Eric continues to settle into the office while Liam stirs up his feelings on The Bold and the Beautiful. And Ridge settles into his new normal.
It’s a calm evening at Forrester Creations. Eric (John McCook) surveys his reclaimed office, studying the art and the photos. But it’s the stapler that means the most to him. A round of coughing hits him, though, and once again there’s blood on the handkerchief.
Back at Eric’s house, Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) and Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) confront Donna (Jennifer Gareis) for not telling them. She says Eric didn’t want them to know. Ridge wants to find answers. He has to hope there’s a way to save his dad.
Finn (Tanner Novlan) and Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) arrive home and he thinks her message was well received. She punched Sheila, after all. The kids come rushing out and the happy family collapses on the couch together.
Bill (Don Diamont) meets with Liam (Scott Clifton), and Liam only has two words: “Steffy’s home.” He hasn’t seen her yet but he’s talked to Kelly, who revealed they just got back. Bill asks what he’s going to do about it.
The family is sitting at the table when Kelly reveals that she called Liam to tell him she was home. This gets Finn’s attention. Kelly loved Europe but she’s glad to be back home and close to her father. Steffy grabs Finn’s hand reassuringly, because she knows how much Liam gets under his skin.
Eric takes a phone call but he gets off the phone when RJ (Joshua Hoffman) comes in. Eric is thrilled to see his grandson, congratulating him on their victory. RJ’s excitement is muted, of course, but he puts on a brave face for his grandfather.
Ridge is furious that he hasn’t been given a chance to help his father. Donna talks about the appointments and tests they’ve conducted to reach the diagnosis, but this isn’t good enough for Ridge, who wants to find better answers.
Liam admits he’s excited about having Kelly and Steffy back, but he’s also worried about Sheila and Bill can understand that. Liam is concerned that people he cares about are staying with the son of a psychopath.
The kids go get ready for bed. Finn holds Steffy and thanks her for coming home. He loves her so much.
RJ thinks back to his revelation that Eric was sick. He knows his father was the true winner, so he reminds his grandfather how much Ridge loves him.
Now at the doctor’s office, Ridge presses Donna for information about Dr. Colby (Justiin Davis), who walks in as Ridge is asking about him. Ridge says he needs “the best.” Dr. Colby assures Ridge that Eric is his top priority. Ridge wants to know how Eric could be on his deathbed. Dr. Colby explains that the symptoms made the diagnosis very clear. He offers to call other experts, but his advice is to spend as much time with his father in his remaining days.
Liam insists that he never had a problem with Finn until he welcomed Sheila into his life. He’s frustrated that Finn never told Steffy that Sheila and Deacon were together, and he admits that he called Steffy to tell her. Bill says it’s because he loves her. They all know he loves Steffy.
After the kids are in bed, Finn and Steffy share a glass of wine. Finn promises to never call Sheila “mom” again and he will do everything to protect them, though Steffy can clearly protect herself after slugging Sheila. Steffy knows Sheila is a threat but she wants to be with Finn. They start kissing.
Eric knows that the line put a strain on the company’s budget, telling RJ that he’s pleased Ridge allowed the overages. RJ is about to respond when Ridge and Brooke walk in. Ridge makes a joke about knocking in the future, and Eric tells him he knows he’ll periodically have to share the office but no one should ever sit in his chair.
Bill says Deacon’s pizza is really good for a guy who was in prison. Liam is worried about Sheila sticking around and being in a place to endanger Steffy and Kelly. Bill loves to see how protective Liam is, and Liam agrees, noting that he can offer them a safer life than Finn can.
Finn and Steffy cozy up on the couch. He tells her how much he loves her. She’s in his life and he won’t let her go again. He was so impressed with how she confronted Sheila. Steffy doesn’t want to talk about Sheila anymore. All she wants is to be with him. From there, they start getting hot and heavy on the couch.
Eric tells them that he needed to win this competition. “It was as if my life depended on it,” he tells them. He’s thrilled having his stapler again and tells them it was like it was dead and forgotten but it’s back. Brooke says he’ll never be forgotten. Ridge says the company needs him. “I need my dad,” he says.
It has been a minute since we’ve seen Liam, but he’s back and he’s still after Steffy. He knows that Steffy’s back thanks to Kelly, and with Sheila on the loose he’s concerned about Kelly and Steffy’s safety. If he’s so worried about Sheila, though, we have to wonder why he and his father are eating at Deacon’s restaurant knowing that she’s with Deacon…
Liam is still in hot pursuit of Steffy, and it looks like his father supports the idea so that means he’ll be insufferable until he gets his way.
Of course, what Liam doesn’t know is that Steffy came back to LA to be with her husband — not Liam — so how will this play out?
Liam thinks he can protect Steffy. He thinks he can do it better than Finn can. But what is his plan? How can he possibly protect her when he’s so blinded by the rage he feels toward Finn?
We’ll see how this plays out, but we have a feeling that things are about to get messy.
The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CBS and the following day on Paramount Plus. Check your local listings to see when it comes on where you are.