Wednesday, August 20, 2008, Episode #5381

Steffy worries about Marcus.

Marcus is asleep on the couch at the Forrester mansion when a knock at the door awakens him. When no one answers the door, Steffy comes in and calls out for Donna, and she's relieved to find Marcus there in the living room. She hugs him and tells him that she got worried when he didn't return her messages, since she got a bad vibe when he told her yesterday that something was going on. Marcus tells her that he's not sure yet, but he thinks Owen may have done something, and he's waiting for word from Bridget to find out if he's right. Steffy frets that this sounds dangerous. Marcus asks her to please understand that he has to protect his mom. Steffy asks him to be careful and kisses him.

Thorne and Felicia are shocked by Ridge's attitude change.

Ridge meets with Thorne and Felicia in his old office to suggest that they meet with Donna and concede that they were wrong to force the transfer of ownership while Eric is hospitalized. He sees now that he started a war that no one can win, but the company stands to be the biggest loser, so he hopes that they might be able to return to work for the good of the company, even if they're not in charge. He thinks that's what Eric would want. Shocked by their big brother's sudden change of attitude, Thorne and Felicia ask where this is coming from. Ridge explains that he finally realized that he pushed Donna too hard, and he can only thank God that she pushed back. "If it wasn't for Donna and Owen," he admits, "Dad might not be alive today." Thorne and Felicia ponder Ridge's suggestion; Thorne thinks it would mean eating an awful lot of crow in front of Donna, and Felicia wonders if Donna would even hire her back. Ridge says that he understands why they might question his judgment after the way he convinced them to go along with him about Eric, but his siblings agree that they didn't want to see their father suffer either.

Ridge gets his siblings to agree with him.

Steffy comes to the door and hears her dad admit that he was wrong about Donna. She steps into the office and commends Ridge for being willing to meet Donna halfway. Ridge adds that he feels the same way about Owen, who helped Donna show him that he was making a tragic mistake. "Owen Knight proved to be a great friend of this family," he declares. Ridge recalls how he had convinced Donna to take Eric off life support. Thorne tells him not to beat himself up about that, but Ridge confesses that he's still haunted by the fact that Donna was this close to signing the paper that could have taken Eric away from them. Now he keeps wondering if there is something they should be doing to help their dad. Felicia hugs Ridge and reminds him that she still believes in miracles because she is one. Ridge then tells his siblings that he knows that their father would want them to make peace with Donna, so he asks if they're with him. Thorne and Felicia both agree that they have nothing to lose. Ridge hopes Donna will accept their apology in the spirit it's intended. Steffy thinks Donna will, since Donna is a good person deep down. She's glad her dad is willing to give Donna a chance and hopes he might do the same for Marcus, but Ridge says they'll have to see about that. But he does know that he wants run this company as a team now, and that includes Donna and Owen since they're responsible for Eric still being with them.

Carl rushes the tests for Bridget.

Marcus calls Bridget to find out if she got Eric's test results yet. She tells him that a friend in the lab is rushing the tests, so they should know soon. She promises to call as soon as she has information to share. As Bridget hangs up, Brooke arrives and asks if there has been any word. Not yet, Bridget says. Bridget's friend Carl - he was the one who helped her unravel Taylor's messy "scrambled egg" pregnancy - comes over to tell her that he lit a fire under the guys in the lab to get her tests run ASAP. He knows she didn't mention what the tests were for, but he hopes the results can help her dad. Bridget thanks him for the kind words and promises to keep him posted. Once Carl walks away, Brooke asks if Marcus could be right that Owen poisoned Eric. Bridget says that's it's possible, but she can't imagine why anyone would want to hurt her father that way.

Brooke asks Bridget about the results.

Brooke gives Bridget a reassuring hug as they wait for the results. Brooke hopes they know soon, since the only thing she knows about Owen is that he's been supportive of Donna - maybe a bit TOO supportive. Bridget notes that Donna has total control of the family fortune now, and Brooke thinks that makes her sister a very attractive target. They both hope Marcus's theory is wrong. Carl returns with the test results and hands them to Bridget, who starts to read through the report. Brooke asks if the report shows that Eric was poisoned. Bridget explains that it's a bit more complicated than that, since she ordered a number of different tests to make sure she covered all the bases, and the results of those tests have to be interpreted. As Brooke starts to speculate, Bridget hushes her so she can focus on interpreting the test results. She starts to get emotional as she reads all the pages, since this involves her dad. Seeing how distraught Bridget is getting, Brooke offers to go to the family meeting that Ridge called so Bridget can concentrate.

Marcus confronts Owen.

Owen comes into the Forrester living room with coffee for him and Donna and is surprised to find Marcus there. Seeing the disapproving look on Marcus's face, Owen asks if he has a problem with him. Marcus charges that he most certainly does, especially when it comes to Owen hanging around Donna. He warns Owen that he's on to him, advising, "If you were smart, you'd leave and stay away." Owen asks Marcus why he's so suspicious of him. Marcus boasts that he knows the reason why Owen is so nice to Donna, but Owen still doesn't get it, since he's been nothing but supportive of Donna. Marcus says that he can take care of his mother just fine, just like Eric did before he had a heart attack. Tired of Marcus's accusations, Owen says that he's going to find Donna and turns to leave, but Marcus orders him to leave Donna alone! The two men start shoving each other until Donna comes in and breaks them up.

Donna defends Owen.

Donna asks Marcus what he's doing. Marcus tells her that he'll soon have the proof he needs to show her what Owen is really like. Owen demands to know just what he's being accused of. When Marcus doesn't answer, Donna tells Owen that Marcus suspects him of poisoning Eric to induce Eric's heart attack. Owen is furious that Marcus thinks he would drug Eric, so Marcus explains his theory about how the bottle of gin Owen gave Eric was used to induce the heart attack. Owen finds the theory absurd. Donna tells him that she already tried to explain that to Marcus. Owen says the whole notion is ridiculous, but Marcus charges that they'll see just how ridiculous it is when the toxicology report comes back. Donna apologizes to Owen for her son taking this absurd theory too far. Owen tells her that it's obvious that he's complicating her life, so he offers to leave town. Donna insists that he stay, but Marcus takes Owen's sudden desire to leave as a sign that he's trying to hide something and asks what it is.