Thursday, August 21, 2008, Episode #5382

Stephen shares some bitter thoughts about Eric with Beth.

Stephen and Beth enter Eric's office hoping to take Donna to lunch, but she's not there. As Beth asks if they should leave a note, Stephen flashes back to the day when he barged in and caught Eric and Donna having sex on the couch. Beth asks her ex what's wrong. Looking at Eric and Donna's wedding photo, Stephen explains that being in Eric's office brings back all the bad memories of what Eric cost him and their family. Beth reminds him that Eric made Donna happy, but Stephen doesn't think it would have lasted, Beth scolds him for talking about Eric like he was already dead. Stephen predicts that even if Eric recovers, he'll eventually run back to Stephanie as usual and break Donna's heart. Beth suggests that they postpone their plan to take Donna to lunch. Stephen apologizes for being so bitter and admits he has no reason to be upset with Eric in a coma. "There's nothing he can do to us. Not anymore," he reflects.

Beth observes a different side of her ex-husband.

Beth hopes Eric will wake up soon for Donna's sake. Stephen tells his ex-wife about the time he caught Eric and Donna having sex right in this office. That's not the kind of memory a father forgets, he muses, calling Eric a "bastard" for taking first Beth, then Brooke and finally Donna from him. But he realizes that's in the past, so he can't let it get to him. Beth agrees. Stephen continues to ruminate on how Eric can't hurt him or his family anymore, but he sees that he's letting those bad memories leave a dark cloud over his head and tells Beth that he'll stop. Beth tells him that she was just thinking about what a different person he's become. Stephen thinks they've both changed, especially since coming back home to be with their daughters again. He assures Beth that he never stopped loving her and puts forth that he feels free when he's with her to be the kind of man she always wanted and deserved. Telling that he wants to hold her and never let her go, he draws her into a kiss.

Stephanie sits by Eric's bedside.

Stephanie is sitting by Eric's hospital bedside when Dr. Seifert, a European coma expert that she brought in, enters. When Stephanie tells him that not much has changed, the doctor urges her not to give up hope too soon as there's no way to predict what might happen to a coma patient. Stephanie speculates that Eric wouldn't want to be kept alive by machines and asks if they'll know when it's time to take him off life support. The doctor points out that they might not have to make that decision just yet, explaining that Eric's breathing may have improved enough to take him off the ventilator. If he shows no improvement once off the machine, they could quickly put him back on. He advises Stephanie to think about it and let him know, but this could be the hope she is looking for. "Or not," Stephanie sighs as she holds Eric's hand to her cheek.

Brooke fills Ridge and the others in.

Ridge, Thorne and Felicia are leaving Ridge's old office when they run into Brooke in the hall. They tell Brooke about their plans to go see Donna and apologize, since they finally see how much they owe Donna and Owen and want to make amends. Brooke looks upset, so Ridge asks what's wrong. Brooke explains that she just came from the hospital, where she learned that Eric's heart attack may not have been an accident. Stephanie arrives, so they all retreat to Ridge's office so Brooke can give them the details. Brooke recounts that they still don't know anything for sure since she left Bridget going over the toxicology reports, but it's possible that someone might have tried to kill Eric. Still, she doesn't want to speculate, since this could turn out to be a wild goose chase. The Forrester siblings suspect that Bridget wouldn't be looking for something without a good reason and fume over the thought that Donna might have done this to get Eric's money and estate. Brooke adamantly defends her sister and tells the Forresters about Marcus's theory that Owen was the culprit, leading Stephanie and her kids to consider that Donna and Owen might be in this together. Brooke refuses to believe that her sister would do something like this, but Thorne and Felicia suggest that she doesn't want to consider the possibility since Donna is family. Ridge agrees that if there's something going on, Donna had to have been a part of it.

Bridget and Marcus fill the police in.

At the Forrester mansion, Donna reels at the thought that Eric was poisoned. Marcus fingers Owen, who denies the accusation. Donna asks Bridget if she's sure about this. Bridget confirms that the level of potassium in her father's blood was way above normal and explains how an excess of potassium will induce cardiac arrest. Marcus asks Owen how he got the stuff in the gin, but Owen again pleads his innocence. Things then turn physical between the two men, so Bridget and Donna try to break them up. Lt. Baker and his detective son Charlie arrive on the scene. Bridget explains that she called the police on her way over. Marcus tells the fabulous Baker boys to take Owen away, since Owen tried to kill Eric! Trying to cool things down, the Bakers sit down with Bridget, who explains what she found in Eric's blood tests. She confirms that none of the medications her father was taking contained potassium, so it had to have come from an outside source. Charlie asks for a copy of the toxicology report. Bridget presents him with an extra copy she brought knowing they'd need it, although she points out that they have no way to verify how the potassium got into Eric's system. Marcus tells the detectives his theory about Owen spiking the gin that Eric drank the night of the heart attack. Lt. Baker asks Donna if her son's account is accurate. Donna recalls that Eric passed out in bed about an hour after he had his martini. Charlie asks if they have the gin bottle, but Marcus informs them that Owen conveniently spilled the rest out and threw away the bottle.

Donna and Owen are shocked.

Donna insists that Owen only dumped the gin to keep her from having a drink she didn't need, but Marcus insists that Owen could have just hid the bottle and urges the cops to take the guilty man away. The detectives point out that they don't have anything to implicate Owen without the gin bottle or some other evidence, so they ask if they can search the house. Donna insists that she needs to know what happened to her husband, so she tells them to go ahead. Lt. Baker sends Charlie to search upstairs while he works down here. Meanwhile, Bridget calls Brooke, who is still at Forrester defending Donna. Brooke pauses the argument to take the call and learns from her daughter what happened. After ending the call, Brooke shares with the Forresters what Bridget just told her. Upon hearing the news, the Forresters are more convinced than ever that Donna and Owen conspired to kill Eric and rush over to the mansion. Back in the Forrester living room, Owen sits down next to Donna and tries to assure her that he would never harm Eric. Marcus returns from the kitchen with some water for Donna and seethes when he sees Owen with Donna, who tells the two men to cool off. Bridget informs them that she just called Dr. Patrick, who is briefing Eric's medical team. Donna asks if they can help Eric now that they know what happened, but Bridget points out that the coma was caused by the heart attack and not by the drugs.

Felicia and Thorne tear into Donna.

Stephanie arrives with her children and Brooke, and the Forresters immediately lash out at Donna for conspiring with Owen to kill Eric. Marcus and Brooke both defend Donna, who can't believe they think she drugged the love of her life. Marcus insists Owen did the deed sole and tells Felicia that she of all people knows what a low-life Owen is. Lt. Baker tells everyone to just calm down and leave the detective work to the pros. Brooke agrees, but Stephanie puts little stock in Brooke's defense of her sister. Brooke and Marcus continue to insist that Donna is innocent, but the Forresters continue to point out how much Donna had to gain with Eric dead.