In Eric’s hospital room, Bridget tearfully tells Finn it’s really hard to see her father lying there like that. She thanks him again for allowing her to help. They discuss their concerns about his temperature going up. Bridget’s worried about pneumonia. Finn is too and scheduled an appointment with the pulmonologist. Bridget, relieved, thanks him again. Finn notes that the sooner they can get him off the ventilator, the better.
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In Eric’s living room, Steffy recaps to Brooke and Ridge that she wasn’t ready to let her granddad go. She notes that Ridge had the medical power of attorney, and she pressured him. Ridge says, “Yours wasn’t the only voice,” as Brooke reminds her that she and Donna pleaded with him too. Steffy worries, “What if we made a mistake?” Maybe he was ready to go. Was it wrong that they didn’t let him go peacefully?! Ridge reassures Steffy and pulls her into a hug.
In the design office, Luna looks at a photo of Eric and worries. Zende comes in and she says she was thinking about how wonderful Eric is. Zende saw him this morning and his condition is unchanged. “The longer this goes on, the more I worry about my grandfather.” He feels there’s so much more he should have said to him when he was here. Zende wishes he could finish his collection, but Ridge already asked RJ. He doesn’t want to get in between the two of them; it wouldn’t be the same. Luna sympathizes with him.
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Zende tells Luna that everything he loves about designing he learned from his granddad. Luna thinks he inherited some of his swag too. Zende is flattered. He feels powerless. He can’t heal his body, but he could be putting this fire onto the paper. He wants to do it to give back to Granddad. The last thing he wants is to be butting heads with Ridge at this stressful time. Luna knows he feels passed over for RJ. Zende says the only thing that matters is Eric coming home to them.
In the hospital, Finn and Bridget go over the risks Eric is facing. The longer he’s on the ventilator, the greater the chance he won’t recover. Bridget fears if they do not get him off of it today, it will be too late. Finn asks, “So, we’re in agreement?” Bridge replies, “Yes.” Finn states, “It’s now or never. We need to remove Eric from the ventilator.”
Bridge and Finn go over the risks of taking him off the ventilator. Bridget worries he’ll stop breathing altogether. She wishes he’d wake up and tell her what to do. He certainly wouldn’t want to live like this. Bridget tells Finn, “Let’s do this.” She’ll talk to Ridge and the rest of the family.
At the Forrester mansion, Steffy continues questioning herself for pushing for Finn to do the surgery. Brooke says they can’t give up hope. Steffy and Ridge worry about him being on the ventilator. Brooke reads from Stephanie’s bible. Ridge takes a call from Bridget, who tells him that they’re concerned about infection and pneumonia, and they want to take him off the ventilator. Ridge worries it’s too soon. Bridget can’t give him a definitive answer, but needs him at the hospital. Ridge says he’s on his way. He disconnects and fills in Steffy and Brooke.
At the hospital, Finn tells Eric he can do this, “I need you to breathe on your own.”
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In the design office, Zende gets off a call from Ridge and tells Luna that they want to take Eric off the ventilator. He hopes he can breathe by himself. Luna feels it could be positive news. Zende hopes so; he trusts that Finn and Bridget wouldn’t be taking this risk if it wasn’t the right move. Luna asks if there’s anything she can do. Zende tells her that just being there is enough. She’s so chill and never judgmental. “You have all the best qualities you could hope for in a person. I can see why RJ’s crazy about you.” Luna goes on about how meaningful her time at Forrester has been, “I’m just an intern.” Zende tells her she’s not just an intern, she’s an amazing addition to Forrester. Eric is a big fan of hers, “We all are. No one as much as my cousin, of course.” Zende tells Luna how lucky RJ is to have her.
Ridge, Brooke, and Steffy arrive at the hospital. Brooke says Donna’s in the chapel. Steffy agonizes about whether the treatment worked or not. Ridge tells her, “One step at a time,” and Brooke urges her to be positive and believe in Eric’s strength and resiliency. Finn and Bridget join them. Ridge asks if they’re sure this is the right move. Bridget tells them this is the only move they’ve got.
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They go into Eric’s room, where the nurse says Eric’s blood pressure is down. Brooke tells Eric, “We’re all here for you. Donna is down at the chapel, so she’ll be back soon.” She tells him how much they all love him. Bridget and Brooke tearfully embrace. Steffy says, “Granddad, it’s me, Steffy.” She hopes he can hear him and cries that she’s so sorry they couldn’t let him go. “I pray that you’re not upset with us.” She sobs in Finn’s arms. Ridge sits on Eric’s bed and tells him they wanted to exhaust every possibility because they didn’t want to lose him. Maybe some kind of miracle will give him back the life he wants on his terms. “That’s why we’re here.” He tells his dad the doctors want to take him off the ventilator and they want him to breathe on his own. It’s scary, but he’s not alone. Everyone’s pulling for him. Ridge takes his hand and says, “You have to fight. You have to want this. If you do want this, you’ve got to show us a sign.” Suddenly, Eric move his eyes. Ridge gasps, as does Bridget. Ridge asks him if he’s ready for Finn and Bridget to take the ventilator off, “Are you ready?”
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Next on The Bold and the Beautiful: As Eric lies unconscious and unable to breathe on his own, Steffy, Ridge, Brooke, Finn and Bridget discuss his wishes, and Eric’s family lovingly recalls special times they had with their patriarch.
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