Thursday, December 06, 2007, Episode #5202

Jackie's back in L.A... and back in the tub!

Jackie is back in L.A. and back in the bathtub in her office at Spectra, entertaining the press. As she delights in splashing around in her bubbles and teasing reporters like Jarrett about her top secret "M" line, Lt. Baker and Charlie come in, so Jackie dismisses her admirers from the press. Jackie greets the lieutenant and exchanges introductions with Charlie, guessing they're here to talk to her about Stephanie's shooting. "As you can see, I'm totally clean," she laughs as she asks Clarke and the detectives to turn away while she gets out of the tub.

Clarke listens in as the detectives Baker question Lady M.

Once she gets out of the tub and into a robe, Jackie tells the cops to go ahead. After Lt. Baker notes how she had been kicked out of the fashion show only to return later with her son Nick, Jackie asks if she's a suspect now. Lt. Baker says that she isn't; he just wants to now if she happened to see Stephen Logan at Forrester at the time of the shooting. Jackie says she didn't, but she'll be sure to make their cell phones vibrate if she thinks of anything else. Once the cops leave, Clarke tells Jackie to be straight with him. Jackie warns that accusing accusing one's boss isn't normally a show of loyalty, but Clarke says he needs to know if he's working with someone dangerous. Rather than feed Clarke's obsession with this macabre business, Jackie presents him with what she took from Forrester on the day of the shooting: picture's of Eric's next line! Clarke is pleased that Lady M has gotten the hang of how they do things around here. Jackie thanks him and tells him to get to work on these, pronto!

Donna frets that Katie might be right.

At Forrester Creations, P.R. maven Katie gets frustrated when she gets questioned about her father while giving a statement about the shooting to a reporter on the phone. Donna tries to calm her sister, who asks when Eric will be in. When Donna tells her that Stephanie is getting out of the hospital today, Katie wonders where La Forrester will be recuperating. Donna guesses that one of Stephanie's children will take her in, but Katie wonders if Eric might take Stephanie back to the mansion. Donna scoffs at the idea, but Katie points out that Eric has been pretty attentive to his wife since he almost lost her. Donna counters that Eric is just a caring man, and Stephanie is the mother of his children, but she doesn't see any reason to worry. "Eric loves me," she assures Katie, who warns Donna not to let her guard down. Donna wonders if Katie might be right and decides to go over the the mansion to reassure herself, and she runs into Lt. Baker and Charlie on the way out. Donna tells the detectives that they shouldn't expect her to say anything to implicate her father. Lt. Baker tells Donna and Katie that they can only help their father if they come forward with any information in this case. Donna tells him to forget it, because she knows her dad is innocent. Charlie asks Katie if she agrees. Katie tells him to make any assumptions he likes, while Donna reminds the cops that the person who shot Stephanie is still out there!

Stephanie is glad to be home.

Eric brings Stephanie home to the Forrester mansion, where Ridge, Thorne, Felicia and Pam are waiting to greet her and get her anything she needs. Stephanie tells them all to stop fussing over her, although she's unexpectedly pleased to see all this attention from her family, including her sister. She thanks them all and starts to read through some get-well cards, smiling as she she reads one signed by Hope, R.J., Dino and Aly.

Felicia is startled by Pam's "puppy," Tiny.

Pam's dog Tiny comes in and barks, and Eric, Thorne and Felicia are startled to see that Pam's "precious puppy" is a big Doberman pinscher. Pam points out to Stephanie that Tiny can help protect her if the shooter comes back. Felicia reminds her aunt that the police made an arrest, but Pam remarks that the police aren't infallible. Stephanie tells her sister that she's relieved that Stephen Logan has been arrested, so she suggests they all enjoy themselves, including the dog. Pam agrees. After a while, Eric offers to take Stephanie upstairs. Stephanie says she's fine her for now, although she thanks him for his concern and for letting her come home to be around the people she loves most.

Eric tells Donna his feelings haven't changed.

Being in the living room, Eric and Stephanie don't see Donna open the front door a crack to listen in; Donna sighs as she sees Eric tenderly attend to his wife. As Pam brings in a piece of her famous sour cream coffee cake, Tiny looks to the door and starts barking. Pam thinks Tiny is trying to tell them that someone is outside, so Eric goes to check. When he finds Donna there, he drags her to the guest house to explain. Donna tells Eric that she heard what he said; she's furious that he would let Stephanie move back in. Eric argues that Stephanie just got shot, and what better place to recover than her own home? Donna tells him that she knows he's a compassionate man, but she's starting to feel like what they shared before means nothing to him now; she pleads for him to just let her go with her dignity intact if that's the case, since she promised herself that she wouldn't cling to him the way Stephanie did when they first got involved. Eric tells her to hold on and listen for a minute; he informs her that Stephanie is staying here, but he isn't, since he plans to check himself into a hotel where the two of them can snuggle all they want. Donna is relieved as Eric tells her that he still loves her, even if her father might be connected to the shooting, but she fears that they'll never have their lives back until they find out who shot Stephanie.

Ridge talks with his mother.

Back in the main house, Stephanie thanks Ridge for being here and for visiting in the hospital, since she knows he hasn't forgiven her for what happened with Brooke. Ridge points out that she almost died, so he can't see anyplace else he'd be. "Maybe in line with the multitudes who want me punished for my mistakes," Stephanie retorts. Ridge tells her that he's glad she's doing well, and that the police have made an arrest. Stephanie asks Ridge if he and Brooke might be at odds now that Stephen's been arrested; Ridge replies that he and Brooke agreed not to let that come between them. Stephanie admits that she's glad, confessing that Brooke is an angel when compared to Donna. Ridge tells her not to worry about Donna, but Stephanie can't help but see how Donna has caught Eric's eye. Ridge is confident that no one can compete with his mother when she sets her mind to it. Stephanie sighs that she just loves Eric, no matter what he does, and she'd like nothing more than to spend the rest of her days here with him in this home. She finds it kind of funny that it took a bullet to bring Eric back to her.