Thursday, April 24, 2008, Episode #5297

Ridge and Thorne wonder what their mother's meeting is about.

Ridge, Thorne and Felicia gather at the Forrester mansion for one of their mother's infamous family meetings. Thorne pours drinks for him and Ridge, but Felicia wants to be sober when they hear how their mother intends to keep Donna Logan from stealing her family and legacy. Stephanie comes in and asks Felicia how her trip was. Felicia says that her meetings with Nick Newman (on The Young & the Restless) went well and asks Stephanie how she is. La Forrester replies that she's fine. Ridge, Thorne and Felicia note the big smile on their mother's face and ask what's got her in such a good mood. They hope she's not expecting Eric to call off his wedding to Donna. Stephanie responds that she doesn't think Eric will call the wedding off, and in fact, she's not even going to try to change his mind. Felicia offers to step in and fight for her mother, but Stephanie says that won't be necessary, since she's come to a decision. She wants +to move on with her life and thinks they need to do the same thing, so she's decided to step down from Forrester Creations and to let Eric get married here at the house. The siblings think their mother must be nuts, but Stephanie assures them that she isn't. "You're gonna booby-trap the place, aren't you?" Felicia asks. Stephanie assures that she isn't. This is her home, but it's also Eric's home. So if he wants to get married here, why shouldn't he be able to?

Eric isn't sure if he should believe Stephanie.

Ridge assumes his mother has some plot in mind, but Stephanie says that she just wants to bring the family together to support Eric. Her kids, however, refuse. Stephanie urges her kids to show Donna and the Logans that the Forrester can unite as a family for Eric, so she hopes they'll be here when Eric gets married here. Eric comes in and overhears Stephanie's comments. "Very well said," he remarks, "but I'm just not sure I believe it." Stephanie assures him that she's serious. Felicia protests letting Donna anywhere near the family home, but Stephanie states that this will be Donna's home, since she intends to sell her share of the house to Eric. Eric doesn't want to run her out of her home, but Stephanie points out that it's his home, too. The only thing she asks if that they don't end the tradition of having family gatherings here, even if she's not living here. She then asks to speak to Eric alone, so the kids leave the room.

Thorne and Felicia watch their parents.

Eric asks if she's sure she wants to do this. She says she really isn't, but this house is full of nothing but memories for her. Eric tells her that she can make new memories, but she wants him to do that. That's why she asked him to continue the family gatherings, even if she'll only be there in spirit. ""The ghost of Christmases past," Eric quips. Stephanie tells him that she's moving out, not moving on - although in a way, she guesses she is moving on. Eric admits that he thought she called this meeting to draw a line in the sand and force the kids to choose sides. He sees now that he was wrong, and he's sorry. Stephanie tells him not to be, since he would have been right had they had this conversation a few days ago. At the top of the stairs, Felicia and Thorne listen; Felicia is amazed by what their mother is doing, but Thorne thinks this is a private moment that they shouldn't interrupt.

Stephanie comes to an agreement with Eric.

Eric tells Stephanie that he didn't know what to expect when he came here today, and he didn't expect this. He supposes he should have expected it, since Stephanie is a classy lady. They agree to have the lawyers draw up a sales agreement once they agree on a price for the house. Eric then leaves, pausing outside in the courtyard for a moment to think about what just happened.

Nick questions Katie about Storm.

At the Marone mansion, Katie defends Storm to Nick. She tells Nick that Storm always protected her and their sisters, even if his anger at their dad and Stephanie got the best of him. She thinks Ashley would be lucky to have a guy like Storm. Nick reminds her that her brother shot Stephanie when she was alone in the showroom. Katie argues that Storm thought he was protecting them, but he was wrong. Now he's getting better through therapy. Nick finds that hard to believe given the way Storm was complaining earlier about Ridge ruining his relationship with Ashley. Katie asks why they're doing this when this is simply a case of her brother liking Ashley. Nick asks Katie how Storm will feel if Ashley finds out what he did and dumps him. Not having an answer, Katie bolts out to talk to Ashley.

Ashley is frightened by Storm.

At Ashley's house, Storm asks Ashley why she lied to him by pretending not to know that he shot Stephanie. When she doesn't answer, Storm presses her. Ashley tells him that she's just frightened and asks him to go on. Storm asks her to believe that he's not a violent man. He professes that he could never hurt Ashley, because he's falling in love with her. Ashley asks him to please leave if she's as important to him as he claims, but Storm needs to clear things up first, since he's sure Ridge made him seem like the devil with the way Ridge described what happened. Ashley reminds him that he did shoot Ridge's mother. Storm tries to explain how his anger with his dad and with Stephanie led him to do something so violent. He was so upset about Stephanie giving information to Brooke's rapist and about his father trying to waltz back into his family's lives that his rage built, so when he saw an opportunity to make them both pay, he took it. Ashley points out that he got away with his crime, but Storm says he really didn't, since he pays every time he looks at his sisters and sees how disappointed they are in him. He then takes out a small gun to prove a point, and Ashley recoils in horror!

Storm tries to explain to Ashley.

Ashley begs Storm not to shoot her. Storm tells her not to worry. Ashley pleads with him to stop. "Is this the man you think I am?" he angrily asks as a frightened Ashley begs him not to shoot her. Storm tells her not to worry. He just wanted to prove that he's not the man Ridge says he is. Ashley asks him why he brought the gun. He explains that he saw it at a pawn shop and it looks like Stephanie's gun. He thought he could make Ashley understand by buying the gun and bringing it here. This is just like the gun he found in Brooke's desk the day of the shooting. He didn't plant it there, but when he came across it, he saw how small it was and put it in his pocket. He never dreamed that he'd still have it when he was about to run into Stephanie in the showroom, and he swears to Ashley that he'll never do something like this again. He tries to convince Ashley that he's not a crazed lunatic, but rather, is just an ordinary guy who couldn't let his father or Stephanie hurt his sisters again. Growing up, he was like a hero to his sisters, especially to Katie. He would have done anything for those girls, just like he suspects Ashley would do anything for Abby. That's the kind of man he is, he begs Ashley to believe.

Katie tells her brother to give her the gun...

Storm starts to calm down by talking about his sisters, but Katie then arrives and sees the gun in Storm's hand. Katie bursts through the door and screams at her brother to put the gun down! Storm tries to explain, but Katie just wants him to give her the gun. She asks if he brought the gun here because Ashley rejected him. Storm tries to explain, but Katie doesn't want to listen to any explanations until Storm gives her the gun. "Please let go of it," Katie begs, trying to grab the gun. Storm still has his finger on the trigger of the gun as Katie desperately tries to pull it away. Storm asks Katie to please stop, but she keeps struggling to pull the gun away. Suddenly, a shot goes off and Katie slumps down to the ground!