Tuesday, August 21, 2007, Episode #5129

Brooke is still shaken after the rape.

With her round table still blocking the front door, Brooke sits in her living room holding a photo of the kids and the letter opener she used to defend herself against Andy. She relives the events of the rape on her mind until she hears tapping at the door. Everett from her security company arrives to beef up the security system. When she asks Everett to check the locks for signs of being picked, the security man doesn't see anything amiss. Brooke then looks outside and realizes that her extra key is missing from under the flower pot, so she asks Everett to change all the locks and provide some inconspicuous security guards for the grounds. Everett asks if anything's wrong; Brooke says she just wants the house to be safe when her kids come home.

Dorothy brings a trainee to observe her assessing Brooke.

Soon after, Dorothy Bascomb calls from the front gate. After buzzing Dorothy in, Brooke struggles to move the round table back into place. She's still moving it when Dorothy arrives at the door, so she covers that she wants everything exactly as it was when the kids left. She asks Dorothy if there's anything wrong. When Dorothy says she was concerned last night, Brooke gets flustered, but her mood changes to panic when she sees a man in a dark suit, like the ones Andy wore, standing outside, his back to the doorway. Dorothy tells Brooke to relax, as that's just John, a trainee she is showing the ropes to. She thought it would be a good idea for John to watch as she does this assessment. Brooke nervously asks what there is to assess when she's done everything the court asked. She feels likes she's being judged by Dorothy, like some lab specimen in a jar. John reaches out to calm her, but Brooke explodes and shouts, "Get your hands off of me!" Brooke quickly apologizes when she realizes what she did, but the damage is done. Based on Brooke's outburst, she doesn't think a hearing today would be in Brooke's favor, so she postpones the hearing. Brooke begs Dorothy to reconsider, as she needs her kids back. After asking John to wait outside, Dorothy tells Brooke that the kids need security, and she's sure given how scared she is that the kids would be even more frightened. Brooke cries for Dorothy to wait, but Dorothy leaves, leaving Brooke to sob over her fate.

Ridge sees the photo of Brooke in the paper.

Ridge arrives at the Forrester mansion and finds that Stephanie has a custody attorney, Joe Culkin, waiting. Stephanie wants Ridge to discuss his options regarding Hope and R.J. with Joe, whose sister went to design school with Ridge. Joe explains that he doesn't think Ridge has much of a case for full custody given what he knows. When Ridge states that he wants the kids back with Brooke, Joe doesn't think there's anything to discuss, especially since Brooke's dating habits have no relevance on custody. Ridge asks what Brooke's dating habits have to do with anything, so Stephanie shows him the photo of Brooke and Andy at Cafe Russe that's in the paper this morning. Stephanie immediately assumes that the man is some guy Broke met and brought home without even knowing his name, especially since Dorothy Bascomb was there last night and saw glasses of alcohol on the table. Joe turns to leave, but after looking at the photo of Brooke with a strange man, Ridge asks the attorney to wait so he can ask a few questions. He tells Joe that he trusts Brooke as a mother, but he wonders if he has the right to find out about the men Brooke has around the kids. Joe says he wouldn't, noting that Ridge sounds like he doesn't trust Brooke after all.

Stephanie presses the issue with Ridge.

As Joe starts to make a suggestion about amending the custody agreement, Stephanie gets a call from Dorothy, who is looking for Ridge. When Stephanie says Ridge is there, Dorothy asks La Forrester to tell Ridge that the custody hearing has been indefinitely postponed. Pleased, Stephanie asks why, but Dorothy can't discuss it. Stephanie assumes Brooke messed up; Dorothy says she'll be in touch and hangs up. When Stephanie passes the news on to Ridge, Joe points out that there are a number of reasons why the hearing might get postponed. Stephanie, however, is sure that Dorothy realized that Brooke is still an unfit parent and urges Ridge to pursue full custody. Joe explains that C.P.S. can be tight lipped in these circumstances, so it's possible that Ridge may already have a case and not know it. Stephanie asks if they can force Child Services to give them the information they need. Joe says that would be the long way to handle this and thinks he can get information from his contacts instead. After Joe leaves, Ridge wonders if he's overreacting to the photo of Brooke with that guy, but Stephanie warns that this is par for the course where the Logan sisters are concerned. She just wishes she could convince Thorne of that and get rid of Donna, since she knows Donna is only dating Thorne for revenge. Ridge asks how she's sure, but Stephanie bets that Brooke will be parading men around that house in no time. Ridge concedes that she may have a point.

Donna seeks comfort from Thorne.

Thorne arrives at Forrester Creations to pick Donna up for the hearing and finds her in Nick's office with Jackie. Thorne gives her some gifts he brought to welcome the kids back at home, so Donna thanks him for being so sweet. Before they can say anymore, Donna gets a call from Storm, who informs her that Brooke's hearing has been postponed indefinitely. Donna immediately assumes that Stephanie is behind this. As Jackie goes to tell Nick, Thorne tries to console Donna. Thorne reminds her that her brother will be all over this, so he's sure this is only temporary.

Donna puts some artwork on Thorne's back.

To get her mind off Brooke's misfortune, Donna opens the gift Thorne brought for R.J., a set of washable markers, and gets an idea. She takes off Thorne's shirt and writes the word "mine" on his upper body, and she then writes, "Donna's" a bit below. Thorne is amused, so Donna turns him around and writes "Stephanie" in a circle on his back, putting a slash through the name.

Thorne tells Donna that he wants to marry her now.

Thorne admits that this could get dangerous and tells Donna how crazy this makes him. He says he never met anyone like Donna; she retorts that they broke the mold when they made her. Thorne starts making out with her right on Nick's desk and tells her that he changed his mind about marrying her. He wants to get married this afternoon. Very soon, Donna chuckles as she kisses him.

Bridget realizes what happened to her mother.

Bridget arrives at Brooke's house and finds the door locked. She calls out to her mom, who goes to the door to buzz Bridget in. When Bridget gets to the house, Brooke is hesitant and skittish, so Bridget asks what's going on. She asks why her key didn't work, noting that she saw Everett by the gate. Brooke points Bridget to the table, where there are keys to the new locks. Bridget guesses her mom wanted to make things safe for the kids coming home, but Brooke tearfully tells her that the hearing was postponed. As Bridget tries to pry the reason for the postponement out of her mom, Brooke remains hesitant. Bridget reaches out for Brooke, who quickly recoils when Bridget nearly touches her. Bridget can now see something is wrong and asks what's going on. She reaches for her mother's sweater and pulls it down, revealing some marks and bruises. Brooke tries to claim that she slipped in the shower, but Bridget, as a doctor, can sense that her mom is lying. Brooke sobs, "I can't do it without them." She pleads for Bridget to tell Dorothy that she's fine, since she's sure Dorothy will believe her daughter, the doctor. Bridget pleads for her mother to open up and tell her how she got hurt that way. Brooke pleads for Bridget to leave her alone, but Bridget presses her mom for answers. "I can forget it. People forget," Brooke sobs.