Tuesday, November 27, 2007, Episode #5195

Donna insists that she didn't shoot Stephanie.

A stunned Eric sits by Stephanie's bedside and asks if she's sure Donna shot her. Still groggy, Stephanie mutters that she and Donna argued. Eric asks if she saw Donna pull out a gun. "I saw her," Stephanie murmurs. Eric tells his wife that he found Donna leaning over her after Donna found her and turned her over. Stephanie responds by repeating Donna's name over and over. Just then, Eric sees Donna peeking through the window in the door, so he goes outside to speak with her. Donna asks if Stephanie is OK. She was shot, Eric snipes, so of course she's not OK, although she is expected to recover and is awake now. Donna inquires if he asked Stephanie who shot her; Eric says that he did, and she named Donna as the shooter! A shocked Donna denies the charge, suggesting that Stephanie must be confused due to blood loss. Eric asks Donna to please tell him the truth; Donna indignantly expresses surprise that Eric is asking if she has an alibi. Eric says he just needs to know what happened. Donna recalls how she found Stephanie on the floor and turned her over, and Stephanie opened her eyes for a brief moment after that and saw her; she surmises that's why Stephanie is accusing her. "You have to believe me," Donna pleads. Eric tells Donna to go home; Donna asks him to come with her, but he wants to stay and watch over Stephanie.

Eric sits by Stephanie's bedside.

Eric returns to Stephanie's bedside and reflects on the conversations he just had with Stephanie and Donna about the shooting. Donna again peeks in through the window in the door and watches Eric gently stroke Stephanie's face. When Stephanie wakes up, she's surprised that Eric is still there. He tells her that he stayed here the whole time, joking that he did it to hide out from the press. Stephanie weakly laughs at the joke. Eric tells her to rest; Stephanie counters that he should go home. Eric says he will if it's OK with her, but he'll be back in the morning. After kissing her on the forehead, he advises that the police will come by to question her and asks again if she actually saw Donna pull out a gun and pull the trigger. When Stephanie doesn't answer, Eric looks over and sees that she's asleep. A nurse comes in and tells him that Stephanie has been given a sedative that will keep her asleep for the rest of the night, so Eric tells the nurse to take care of his wife and leaves.

Stephanie wakes up and tells Donna to go away.

Soon after, Donna sneaks into the room and leans over the sleeping Stephanie, seething that Stephanie stole her moment in the spotlight. "Are you happy now?" she whispers to La Forrester, who wakes up and tells Donna to go away. Donna says she'll leave once they get a few things straight. When Stephanie tries to call for the nurse, Donna takes the call button and tells Stephanie to calm down, insisting that she did not shoot Stephanie. Stephanie insists that she saw Donna, who argues that Stephanie must be mistaken and orders Stephanie to shut up! "Eric may feel sorry for you right now," Donna proclaims, "but he's committed to me. I'm gonna be the next Mrs. Eric Forrester, and there is nothing you can do about it." Stephanie says this is crazy. No crazier than any of the stunts Stephanie pulled over the years, Donna fires back, wondering if Stephanie had herself shot to gain Eric's sympathy. Stephanie denies the accusation. Donna asserts that if neither she nor Stephanie is responsible for the shooting, then the shooter is still out there, so she tells Stephanie to stop accusing her and find the true culprit.

Brooke tells Ridge that she's supporting her family.

As Ridge and Brooke arrive at her house, Ridge gets word from Thorne that Stephanie is out of surgery. After Ridge hangs up, he and Brooke wonder about who shot Stephanie. Going back to Ridge's earlier belief, based on his mother's comment before she went into surgery, that it was a Logan who shot Stephanie, Brooke tells Ridge that she's supporting her family. "Even if it means putting our family at risk?" Ridge asks. Brooke asks if that means he expects her to choose between him and his family. Ridge says it doesn't mean that, but he does expect her to keep an open mind, because he can see where a member of her family might have done this to protect her and wouldn't tell her. Brooke reminds Ridge that his mother has been known to say whatever she wants to get her way, and right now, Stephanie wants Donna out of Eric's life. Ridge wants to believe that his mother would have learned from what she did to Brooke and would not make false accusations, but Brooke points out how alone Stephanie probably feels over losing Eric to Donna. Speaking of which, Ridge wonders how far Donna would go to hold onto Eric. That upsets Brooke, who asks Ridge if he thinks her sister is both a gold digger and a potential murderer.

Ridge tries to understand how Brooke feels.

Ridge tells Brooke he understands how she can't believe that a member of her family could have shot his mother, comparing it to how he didn't want to believe what his mother did to her. No matter what they do, he points out, family is still family. Brooke asks if that means he's inviting his mother to their wedding. "If you still even want to marry me," Ridge says. Speaking of which, Brooke thinks they should hold of on the wedding for now, and Ridge agrees that there is too much tension between their families. Ridge then gets a call from Eric, who just got home from the hospital. Ridge asks what Stephanie said, but Eric wants to rest after a long day and suggests that Ridge go visit Stephanie in the morning. After Ridge hangs up, Brooke asks what his mother said; Ridge tells her that his mom is resting, so they'll have to wait until the morning to get some answers. Later, Brooke is looking at a photo of her with her dad and her siblings as she reflects on her conversations with her family and with Ridge about the shooting. Ridge's statement that "the truth will come out" keeps echoing in her mind. Brooke is sure Ridge must be wrong about Donna being the shooter, but she wonders who it could be if it's not someone in her family.

Stephanie's sister Pam is waiting for Eric when he comes home.

Eric walks into his living room and smells pot roast. He's surprised to see Stephanie's sister Pam standing there with a plate of her home-made pot roast in hand. Pam explains that she flew in for the fashion show and drove straight to Forrester Creations from the airport, but the guard wouldn't let her in the building because her name wasn't on the list and she left. While on her way back, she heard the news about Stephanie's shooting, so she came here figuring Eric would need a home-cooked meal. Eric says he isn't hungry, but Pam doesn't want to hear it and starts spoon-feeding him. Eric thanks her for thinking of him and apologizes for her trouble getting into the building; he explains that he didn't know she coming. Pam supposes Stephanie forgot to tell him with everything going on around the separation, which Stephanie reluctantly told her about. She wants Eric to know that she'll stay here to take care of him, which is why she put her bags in the back room. She hopes it's not a problem that she has her dog Tiny with her.