Wednesday, November 14, 2007, Episode #5188

Donna tells Eric that she wants him to be happy.

An elated Donna can't believe that Eric wants to be with her. She weeps tears of joy about how lucky she feels. Eric is glad to have someone wonderful to share his life with; he's delighted to be starting a new era for this company with a wonderful woman by his side. Donna just wants him to be happy. He says he is; now the only thing left is for him to tell Stephanie. As he puts on his jacket, Donna asks if she should wish him luck. "No," he says, smiling as he gives her a goodbye kiss. Ridge spots Eric on the way to the elevator and invites Eric into his office for a minute; he wants to talk about Eric's decision to choose between Stephanie and Donna and asks Eric to hold off on choosing at the fashion show. Eric doesn't think it's fair to keep Donna and Stephanie waiting for an answer. Ridge agrees, but he also knows that Eric was hit as hard as he was by Stephanie's involvement in Brooke's rape. He points out that Brooke isn't out for revenge on Stephanie, so he doesn't think Eric should rush to make any snap decisions he might regret. The only thing he asks is that any decisions Eric makes are based on what he really wants. Eric agrees and informs Ridge that he does know what he wants, and that's why he's off to see Stephanie right now.

Yes, that's Jake Maclaine setting up the Forresters' lighting.

Felicia comes into the showroom, where Thorne gets things ready for tomorrow's fashion show. After giving some instructions on the lighting, Thorne joins his sister, who recognizes the guy setting up the lights as Jake Maclaine. (For those who weren't watching in the early 90s, Jake was the brother of Forrester designer Margo Lynley. Felicia and Donna competed for his attentions, and Felicia seemingly won after she helped him deal with childhood sexual abuse issues. But then she lost Jake when he had an affair with Macy during a rough time in Thorne and Macy's marriage.) Jake seems to be be trying to avoid looking at Felicia, who asks Thorne if he's OK with Jake working here. Thorne assures her that his issues with Jake are in the past and tells her that Jake asked about her. Felicia informs her brother that she's too busy with work and her son these days to make time for ex-boyfriends.

Felicia and Thorne are shocked by Ridge's news.

Ridge comes in and checks in with his siblings, who tell him that everything is set. Ridge tells them that their dad is on his way over to see their mother. Felicia takes that as a sign that their mother will be in this room tomorrow where she belongs, since their parents always spend the night before a fashion show together having martinis, but Ridge points out that Eric might be going over there to tell Stephanie that he's chosen Donna. Thorne and Felicia don't want to believe that Eric would throw away his marriage for Donna, but Ridge reminds them that this is Eric's choice. Thorne laments that he won't be able to accept his former fiancee as his step-mother. Worried about how this might affect the fashion show, Felicia takes out her cell phone; Ridge advises her not to call, reminding Thorne and Felicia of all the times Eric went out of his way to make them happy. Maybe it's Eric's turn to be happy, he suggests. Felicia fears that getting involved with Donna will be the second biggest mistake of Eric's life, right after marrying Sheila Carter. Thorne agrees, pointing out all the times Eric has left their mom and come back to her. Ridge sees their point, but he still thinks this is Eric's decision, no matter what it means for the company.

Ridge points out that Eric can make his own decisions.

On top of that, Ridge reminds them what their mother did to Brooke. Felicia argues that Andy Johnson raped Brooke, not their mother, and Thorne doesn't think their mom should lose her marriage and her life over a mistake. Ridge concedes that he loves their mother, and he's sure Eric does, too, but he thinks their mother went too far with what she did to Brooke. Felicia admits that what happened to Brooke was wrong, but she doesn't think Stephanie is totally to blame, since Brooke did a lot of harm to their family through her actions over the years. Ridge doesn't think that can even begin to compare to the ordeal Brooke went through. Felicia and Thorne insist that their mother has changed, but Ridge doesn't see that at all. He still thinks that what happened to Brooke was inexcusable. Felicia and Thorne hope that their father might still forgive their mother, even if Ridge can't. Ridge thinks Eric has the right to move on if he's miserable, but Felicia thinks Eric is just disillusioned and isn't miserable at all. She reminds Ridge that even he said just a few minutes ago that Eric still loves Stephanie in some ways. "The love is still there," she argues.

Katie shares her concerns with her sisters.

Donna is in Eric's office, flashing back to Eric's professing her love for her to Stephen. When Brooke and Katie pop in, Donna tells her sisters that Eric loves her and wants her on his arm at the fashion show. Brooke is thrilled for Donna, but Katie frets that Eric's breaking the news during his comeback fashion show might distract from the clothing, and it also might not sit well with his children, either. Having almost married Thorne, Donna sees Katie's point, but she admits that she's actually grateful to Katie now for stopping the wedding. She didn't get it at the time when Katie told her to hold out for love, but now she's grateful to her little sister for giving her that advice, since she now has found that kind of real love. "And so has Eric," Brooke adds, hugging Donna over the wonderful news.

Brooke is stunned that Storm knows about the rape.

Storm comes in, looking all upset. Brooke asks her big brother what's wrong, so he tells her that he just found out about the rape from their dad. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asks. Brooke explains that she couldn't tell anyone at first. "Until you found out about Stephanie's involvement," Storm guesses, urging his sister to press charges against the Forrester matriarch. Donna tells Storm that Stephanie is getting the punishment she deserves, since as they speak, Eric is telling Stephanie that it's over between them because of what she did to Brooke. "He's leaving Stephanie for me," Donna states. Even that bit of news doesn't make Storm happy, because he's still bothered that he was the last to know, especially since he was the one his sisters always turned to first while growing up. Brooke apologizes for leaving him out. Storm says he can understand that, but why could she tell their dad and not him? Brooke explains that she didn't intend to tell Stephen, since she knew how he'd react, but it came out. Storm reminds Brooke that she, unlike her dad, can do something about Stephanie if she presses charges, especially after all the ways Stephanie has tried to hurt her over the years. Katie tells Brooke that she found the gun Stephanie gave Brooke a while back to kill herself with; Storm agrees with Katie that it wasn't a good idea to have the gun in the house, which is why he brought it here and put it in Brooke's desk drawer, so she can return it to Stephanie. Brooke thanks Storm for looking out for her yet again, while Donna chimes in that Stephanie can't hurt them anymore.

Eric tells Stephanie that it's over.

Eric arrives at Stephanie's hotel room, where Stephanie traditionally has the makings for martinis ready. She's glad that tonight is just like all the other nights they've spent together, sharing martinis before a showing. After handing Eric a glass, she tells him that this show will be the most important of his career, so she hopes he keeps his focus on the show itself and avoids making a public choice between her and Donna. Eric doesn't seem to like that advice, so she tells him that the public is coming to see his designs, and his choosing between her and Donna will only distract from that, so she suggests they deal with those issues privately after the showing. Eric solemnly looks at Stephanie and tells her that he's sorry. Seeing the look in Eric's eyes, Stephanie admits she made a terrible mistake, but she doesn't think that has to end their marriage. Their marriage has been over for some time, Eric responds, maybe longer than he realized. But he wants her to understand that he didn't come here to watch her grovel. He just thought she deserved to hear the news from him. He turns to leave, but Stephanie asks him to wait and admits that he was right about how she isn't able to let go where their children are concerned. Eric doesn't think that's an issue anymore. Stephanie admits she was obsessed with Ridge; Eric is glad she can see that now, but it doesn't change anything between them. Stephanie puts forth that she begged for Brooke's forgiveness, but Eric insists that he's in love with Donna.