At Brooke's house, Brooke and Ridge disagreed on Thomas' need for therapy. Brooke felt that Thomas wasn't fit to be a father and needed to go away to get help. Ridge told her to stop saying that. She was sorry, but she was afraid of Thomas. She felt that she had to protect Hope and Douglas. Ridge couldn't take it that Brooke was afraid of his son.
Brooke wanted to consider all the possibilities. Ridge asked how bad Thomas could be if Hope was with him right then. Brooke asked Ridge to stop blindly defending Thomas. Ridge insisted that Thomas was trying to make amends, and Ridge believed that she was overreacting.
Ridge reminded Brooke that Thomas had wanted to tell the truth until he'd seen Liam with Steffy and her daughters. Brooke contended that the family situation at the cliff house hadn't even been real. Ridge wasn't saying that Thomas had made the right decision. Ridge couldn't abandon Thomas and affirmed that he'd stand by his son.
Brooke wanted to stop arguing and start talking about them. Ridge missed his wife. She missed him, too. She said he'd needed time away. Ridge replied that he never needed time away from her. He'd needed time to heal his family, and he still did need that time. She wished it didn't have to be that way.
Brooke asked how things were at Eric's house. She was sure Shauna had been over to visit Quinn a few times. In Ridge's silence, Brooke said she didn't want things to be that way. She wanted peace between them. He asked what they could do. She replied that he could just stay. He stated that they'd just keep fighting. She posited that they might not have a reason to fight.
Ridge said that "this" was his home with his beautiful wife. He kissed Brooke and stated that he'd be back. He'd move back in as soon as Thomas was healthy. Ridge asked if Brooke would try to meet him halfway. Brooke said she'd tried, but Thomas wasn't making it easy.
Ridge and Brooke kissed. He said he loved her and his son. He was always going to try to look out for what was best for each of them. He asked Brooke to keep trying. He stated that he'd hate to think that Thomas was dead to her because Thomas would never be dead to him.
At the cliff house, Liam and Steffy talked about how much they enjoyed letting Kelly and Beth spend time together. Liam noted that he and Steffy had gotten to spend good time together, too. Steffy knew that Liam didn't like Hope spending time with Thomas. Liam didn't, and he said he'd made it clear that he wasn't on board with Thomas permanently losing custody.
Steffy was thankful for that but sensed that Liam still thought Thomas was unstable. She admitted that she'd worried about it, but in her view, the person who Thomas had been didn't exist anymore. She didn't believe he was no longer a threat to anyone.
The topic turned to Bill's offer for Liam to return to Spencer. Liam had figured that Steffy should hear from him that he'd accepted the offer. Steffy thought it was great for Liam, and she said she'd miss him personally and professionally. She asked how Hope felt about it.
Liam wasn't sure that Hope had heard him when he'd talked to her about it. In his view, Hope was hyper-focused on Douglas. Liam said that the thing with Douglas had gotten kind of intense, and he was afraid that it was going too far. Steffy thought Hope was going through a phase, and Steffy said that Thomas was the boy's father.
Liam stated that if Thomas recovered, Liam and Hope could still be in the child's life, just not as his parents. Steffy was still trying to recover from what had happened. What mattered to her was that she had Kelly and that Hope and Liam had Beth.
Steffy was trying to be the best mother that she could be. Kelly was all Steffy cared about, and Steffy claimed not to be pining away for him. Liam joked that she could pine just a little. He figured she'd be pining for someone if she used that dating app. Steffy told him that the Italian guy had proposed to her. Liam asked her to keep him posted.
Steffy was sure she'd have a line of Italian men once she was ready. At that time, though, the only men she wanted at her door were her father and the pizza man -- and maybe Liam. Liam said that he and Beth needed to be there more after what Steffy had gone through.
Later, Steffy was on her phone, and Liam joked that she was text-messaging the Italian guy. Steffy was texting Thomas. He wasn't answering. That wasn't like him, and she hoped that everything was okay.
At Forrester, Thomas tried to kiss Hope. She shoved him away and ran. He flipped over a railing and landed in a vat of hydrofluoric acid. His body bubbled up, perfectly intact, to the surface.
Hope ran around the dark building, shouting Douglas' name. He called out to her from behind a door. She opened it and found him on a sofa with his tablet. She hugged him, gasping in relief. He told her that his father had told him to stay there. Hope asked if he'd been alone. Nodding, he added that Thomas had said he could play his video game.
Charlie opened the door, surprised that anyone was still in the building. He decided to tell Hope and Douglas about his assignment dealing with hydrofluoric acid. He told Douglas that it was scary stuff and could dissolve a person's body into nothing. He said they didn't have to worry because they were in the safe zone, and the vat of acid was all the way in the storage area. Hope's ear perked up, and she asked if he'd said storage area.
Charlie affirmed it, and Hope flashed back to Thomas falling into a vat of liquid. "That's not water?" she asked. Charlie replied that it wasn't, but there was nothing to worry about because there were warning signs everywhere. He was sure no one would go near it because, if they did, the results would be deadly.
Charlie began explaining how the acid had readily eaten the rust off the washer drums. Hope asked Charlie to watch Douglas while she went to check on something. Hope left, and Charlie decided to tell Douglas how Charlie had become the head of Forrester security.
In the storage area, Hope returned to the spot where Thomas had fallen into the vat. It was dark, so she turned on her phone light. On the same level as the vat, she saw all of the barriers and caution tape around it. She called for Thomas, but no one responded. She walked up the stairs to the railing and landing where Thomas had fallen. Shining her light into the vat below, she saw nothing but the bubbling liquid.
Someone in a hazmat suit startled her. He yelled at her for being in the area. He said he'd just turned off the ventilation system, and she needed to go.
At the cliff house, Ridge had arrived for a late visit with Steffy and Kelly. He conveyed that he'd talked to Brooke earlier about Thomas and Hope. Ridge put Kelly to bed and returned to talk more with Steffy, who guessed that Brooke supported the custody idea. Ridge replied that they wouldn't let it happen, and Douglas wouldn't lose his father.
Because Steffy knew about Thomas and Hope's dinner, Ridge assumed that Steffy and Thomas had been communicating. Steffy said not to make anything out of it. She added that she had also been talking to Liam, and he and Beth had been there earlier.
Steffy informed Ridge that Liam was returning to Spencer. Ridge thought it made sense for Liam to return to his family business, and Ridge was fine with it as long as Liam looked out for Steffy and Kelly. Steffy added Hope and Beth to the list. Ridge noted his daughter's sincerity. Steffy said Liam and two children and two women that he cared about.
The topic turned to Hope's fixation on Douglas. Steffy didn't think anything good could come of it, even if Hope just wanted what was best for him. Ridge replied that Hope didn't get to decide that, but Steffy figured that Hope might if Thomas signed for shared custody. Ridge admitted that Thomas was vulnerable, and Hope might push Thomas into it.
Steffy didn't think that Hope would deliberately take advantage of Thomas, but Steffy did think Brooke would. Agreeing, Ridge said Brooke was adamant that Thomas couldn't raise Douglas. He didn't know how to get through to Brooke. He had to believe their marriage would make it.
Steffy thought that if might help if Ridge put back on his wedding ring. Ridge tried to explain how it had felt seeing Brooke take her ring off. He felt that something had changed. He stated that he'd try to put his back on and move back in, but Brooke had to accept his son. Steffy replied that Thomas was dead to Brooke. Ridge asserted that they had a problem then, because Thomas would never be dead to Ridge.
Outside Brooke's house, Douglas was confused. Hope had told him earlier that she'd take him home, and he'd assumed that she'd be taking him to Eric's house. Douglas wondered if his father was picking him up or if he was having a sleepover.
Hope let Douglas into the house, and Brooke excitedly greeted him. He said he might have a sleepover. Brooke assumed that everything had gone well with Thomas. Hope stated that Douglas might be staying there for a while. Brooke and Douglas were surprised to hear it, and he guessed they'd have to ask his father. Hope agreed that they would.
Douglas told Brooke all about the dinner they'd had at the office and said that his father had taken him away before dessert. Brooke asked why Thomas would take the child to be alone somewhere. Hope was silent, and Brooke asked her to say what had happened that night.
Hope stammered to explain that Thomas had said he'd made arrangements, and she wouldn't have let it happen if she'd known that Douglas would be alone. She stated that things could have been very different. Douglas told her that it was okay because she'd found him. Brooke didn't get why Hope had had to "find" Douglas.
Hope flashed back to Thomas falling into the vat. Hope decided that it had been a long night. Douglas stated that he was tired. Hope asked Brooke to put Douglas to bed. Brooke agreed to do it and said that afterward, they'd talk about everything. Brooke and Douglas left, and Hope began to sob.
When Brooke returned downstairs, she noticed how stressed out Hope was. She asked what had happened. Hope showed Brooke the papers that Thomas had signed, and Brooke wondered why Hope wasn't celebrating. Hope began crying. She said that it was horrible. Brooke ordered her daughter to say what was going on.
Hope explained that she and Thomas had signed the papers, but Thomas had had expectations of her. She'd tried to put him off and to go tell Douglas about the papers, but Thomas had said to forget about Douglas. It had been horrible not knowing Douglas' whereabouts or if he'd been okay. Thomas hadn't wanted to get Douglas until they'd finished celebrating.
Hope explained that she hadn't been able to hide the look of disgust on her face, and Thomas had snapped upon seeing it. He'd accused her of setting him up. Hope cried, explaining that Thomas had said he'd had Douglas in storage. She hadn't known what that had meant, and she'd run through the halls of Forrester, calling Douglas' name.
Hope said that Thomas had caught up to her in the storage area, and he'd said she wouldn't be able to see Douglas until they were done. She stated that Thomas had come on to her and kept getting closer. Brooke was enraged and said she'd told Ridge that Thomas needed help.
Hope replied that it was too late because she had reacted. Brooke wasn't surprised and said Hope couldn't just stand there and take it. Hope explained that Thomas had cornered her on a catwalk, and that was where she had pushed him.
Brooke assumed Hope had pushed Thomas away or pushed him to the ground. In Hope's silence, Brooke assumed Hope had pushed him off the catwalk. Even though it was terrible, Brooke was glad that Hope had gotten away.
Becoming hysterical, Hope tried to explain that there had been a vat. There had been water. "But it wasn't water! It wasn't water!" Hope exclaimed. Brooke asked what it had been and what had happened.
Hope explained that finding Douglas had been her main concern. She'd pushed Thomas and run off to keep searching for Douglas. She'd found the boy in a room, playing games and asking for his father. She explained that Charlie had arrived and told her that there had been a dangerous chemical in the building. Hope told her mother that the vat hadn't had water in it. It had had hydrofluoric acid in it.
Brooke gasped. Hope said it had been like a horror movie. She'd gone back to the vat. The signs and warnings had been there, but she hadn't seen them before because Thomas had been chasing her. She'd flashed a light into the vat.
Flashbacks of Hope at the vat played on the screen, showing Hope shining a light down into the clear, clean, bubbling water. Hope concluded that the acid had eaten away Thomas' body. "He was gone. His body was already gone...I killed him..." Hope said, faltering on her feet. "I killed Thomas!"
Due to CBS News coverage of the House Impeachment Hearings, The Bold and the Beautiful did not air. The episode originally scheduled to air was broadcast on Thursday, November 14. There were no "lost" episodes as a result of the programming change.
At Forrester, Steffy arrived in the CEO's office and was impressed by the designs she saw a model wearing for Ridge. Ridge told her that it was her brother's work, and she cooed that the student was catching up to the master.
Ridge showed the model out. He said Thomas should have been there for the fitting. Steffy assumed that Thomas was stuck in a carpool lane at Douglas' school. Ridge didn't know what was going on and said he hadn't heard from Thomas.
Ridge recalled that Steffy had spoken to her brother before his dinner with Hope. Steffy affirmed it. She'd also text-messaged him later in the evening, but he hadn't gotten back to her. She thought that was kind of strange. She asked if Thomas had been in a rush that morning.
Ridge hadn't seen Douglas or Thomas that morning before work. Ridge had been on a conference call, and neither of them had been home when the call had ended. Steffy asked if Thomas knew that Ridge was reviewing Thomas' work that day. Ridge affirmed it and said he'd called Douglas' school. Douglas had arrived on time. Steffy asked where Thomas was.
Charlie interrupted when he entered with Jake to say they needed Ridge in the storage room. Ridge hoped it wasn't about the acid business. He'd already told them to get the stuff out of there. Jake replied that they'd been working on it all morning. Steffy asked what they were talking about, and Charlie said both of them needed to go with him and Jake.
When Ridge, Steffy, Charlie, and Jake arrived at the vat, Ridge wanted to hear that they were getting the acid out of there. Jake said one couldn't rush a thorough job. Steffy asked what was going on, and Jake and Charlie explained that they'd cleaned the washer components with the water and hydrogen fluoride combination.
Charlie and Jake explained that the acid was being disposed of, and the workers were cleaning the tank for the next job. They'd just wanted Ridge to see for himself that it was being done. Ridge instructed them to call him when it was finished and to not let any employees in the area.
Back in the CEO's office, Steffy asked if she'd missed the memo about toxic substances being in the basement. The acid had done what it was supposed to have done, according to Ridge, and he wasn't worried about it because it was gone. What he was worried about was Thomas. Ridge called Thomas and left him a message asking that Thomas call him immediately.
At Brooke's house, Hope walked around in a daze. Again and again, she relived what had happened the previous night on the catwalk in the storage room with Thomas. Brooke arrived, still grappling with the fact that Thomas had disintegrated in the hydrofluoric acid.
Brooke informed Hope that Douglas had already gone to school. Brooke needed to talk about what had happened. Hope didn't want to talk about it and said she'd already made Brooke an accessory. Hope said that Douglas had been counting on her, but she'd killed his father.
Liam entered through the terrace and said that the babysitter had Beth. He was about to head out but noticed that something seemed wrong with Hope. Brooke explained that Hope hadn't slept very well. He replied that Hope had gotten in late the previous night. Hope told him that she hadn't wanted to wake him. He wished she had, so he'd know what had happened with Thomas.
Hope revealed that Thomas had given her shared custody. Liam incredulously stared at the custody papers. He said she'd done it; she'd found a way to get Douglas away from Thomas. Hope stated that she'd been trying to protect Douglas, and all she'd been worried about was the fact that Douglas had been alone and not knowing what was going on.
Liam said the custody was a game-changer, and Thomas would always be there, badgering her. Brooke stated that Thomas had been obsessed with Hope. Liam asserted that Thomas still was, and there was no chance Hope would get rid of Thomas. Brooke replied that they'd deal with Thomas. All that mattered to Brooke was that Hope had done what she'd had to do for Douglas.
Liam was worried that he wouldn't be able to keep Thomas at bay at work. Liam realized that he hadn't told Hope that he'd decided to return to Spencer. Brooke said that she'd look out for Hope. Liam asked if Hope was okay. Hope nodded with a mirthless smile. He said that he loved her. She told him that she loved him, too, and he left the house.
Upset, Hope cried that she couldn't just lie to everyone. She stated that Thomas wouldn't be a problem because he was dead, and she'd killed him.
Hope wondered if there had been any messages from work or if anyone had discovered anything yet. Hope called herself a murderer, but Brooke insisted that it had been an accident. Because of the custody papers, Hope was sure people would think she'd done it on purpose. She didn't know how she'd show her face at work.
Brooke said that Hope wasn't going to work, and while Douglas was at school, they'd try to figure out what to do. Brooke hugged Hope and tried to console her. Hope said Douglas would never forgive her, and he'd never see his father again because of her.
Brooke reasoned that it hadn't been premeditated, and Hope hadn't gone there to hurt Thomas. Hope said she'd wanted to take his son. Brooke reminded her daughter that Thomas had dangled the custody in exchange for sex, and she asked who did that.
Hope began recalling what had gone on the previous night. Brooke told Hope not to do it to herself, but Hope was adamant about trying to figure out how it had all gone wrong.
A flashback of the dinner with Thomas, Hope, and Douglas played. In a voiceover, Hope explained that Thomas had taken Douglas away so that they could talk about the papers. She believed that he'd just wanted to get her alone. She'd been relieved when he'd signed the papers, but it had become apparent that he'd wanted something in return. All she'd wanted to do had been to find Douglas, and that had set Thomas off. He'd accused her of manipulating him to get what she'd wanted.
Hope explained that Thomas had chased her around the building as she'd called for Douglas. Thomas had said Douglas hadn't been able to hear her. Thomas had cornered her on the catwalk, telling her that he loved her and that they could make it work. When he had neared her, she'd shoved him. She'd heard a splash, but she'd kept running, searching for Douglas.
Skipping forward in the story, Hope conveyed what Charlie had told her about the vat of acid. She'd run back to try to find Thomas, but by the time she'd gotten there, he'd been completely eaten by the acid.
The flashback concluded. Hope said she'd never get that image out of her head. She sobbed that she'd pushed Thomas. She'd sworn to look out for Douglas, but his father was gone because of her. Brooke tried to help Hope get a grip so they could figure out what to do.
Hope couldn't. The guilt was eating away at her like the acid. She knew it was just a matter of time before someone found a trace of Thomas. Hope concluded that she needed to go to Ridge and confess. She needed to tell Ridge that she'd killed his son.
Due to CBS News coverage of the House Impeachment Hearings, The Bold and the Beautiful did not air. The episode originally scheduled to air was broadcast on Monday, November 18. There were no "lost" episodes as a result of the programming change.
