Rick asked Stephanie why she always stuck up for Amber. Stephanie said she hadn't always trusted her, but then she had seen something in that gutsy girl, not to mention Amber had saved Stephanie's life after Sheila had attacked her. Rick realized he had fallen in love with Amber when he had learned Amber would do anything for those she loved, including giving Rick a kidney.
Amber held her baby and said he was "so beautiful" and looked just like his daddy. Amber wished Rick were there so he could kiss and hold his baby. Little Eric had fought so hard to be there, but he just hadn't been strong enough. Amber promised to always love her precious little boy. Tawny tried to comfort her daughter, but Amber blamed herself, thinking she hadn't deserved him. Tawny urged her daughter to let go of Eric. He was in heaven, and he knew how much his mother loved him.
Stephanie most appreciated Amber's loyalty to her family. When Rick had gotten married, he hadn't been sure Amber was the right person for him. However, Rick realized his son would be lucky to have a mother like Amber because she would love him with everything she had. Stephanie thought Brooke would "come around," but Rick had to be clear with her about his intentions regarding Amber. Amber would be home the next day, and soon Rick would become a father. Rick could not wait to hold his son.
Amber handed her dead baby over to Tawny. Sarah got a page from Amber's Aunt Tilley saying cousin Becky was in labor. Sarah left to tend to Becky, and when she returned, she would take Eric to the coroner. Tawny wanted to call Rick so he could see his son before he was buried. Amber thought Rick would blame her for losing their baby. Tawny consoled a devastated Amber.
Tawny suggested that she take Amber home, but Amber refused. "I can't go home because they will know what I did," Amber said. Amber was sure Rick and his family would not forgive her for driving out to the desert and having the baby with no doctors around. Tawny tried to get Amber to stop blaming herself and said it was not the end of her marriage. Tawny had met Rick and knew that he loved Amber. "But Rick only married me for the baby," Amber said. Tawny didn't think Rick would go back on his word, and she was not going to let the best thing that had ever happened to her daughter be thrown away.
Stephanie blasted Brooke for her wild accusation that Amber's baby could be Raymond's. Brooke countered that she was trying to protect her son because his marriage was based on deception, and Amber continued to lie. Stephanie said Brooke was driving a wedge in that marriage, and if it fell apart, Stephanie would blame Brooke. Because Amber had fought so hard for Rick, it was ridiculous to think the baby could be Raymond's, Stephanie said.
Brooke didn't trust Amber and was determined to find out her secret. "Don't make Rick chose between his son and his mother," Stephanie warned. C.J. thought Amber had to have had the baby already, and if it was Rick's, Amber would have called. C.J. dropped by Rick's and suggested he call Amber. Rick wasn't too concerned about calling, since his wife would be home later in the day.
Rick called, and Tawny and Amber let the machine pick up. Rick left a message saying he hoped Amber was taking care of that baby inside her and that he hoped she was returning that day. Rick told C.J. he and Amber were making the marriage work, but C.J. asked whether there would be a marriage if there were no baby. Rick reminded C.J. he was only seventeen. "No baby, no marriage," he said.
Amber wasn't sure how to tell Rick their baby had died because he had loved the baby as much as she had and had given up a lot for the baby. Tawny had Amber lie down on her bed and called Sarah. Sarah apologized for not getting back to Tawny and Amber sooner, but Becky had experienced a hard labor. Sarah said she would return to Tawny's after she swung by Social Services. Becky did not want her baby and would not even feed the baby.
Later, Sarah took Becky's newborn son along with her to Tawny's. Amber was in mourning for her baby and her marriage, Tawny said, because Amber felt Rick's family would pressure him into leaving the marriage when they found out the baby had died. Amber had been very close to having everything Tawny had wanted for her, and it was not fair her baby had had to die. Amber's dreams had died along with that baby.
Tawny picked up Amber's baby and gave him to Sarah, who planned on taking him to the coroner. Tawny looked at Becky's son and said it was not fair the baby had been born to a mother who had not wanted him, while Amber's son had been born with everything he could need. "Where's the justice in that?" Tawny asked. Then, Tawny got an idea.
Tawny stopped Sarah from taking Becky's baby to Social Services. The baby was staying right in the family and would be raised by Amber and her husband, Tawny said. Sarah reminded Tawny that the baby was Becky's, and Becky wanted the baby to be put up for adoption. Tawny knew if the baby was taken away, he would end up in an institution, while Amber and Rick could give the child a wonderful future. Tawny had made up her mind. Becky's baby would be raised by Rick and Amber. "Say hello to Eric Forrester III," Tawny said.
Stephanie said Brooke's suspicions didn't prove anything, and although Amber might be impulsive, that didn't mean she was lying about her pregnancy. Brooke asked Stephanie how she would explain Sally standing up during the wedding. If Stephanie had swallowed her pride long enough to hear what Sally had had to say, they might know what Amber was hiding. When Brooke found out what Amber was hiding, Amber would be finished with Brooke's son.
Rick visited Kimberly and said there was still no word on Amber, although he expected her back "any day now." By the end of the week, Rick should be a father. Rick admitted he was bothered by his mother's suspicions that Raymond might be the father. Rick informed Kimberly of Raymond trying to tell him something at Insomnia before Amber had interrupted.
"Rick made a commitment to Amber and his marriage, and you need to honor that," Stephanie said. Brooke thought Stephanie was using Amber, Rick, and the baby as weapons, but Stephanie said she would not support their marriage if she didn't think it could work. "They don't have a chance in hell," Brooke said. She said Amber had gone to the desert to have her baby because she had been too scared to have it there in Los Angeles. Stephanie suggested Brooke call Amber at her mother's, and she would learn that Amber was probably on her way home and had not delivered the baby yet.
Amber had a nightmare about returning to Los Angeles and breaking the news that their baby died to Rick and his family. In Amber's dream, she told the truth about not being sure who the baby's father was, but she said the baby was Rick's but he had been stillborn.
Sarah didn't think what Tawny was suggesting was right. Tawny questioned if it was right to send the baby to an orphanage and asked Sarah to go along with her idea. Amber's marriage and future depended on it. Rick had the means to give the baby a wonderful life. Sarah said Tawny was assuming Rick and Amber would go along with it. "Amber will," Tawny said, "but Rick will never know." She said that was the only thing that made sense because Rick had only married Amber because of the baby, and if the baby were taken out of the equation, the marriage would be over.
Tawny asked Sarah not to take away Amber's chance at happiness. Plus, Rick loved her and wanted a child, Tawny said. Sarah wondered what Rick's high-roller mother would do if she discovered the truth. She wouldn't, Tawny assured Sarah. Brooke called and left a message that she wanted to talk to Amber. The baby was the only thing that could save Amber's marriage, Tawny said. Amber awakened, noticed Becky's baby, and screamed to take the baby away.
Amber was hysterical when she saw Becky's baby. Sarah explained that she had taken him there and was on her way to Social Services after she picked up Amber's baby's remains. Amber wanted to call Rick and tell him what had happened, but Tawny said Rick would never have to know. Amber asked how her cousin could give such a beautiful baby away while hers had to die. It was just not fair.
Amber picked up Becky's baby and felt better when she held him. Tawny advised Amber to hold on to the baby and forget about her own. Amber blasted her mother for wanting her to forget her own son. Tawny stopped Sarah from leaving with the baby. Becky's baby was "our flesh and blood," and Tawny did not want to see him adopted. There was a way Tawny could stop Amber's hurting and help the baby out at the same time.
Kimberly realized Raymond having anything to do with Amber's baby was a long shot, but as long as there was a glimmer of hope, Kimberly was not giving up. Kimberly had to know if there was any truth to Raymond being the father. Rick was sure the baby inside Amber was his, but Kimberly wanted Rick to indulge her, and if that baby inside Amber was Rick's, they would deal with it. Rick admitted it would be unbelievable if somehow Amber's baby were not his, but he couldn't let himself think like that.
Amber was sure once she told Rick that their baby had died, their marriage would be over, but Tawny would not let her daughter lose her marriage because of it. Amber had to hang on to Rick, Tawny said. Amber said there was nothing she could do about it. Tawny told Amber that Becky's baby was staying with them. Sarah reminded Tawny that she hadn't agreed to that, while Tawny asked Amber what would have happened if the baby had not died.
Amber concluded that she and Rick would have had a happy marriage, raising their son together. It was unfair for Amber to lose Rick over that, Tawny said, and it was not fair that Becky's baby had to be adopted. That baby was part of their family, and there was no reason why Amber couldn't take him home to her husband. Amber said she could never keep something like that a secret, but Tawny reminded her that only she and Sarah knew. Amber had to take home the son that Rick wanted, and the baby was Eric Forrester III.
Amber said she couldn't go back to Los Angeles with Becky's baby, but Tawny wanted Amber to start thinking of Becky's baby as her baby. Tawny noted how happy the baby was in Amber's arms and said that Becky was not ready to have a baby, but Amber was, and the baby fit the bill. Tawny and Amber took Little Eric to the desert to be buried. Amber placed a picture of Rick inside the grave. Amber sang "Amazing Grace" and tearfully said goodbye.
Jack and Ashley Abbott had been trying to reach Brooke, but she was waiting for Victor to return her calls before talking to Jack or Ashley. Meanwhile, Brooke called over to the guesthouse and got Rick and Amber's answering machine, which Brooke took to mean that Amber was not back yet. Brooke told Ridge that she might have proof that Amber's baby was not Rick's. Amber had gone to her mother's to have her baby, and Brooke had a feeling that Amber had already had the baby. That was why she had gone to the desert -- to have the baby away from Rick and his family. If Amber returned to L.A. and was still pregnant, Brooke would eat her words, but there was no way Amber would return to L.A. and have her baby.
Tawny and Amber returned home, and Sarah handed Tawny the birth certificate for Becky's baby. Sarah noted that she had strong reservations about the plan, but Tawny and Sarah talked about it, and they both felt it might be the best thing for Amber and the baby. Amber reminded Sarah that her baby was dead. Tawny agreed but said Amber had been given another chance. Becky did not want her baby, and he could give a lot of happiness to Amber and Rick. Amber's marriage would be over if she returned to L.A. without a baby.
Amber couldn't sign the birth certificate. "This baby needs a family, and you need a child," Tawny said. The only way Amber would go along with the plan was if Rick told her he loved her. Otherwise, if Rick had only married her for the baby, it might be best if their marriage fell apart. "Don't sell yourself short," Tawny advised.
Rick called and asked Amber why she was still there. Amber admitted she'd had the baby at her mother's trailer. Rick thought the baby was fine and asked how Amber was doing. Rick was worried about Amber and said he was very proud of her for having the baby without any doctors around. Rick told Amber he loved her and asked how his son was doing.
Amber hesitated, looked at the baby sleeping on her mother's bed, and said he was beautiful. Rick told Amber to have her mom drive her back while he spread the good news to his family.
