C.J. Garrison

C.J. Garrison is a fictional character in the American soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, portrayed by Mick Cain from December 1997 to January 2001, July 2002 to August 2003, returning briefly in 2004, 2007 and 2010.

Storyline

Clarke Jr. was born to Sally Spectra (played by Darlene Conley) and Clarke Garrison (Daniel McVicar). Not long after C.J.'s birth, Clarke left town. C.J. grew into a disobedient child in his early teens, having a cynical view on the world and starting a food fight with Brooke Logan Forrester (Katherine Kelly Lang) and Eric Forrester's (John McCook) son, Rick, who was close to C.J.'s age. His father returned in 1996 and C.J. was initially resentful of Clarke until Clarke rescued him from kidnappers.

A few years later in December 1997, C.J. and Rick (then played by Jacob Young) were closer to friends than enemies. They both pursued Rick's babysitter, seductress Amber Moore (Adrienne Frantz), which led to a drag race that nearly killed Rick. CJ spent most of 1998 and 1999 as Amber's shoulder to cry on as she became pregnant and married Rick. He also developed a crush on Kimberly Fairchild (Ashley Lyn Cafagna). They went on a few dates but she was more interested in Rick (then played by Justin Torkildsen).

Around this time, Forrester Creations and Spectra Fashions were in a heated conflict over the latest fashion show. C.J. planned to sabotage the model wearing Forrester's final outfit of the night, the showstopper. Unbeknownst to him, this was Kimberly. The lower half of her dress was ripped off by a nail, leaving her in her panties in front of dozens of the press. C.J. was guilt-ridden, but the truth never came out.

Amber was in the middle of a very complicated web of lies about the paternity of her son. The baby's natural mother, her cousin Becky Moore (Marissa Tait), had just arrived in town. To keep her busy, Amber set her up with C.J. On that first date, they made out, but it never amounted to anything.

Months later, Becky had shed her white trash roots for a makeover, as well as getting her son back from Amber, C.J. spent a great deal of time with her. They fell in love quickly, their relationship helping C.J. make the final transition from wisecracking boy to mature, thoughtful man. Unfortunately, Becky was dying of pancreatic cancer. Amber tried to keep the cancer a secret from Becky and everyone else, but broke down and eventually told C.J. Instead of telling her, he proposed marriage, wanting to make her final weeks happy. Becky learned of her cancer minutes before the wedding, but married CJ anyway. She died soon after, at peace, surrounded by her family and friends. Becky wanted C.J. to raise her son, Eric Jr., with Amber. C.J. and Amber shared an apartment. Around this time, C.J.'s sister Macy (Bobbie Eakes) died in a car explosion; he blamed Thorne for her death. Macy left her brother her coffee house, Insomnia.

Shortly after Macy's death, Amber had a party at their apartment and she and C.J. were mistakenly arrested for drug possession. Child Protective Services took the baby away, letting the child live with Rick. The Forresters got a court order to force Amber and Eric Jr. to move moved in with them. Amber persuaded them to let C.J. move in as well. C.J. won temporary custody, allowing the three to move back to their old apartment. He and Amber made plans to marry, since he had fallen in love with her and she admitted to having feelings for him.

The Forresters were desperate to stop the wedding so Rick could be with Amber and raise Eric Jr. They managed to track down Deacon Sharpe (Sean Kanan), Eric Jr.'s biological father, who then interrupted the ceremony to announce that Eric Jr. was his son.

While C.J. believed he and Amber still had a future together, Rick and Stephanie (Susan Flannery) repeatedly urged Amber to realize her best chance for custody was with Rick, that she still had feelings for Rick. Finally, a few weeks later, Amber agreed to move back in with Rick. She told C.J. before a surprise romantic dinner he'd planned for them at Insomnia. C.J. was devastated. With Eric Jr. already being fought over by two fathers, C.J. was forgotten about, and immediately faded into the background.

C.J. came back to town in Spring 2002, with a huge chip on his shoulder for everyone, especially the Forresters. He also began running the coffee shop, Insomnia, again. He was very mean to Bridget Forrester (then played by Jennifer Finnigan), his old friend, when she came into Insomnia looking for a job. Bridget eventually wore C.J. down until he became nice to her and he eventually offered her a place to stay, in the apartment right next to his.

Bridget and C.J. began dating, but not seriously. CJ was very supportive when Bridget started pre-med training. It was there she met Dr. Mark MacClaine (Michael Dietz), her med school mentor. C.J. immediately became jealous of Mark, sensing that Mark had intentions regarding Bridget. After a few months, Mark resigned as Bridget's mentor and began to date her. C.J. was furious to learn from Clarke that Mark was his long-lost half brother.

C.J. again faded into the background, returning briefly in 2004 for his friend Darla's (Schae Harrison) wedding in June and to lend some relationship advice to old friend Amber Moore in September.

In February 2007, C.J. returned to Los Angeles to MC a karaoke night at his café Insomnia and visit his mother Sally, who was not well. Evidently by that time he had resolved his differences with Rick (now played by Kyle Lowder), as the two were friendly toward one another. Later that year, C.J. and his father Clarke, assisted Sally sell Spectra Fashions to Jacqueline Marone. It was revealed that the company now running Spectra had filed for bankruptcy and the title had reverted to Sally, who was now living in France, not wishing to return to Los Angeles. Jackie renamed the company "M. Fashions", hiring Clarke as head designer and returning it to a knock-off firm.

C.J.'s last appearance to date was December 2010, revealing that he now resides in San Francisco. C.J. had returned to close down his Insomnia café as the distance from San Francisco to Los Angeles was proving difficult. He stated his mother was sailing around the Caribbean Islands with a number of body builders and there was no longer reason for him to visit Los Angeles. Stephanie Forrester purchased Insomnia from C.J. and asked friend Dayzee Leigh if she'd like to run the café and offer employment to the homeless.