
Steffy assumed it was because baby Phoebe was the same age as Hope's lost child. Steffy said that when Hope held the child, it made Hope's darkness go away. Baby Phoebe made Hope light up with life. For Steffy, it was heartbreaking but beautiful to see their connection.
Zoe noted that Steffy sensed a connection between Hope and baby Phoebe. Steffy responded that the connection had been there from the moment the two had met. Steffy had to keep reminding herself that Hope wasn't holding Beth. Noting that Hope's instincts for that child were intense, Zoe reasoned that there might be a reason that it seemed as if the baby was Hope's own daughter.
At Spencer, a woman ushered Wyatt into Bill's office. Bill was happy that his son had arrived so quickly, and Wyatt replied that he'd been summoned. Wyatt claimed that he would have stopped by there, anyway, because he'd just gotten news that would change Will's life. Wyatt revealed that Katie and Thorne had annulled their marriage, and Thorne had gone back to Paris for good.
Taken aback by the news, Bill thought it wasn't good for his son, who'd been attached to "that loser." Wyatt informed Bill that Katie had said Will had seen that Thorne had been uncomfortable in the marriage before Katie had seen it. It had sounded to Wyatt like Will was okay with what had gone on. "What about Katie?" Bill asked.
Wyatt conveyed that the rattled Katie hadn't seen any hint of trouble beforehand, and Wyatt guessed that Thorne hadn't set off any alarm bells. Bill replied that the good part about dealing with him was that one knew exactly where he stood; however, with a guy like Thorne, one hardly knew what was going on inside. Bill had thought Thorne had been in it for the long haul -- or would have made it a few years at least.
Wyatt said Thorne had bailed on what Thorne thought was inevitable. Bill asked what that meant. Wyatt replied that Thorne had a number of reasons for going, and one of them was Bill. Instantly ticked off, Bill asked what he had to do with it. He said he hadn't messed with them. Wyatt agreed, saying Bill wasn't doing anything on purpose, and Bill had turned into someone Will could look up to. Bill claimed he always had been -- except in a few distracted moments.
Wyatt replied that a lot of damage had happened in those moments -- enough to warrant a custody battle -- and that had been when Thorne and Katie had gotten married. "See! That's why I said they got married!" Bill exclaimed. Wyatt claimed that the love and marriage between Thorne and Katie had been real, but during the custody hearing, presenting a stable family for Will had been important to contrast Bill's "benign" neglect.
Wyatt said that Bill had become the kind of parent Will needed and deserved, but it hadn't gone unnoticed by Thorne. Bill didn't "give a damn" what Thorne noticed or didn't notice and said he didn't need Thorne's approval. Wyatt replied that Bill was missing the point, which was that Katie and Bill had started co-parenting again. Wyatt said Thorne had seen it and become convinced that she was still in love with Bill.
Bill decided that Thorne was just scraping the bottom of the barrel for excuses to leave Katie. Wyatt said it could be true. Bill stated that he and Katie would always care about each other -- as Will's parents. Bill believed in family support, and he wanted to get their family back on track. He explained that he'd asked Wyatt there because he needed Wyatt's help in doing that.
In the CEO's office at Forrester, Brooke and Donna stared at Katie's annulment papers, and Brooke remarked that the breakup was out of the blue. Agreeing, Katie stated that she'd had no idea that Thorne had wanted to leave her, and she guessed Thorne hadn't been happy. Shocked and saddened by the news, Donna and Brooke hugged Katie.
Donna and Brooke wondered how Katie and Will were handling it. Katie was in shock but said she'd be fine. She told her sisters that Will had been confused and sad at first, but she believed he understood why Thorne had left. Donna didn't get it and asked why Thorne had gone.
Later, Brooke stated that she didn't understand why Thorne had to go all the way to Paris to deal with his grief. She thought he could have done it just as well in town with a therapist, a support group, and loved ones to lean on. Katie stated that he hadn't wanted to handle it in those ways, and he was trying to save Will and her further disruption in the future.
It still didn't add up for Donna. She figured that either there was something Katie wasn't telling Donna and Brooke, or there was something Katie wasn't aware of herself. Brooke said that they wouldn't judge Katie. Katie snapped that she hadn't done anything to deserve judgment. "Okay...So, where is all that coming from?" Brooke asked.
Apologizing, Katie said it was a bit hard to absorb. She stated that unresolved grief wasn't the only reason Thorne had left her. She revealed that he also thought she was still in love with Bill. Donna asked if Katie had given Thorne a reason to think such a thing, and Katie exclaimed, "No, of course not!" Donna and Brooke gave Katie long, contemplative stares. Katie asked why they were looking at her like that. "You think I'm still in love with Bill, too?" Katie asked.
Later, Brooke was working alone in the office and expressed surprise when Hope arrived. Hope said she was trying to get back into things or at least fake it until she made it. She admitted that she actually felt good that day. Brooke smiled, glad to hear it. Hope said that baby Phoebe had that effect on her. "Phoebe?" Brooke replied, her smile fading.
Hope conveyed that Steffy had been great about letting Hope spend time with the girls, and Hope had just been over there. Brooke asked if Hope thought it was a good idea. Hope stated that it was the only thing that kept her spirits up and helped her to believe that she might get through it with her sanity still intact. Brooke looked concerned as Hope said holding the baby made Hope's pain go away.
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