Monday, August 18, 2008, Episode #5379

Donna confides in Owen.

At the Forrester mansion, Donna pensively looks around the living room and sits down at the piano, resting her head on it. Owen comes in and asks if she's OK. She replies that she can't recall the last song Eric played on the piano, although she's not sure why that bothers her since she knows Eric will pull through and be the man that he was again. She thanks Owen for listening. Owen says he's more than happy to be there for her, although he doesn't think Marcus agrees. Donna offers to talk to her son, but Owen thinks it's natural for Marcus to want to protect his mother. Donna apologizes to Owen for the way that the family treats him, especially since she owes him for showing up and helping her block the Forresters' attempt to take Eric off life support. Owen thinks he has the perfect way for her to make it up to him and asks her to let him make her dinner. Donna likes the idea and smiles, so a bit later, Owen brings her a big tray full of food that he whipped up from stuff he found in the kitchen. Donna is impressed, so Owen boasts that he picked up a few skills working in a restaurant. Donna laughs that the only thing she got out of her days as a waitress was a pair of sore feet. Owen tells her that he's worried that she's not eating or sleeping enough, so he promises to take care of her. Donna tells Owen that she's glad he's back.

Owen offers Donna some reassuring words.

Owen tells Donna he cleared her schedule while she slept; Donna is grateful, since she thinks being in the office around people feeling sorry for her will just make her sad about Eric. She confides that she feels like she's losing Eric, so she wants to remember what they shared before he slips away. Owen offers to help by letting her tell him all about what makes Eric so special. Donna tells him about her history with Eric, including Stephanie's attempt to blackmail her into breaking things off with him. But even then, she recalls fondly, Eric refused to leave her because he believed in what they shared. She couldn't believe at first that Eric could love her so much, but he always accepted her as she was, and then he accepted Marcus as her son and offered to put Marcus in his will. That's because she's so remarkable, Owen claims. Donna goes on about Eric's good qualities, lamenting that she's barely hanging on while Eric is in the hospital. Owen tells her to keep fighting by giving Eric something to wake up for. Donna says she can't wake Eric up, but Owen states that she already did, since he was dead inside from his marriage to Stephanie. "You put the swagger in his step and put a smile on his face," Owen laughs. Donna tells him that he barely knew Eric before the heart attack. "But I know you, Donna," Owen responds, telling Donna how special she is.

Taylor tries to comfort Rick.

At her Bel Air mansion, Taylor sits on Rick's lap and cuddles with him. Rick tells her that he can't stop thinking about his dad and asks if she believes that Ridge really heard Eric tell him to turn off the ventilator. What's important, Taylor says, is that Ridge believes he heard Eric, since there is no other explanation for why Ridge would turn off the ventilator. She advises Rick that it's natural to want to help someone you love, although it's not always easy.

Brooke listens to Marcus's concerns.

Marcus calls Steffy into her dad's old office to tell her that Owen is back in town. Just as he breaks the news to her, Brooke and Pam come in. Pam asks when Shipping and Receiving moved to Ridge's old office. Marcus covers that he didn't know Steffy was here, while Steffy says she's leaving since she's uncomfortable in her dad's old office. As Steffy leaves, Pam says she'll be leaving as well once she figures out what to do with the stack of reports in her hand. Brooke offers to take the reports from her, so Pam hands them over and leaves. Alone with his aunt Brooke, Marcus confides that he's worried that his mom is getting sucked in by Owen now that Mr. Knight is back in town. Brooke asks if Owen has taken anything from Donna. Marcus says Owen hasn't, but he thinks that Owen's plan is to come off as a hero to Donna and get close to her so he can manipulate her. Brooke points out that Owen had the chance to do that with Felicia and didn't take it. Marcus argues that Owen went from coming to town to collect a few grand from him to being offered $200,000 by Felicia, but now Owen sees where he can have millions with Eric in a coma. Brooke tells him that they're all concerned about his mom, but Donna needs all the support she can get right now. Not from Owen, Marcus insists, claiming the guy is dangerous. He frets that Owen has only been in town for a few weeks and now Eric is a coma. Brooke asks if he's blaming Owen for that. Marcus isn't sure, although talking about it now has him wondering if maybe Owen might be responsible for what happened to Eric.

Steffy asks for help from her mom.

Rick is in the shower when Steffy returns home and stops in her mom's bedroom to chat. Taylor asks Steffy about the mystery man in her life. Steffy coyly tries to duck the question, but Taylor reveals that she knows that it's Marcus, the very person who Ridge doesn't want dating his daughter. Steffy argues that her dad only feels that way because Marcus is Donna's son, even though Ridge barely knows Marcus. Taylor predicts that Marcus won't score any points by sneaking around to date Ridge's daughter, but Steffy counters that they wouldn't have to sneak around if her dad would just back off and leave Marcus alone. Steffy insists that she loves Marcus, but her chat with her mom is interrupted by Rick coming out of the bathroom clad in nothing but a towel and making the Tarzan yell. "Me Tarzan, you... Steffy?" Rick playfully says, stopping himself once he sees Steffy. Embarrassed, he retreats back to the bathroom.

"Tarzan" makes out with his "Jane."

Steffy asks her mom why she didn't say anything about Rick being here, although she admits that she's glad "Tarzan" is there to make Taylor happy. "Are you saying nice things about my boyfriend to get me to say nice things about yours?" Taylor asks. Steffy contends that Taylor is the only one who can change Ridge's mind about Marcus, but obviously Taylor has other things on her mind now, so she hopes Taylor will consider later talking to Ridge on her behalf. Taylor agrees and Steffy leaves. Taylor then calls for Tarzan to come out. Rick comes out of the bathroom and asks Taylor why she's laughing about his awkward moment when it wasn't funny. Taylor says she wasn't laughing, so Rick starts to tickle her to get her laughing, and they fall on the bed giggling and make out.

Pam gets a warning from the caretaker for the family cabin.

Pam is sitting at the desk outside Eric's office [although we never saw her reclaim her old spot, even when Owen left]. Earl, the caretaker for the Big Bear cabin, comes over. She asks what brings him down; he explains that he came to visit Eric in the hospital, although he also hoped to get some sugar from her and grabs a lemon bar from the desk. Earl asks if he should talk to her about issues with the cabin with Eric in a coma; he doesn't feel comfortable talking to the old Mrs. Forrester about such issues, but he doesn't know how much help the new Mrs. F. will be. "None," Pam snipes. Earl says he wants to get to the hospital before visiting hours end, but he wants to make sure he warns Pam about the bears that have attacked in the area around the cabin looking for food. He tells Pam to warn anyone going up to the cabin to lock the garbage in the garage, especially those bear shaped honey jars that the new Mrs. Forrester has him stocking the cabin with. "What's anyone do with that much honey, anyway?" he asks as he finishes his lemon bar and leaves. "You don't want to know," Pam quips to herself.