document: Brooke: I know it's a lot to take in.
  Ridge: I thought he was doing better.
  Brooke: Right, 'cause you don't wanna see him for who he really is, ridge. And that's frustrating to me. But I do understand it. You love him very much. But this escalation of behavior has been showing for some time now.&
  Ridge: Well, I need to see him. Hope... after you signed the adoption papers, and he chased you all through forrester, what--what happened then? Have you heard from him? Has he been in touch with you?
  Brooke: Nobody's heard from thomas.
  Ridge: So what do we do? We just wait for him to show up, to resurface?
  Hope: [ Gasps ] Thomas? Oh, my god. [ Gasps ]
  Ridge: Hope? What?
  Hope: I didn't mean...to.
  Brooke: Honey...
  Ridge: What'S... what's going on?
  Hope: I'm sorry, ridge.
  Ridge: Sorry for what? Why are you apologizing?
  Brooke: So that call you got earlier about the hydrofluoric acid?
  Ridge: Yeah, what about it?
  Brooke: Well, it's out of the building, right? I mean, it was disposed of properly. All traces are gone.
  Ridge: Yes. Everything's fine. Why are you asking that?
  Brooke: Well, I was just...wondering. M-maybe that's why you're so concerned.
  Ridge: I-I was concerned, but, yeah, I'm not worried about it. It was there. Now it's gone, like it was never there at all. I'm concerned because I didn't know where my son is. I'd like to find out. Is it--is there anything else you wanna say? Well, I'll try thomas again.
  Steffy: Wow, these are terrific.
  Quinn: Thanks.
  Steffy: I'd love to incorporate this into the line I'm working on with sally.
  Quinn: [ Sighs ] Well, I would love to help you out, but I can't finalize anything until I get thomas' input. Is he around?
  Steffy: He seems to be mia today.
  Quinn: Really? You haven't heard from him?
  Steffy: Nope. Neither has my father.
  Quinn: Interesting.
  Steffy: You know something?
  Quinn: He and douglas didn't come home last night. When I went to bed last night, I just thought thomas and douglas were out late, but neither one of them came down for breakfast in the morning when I left for work. What, do you --you think I should sound an alarm?
  Steffy: No, not yet. I don't know about thomas' whereabouts, but my father called douglas' school, and he found out that he was dropped off this morning.
  Quinn: Oh.
  Steffy: We just don't know by whom. Though maybe it was hope, because now she is douglas' new legal mother.
  Quinn: Wait a minute. What?
  Steffy: Thomas made a terrible decision.
  Ridge: Well, if you get this, please call me back or text me, something. [ Cellphone beeps ] I'm, um...gonna stop by the office, and then I'm going back to dad's, so if you hear something... let me know, okay?
  Brooke: Okay.
  [ Door closes ] [ Exhales deeply ] I was so worried you were going to say something.
  Hope: I should have. He's looking for thomas, but he's never going to find him because I killed him. [ Applause ] Thank you.
  Quinn: Ever since thomas and douglas moved into the house I've been able to see their relationship up close.
  Steffy: It's improving, right?
  Quinn: Oh, yeah, definitely. Thomas is... he's loving, and he's sweet, and...and douglas is really relaxing into that, and, you know, there's a lot of laughter and playtime. It's why I--I'm just-- I'm so confused that he would give hope any legal standing. They're not married, and he doesn't need help repairing his relationship with his son.
  Brooke: Well, hope can talk my brother into anything. She's his weakness.
  Quinn: Yeah, but giving up your parental rights, even partially? I mean, who does that?
  Steffy: I know. I get it. I get it.
  Ridge: Hey.
  Steffy: Hey.
  Quinn: Hey. So, uh, I cannot do anything else with my jewelry until I get input from thomas. Do you have any idea where he is?
  Ridge: I don't know when he's coming into the office. But if you're in a bind, I can certainly make the call.
  Quinn: Well...give me a holler if he shows up.
  Steffy: I definitely wanna use your pieces for the line. I think it'd be great.
  Quinn: Okay.
  [ Door closes ]
  Steffy: [ Sighs ]
  Ridge: What?
  Steffy: I was about to ask you that.
  Ridge: I've just got a lot of things on my mind. That's all.
  Steffy: Yeah, yeah, I know. I know you went to see hope and brooke about the custody papers. How'd it go?
  Ridge: Your kids are everything. I mean, you know that now. From the moment you're born, you just--you--you wanna make their life better. You wanna give them happiness. [ Sighs ] You're a better parent than me. I-I've always loved you guys, but...I wasn't always there.
  Steffy: We know you love us, dad.
  Ridge: But knowing might not be enough, right? Not for thomas, anyway.
  Steffy: Whoa, you can't-- you can't blame yourself. Thomas is a grown man. He can make his own choices.
  Ridge: Yeah. I thought he was getting better, and I just... I talked to hope and brooke, and...now I'm more concerned about him than I ever was.
  Hope: We have to get ridge back here. We have to tell him what really happened.
  Brooke: Honey, you need to calm down.
  Hope: He is worried about his son for good reason, and that is because he is dead.
  Brooke: Okay, please, stop saying that.
  Hope: Thomas is in a vat of acid because of me, and I'm not going to keep that secret.
  Brooke: You're forgetting how this all happened. Thomas brought this on himself. His actions made you react. And what kind of a father does that, takes his son and puts him in an empty room, and leaves him there in an empty building so that he can chase you around and have sex with you? He was coming on to you, hope. He cornered you.
  Hope: But that shouldn't have cost thomas' life. I should have tried using my words. I should have tried talking to him. He listened to me. Or at least he did before I killed him.
  Brooke: Oh, honey, how many times do I have to tell you? It was an accident.
  Hope: Do you really think that's going to make a difference to ridge? To steffi or to douglas? I killed douglas' father, mom, after he just lost caroline, and douglas trusts me. He trusts me.
  Brooke: Honey, you've gotta listen to me, okay? God only knows what would have happened if you didn't defend yourself. Thomas was intimidating you. You had to protect yourself.
  Hope: No, I took it too far. I have to tell ridge. I have to--I have to tell the cops.
  Brooke: No, wait. Wait. Let's think about this. Let's be smart. Ridge told us that the acid was gone. It was disposed of properly, and the vat as well. So you know I'm a chemist. So trust me when I tell you this-- that all traces of any evidence, all traces of...thomas, as horrible as that may sound, it's gone, honey. It's all gone. What does help for heart failure look like?
  Steffy: I'm almost afraid to ask. You were so positive about thomas' progress.
  Ridge: Yeah, I know I was. This is so hard. You know, I really--I thought he was doing better, working with your mother and just...getting his stuff back together, and I think he might--might be worse than he ever was.
  Steffy: What did hope and brooke say?
  Ridge: Ohh. [ Sighs ] [ Clears throat ] They said that a few days ago, your brother suggested that they could, um... [ Scoffs ] They could trade custody of douglas for, um...
  Steffy: For what?
  Ridge: [ Sighs ]
  Steffy: You've got to be kidding me. Trade custody for sex? Are you serious?
  Ridge: That's according to hope, and listen...
  Steffy: Oh, my god.
  Ridge: She's a lot of things, but she's not a liar. Of course she didn't do it.
  Steffy: Like, of course she wouldn't, and thomas should have known that.
  Ridge: So your brother changed tactics again. He, uh, asked her out for a nice dinner, and douglas would be there, and he would bring the adoption paper.
  Steffy: Oh, gosh. The dinner. Give her an offer she couldn't refuse.
  Ridge: Yeah, but she didn't refuse, but she--she tried to steer it a different way. She tried to meet him here instead. So he once again had another idea, and it fit well, and let's just have dinner here and then afterwards, the two of them could be alone.
  Steffy: I thought douglas was there.
  Ridge: He was there for the dinner, but, uh, thomas said that he made other arrangements for him after dinner and took him away.
  Steffy: With a babysitter?
  Ridge: No, no. He took him to a dressing room and left him there.
  Steffy: What?
  Ridge: And then after your brother had the paper signed and had him sitting there, he decided to make a move on hope. And she was scared not just for herself but for douglas. So she ran out, and he chased her all over the building.
  Steffy: He chased after her?
  Ridge: What's going on with that kid? What is... what's with this obsession with hope? Brooke's daughter's gonna be the death of my son.
  Hope: What are you suggesting, mom?
  Brooke: I'm not suggesting anything.
  Hope: 'Cause it sounds like you're telling me to keep quiet, to not tell anyone.
  Brooke: Honey, you heard what ridge said. Hydrofluoric acid was neutralized, and it was disposed of properly, along with the vat. So everything, including thomas, is gone. Do you understand that? There is nothing that points to you. There's nothing that puts you anywhere close to that storage area.
  Hope: I cannot pretend like last night didn't happen, mom. Thomas fell into that vat of acid because I pushed him.
  Brooke: Not on purpose.
  Hope: It doesn't matter. He's still dead.
  Brooke: Does that mean your life has to end, too, honey? The life that you just got back? The life that so many people tried to steal from you. Thomas tried to steal from you. Now I know you're a good person, and you wanna confess. But I can't stop thinking about what would happen next. They would arrest you. You would be dragged off to jail. Your marriage would end. You would lose your baby-- the baby that you just got back. And douglas, too. And me--god, I don't even know what I would do without you.
  Hope: I don't know, mom. I don't know.
  [ Crying ]
  Brooke: Honey. Thomas was chasing you around the building, and he was being very aggressive. He was trying to come on to you. He had you cornered on the catwalk. You had to do something. You had to defend yourself.
  Hope: So I just don't say anything?
  Brooke: That's not what I'm saying, honey.
  Hope: Mom, ridge is already asking questions, wondering about where thomas is, and you really think the forresters are just gonna shrug their shoulders and just go, "oh, well, he never came home"? [ Cries ] And besides, mom, we know firsthand just how destructive keeping secrets can be.
  Brooke: Oh, god, you're right, but I just keep thinking about ridge, when he finds out. &
  Hope: It's going to be awful. But I have to tell the truth. And I should have from the start.
  Brooke: I'm just so frightened for you, honey.
  Hope: I know. I am, too. But at least I won't be keeping any secrets.
  Brooke: Oh.
  [ Exhales deeply ]
  [ Crickets chirping ]
  Ridge: Joint custody of douglas means that thomas and hope are gonna be tied together forever. It's a legal document. In the eyes of the law, they are the parents. How's your brother ever gonna get past hope if he ties himself to her forever?
  Steffy: That's the point. His strategy just gave him all the time in the world to win hope over.
  Ridge: Well, I don't think he was talking about strategy when he put that little kid in a dressing room and was chasing hope all over the building. Answer your...
  Steffy: Maybe he's lying low because he's embarrassed.
  Ridge: He should be embarrassed. What happened here? He was focused. He was focused on dealing with his relationship with you and--and being there for his little kid. Taylor said he was doing well, and--and look--look at what he's doing. This-- he's designing these. He's finally coming into his own.
  Steffy: You know, impulse trumps intellect.
  Ridge: Thomas is not built to live his life impulsively. He's too emotional. He's too vulnerable, and you know why? Because of me. Because I wasn't there for him. I was never there for him.
  Steffy: Dad, dad, dad, stop. You gotta stop, okay? Just breathe. At some point, we have to own who we are.
  Ridge: And your brother was doing that. To give custody to hope-- that's just --that's a mistake. It's a huge mistake. But it's done, and what-- what's done is done, so... we'll just deal with it. I support thomas. And he knows that, and he'll find his way home.
  Hope: Thomas... I would give anything to get that moment back. [ Crying ] I just thought I was pushing you. It was an accident. I never meant to harm you. I have to admit it. The truth has to come out. But how?
  [ Crying ] How am I gonna tell douglas that I killed his father? [ Sobs ] [ Continues crying ] What if I go to jail? What if I go to jail? [ Sobs ] And douglas is going to lose three parents in such a short amount of time, and I'm gonna lose liam, and I'm gonna lose beth after I just got her back. I can'T. [ Crying ] How did any of this happen? [ Sobs ] I could never love you, but I didn't wanna hurt you. I'll never, ever be able to forgive myself. [ Sobs ] One second. I ruined everything in one second, and I ruined it all, and I'm sorry. And I'm so sorry, thomas. I'm so sorry.
  [ Sobbing ]
  [ Gasps ] [ Gasps ] Thomas? Is... is that you?
  Thomas: Yes.
  Hope: Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Oh, my god. You're alive! Oh, my god! Oh, my god! Oh, my god! Thank...
  [ Sobbing ]
  [ Gasps ]
summary: (THIS AIRED 11/19 IN SOME AREAS) Brooke tries to cover with Ridge about Hope's saying that Thomas is dead. Hope is very upset still. Brooke asks about the hydroflouric acid at Forrester. Ridge doesn't know why she's asking about that, but he says that it's gone - like it was never there. Ridge's main concern is finding Thomas, so he leaves. Brooke breathes a sigh of relief, but Hope still feels guilty that she killed Thomas. Hope gets very upset, and Brooke tries to reason with her about what happened. Hope wants to tell the police or Ridge what happened. Brooke doesn't think that's a good idea. Hope doesn't agree that she should keep the truth hidden. Brooke is just worried about what will happen to her. Later, Hope goes to Thomas's former bedroom in Brooke's house and talks to him, upset. She tells him that she's so sorry. She is shocked when he turns up alive and hugs him, sobbing, grateful.