Friday, June 27, 2008, Episode #5343

Phoebe tells her sister what she overheard.

At Forrester, Phoebe comes down to the shipping department to tell Steffy that it's a bad idea to see Marcus. When Steffy asks her sister what's wrong with Marcus, Phoebe reveals that she overheard Steffy and Marcus talking at Bikini Beach and got an earful. Steffy immediately realizes what Phoebe heard and asks if she went to their dad. Phoebe says she did because of what Marcus's mother Donna did to their family, and she thinks Steffy should care about that, too. Steffy points out that Donna never did anything to either of them and neither did Marcus. Phoebe argues that they have a right to know who they're dealing with, and their dad is taking care of that right now. Realizing what's going on, Steffy bolts out and races upstairs.

Ridge, Thorne and Felicia confront Donna.

In his office, a stunned Eric asks Marcus if he's Donna's son. When Marcus confirms it, Eric tells Donna that this is one of the things you tell a future husband before getting marries. Donna admits it was wrong not to tell him but begs him not to hold it against her. She explains how she got pregnant in her teens, so she went to live with her aunt in Reseda until she gave birth to a son and gave him up for adoption. Not even her sisters knew. Eric asks how Marcus came here if she gave him up for adoption. After Marcus explains that he hired a private investigator to find his birth mother, Thorne accuses the young man of wanting some of his new step-father's fortune. Donna insists that Marcus never asked for anything, and even the job here was her idea so he could get to know the family first. Ridge, Thorne and Felicia aren't buying Donna's excuses for lying to their dad, but Steffy barges in and says that she can vouch for Marcus! Stunned that Steffy knew the truth, Ridge asks, "Where the hell is your loyalty?" Steffy insists that she is loyal to the family, but she felt that Marcus didn't do anything wrong by wanting to get to know his mother. Felicia thinks Marcus should understand why they were suspicious, but he doesn't understand. He points out that he even offered to leave town, and Donna could have easily let him go. But she insisted he stay. Marcus then tells Eric that he doesn't care about what anyone in this room thinks about him other than Eric, because he knows how much Donna loves her husband. "Please do the right thing by her," Marcus asks.

Donna and Marcus explain their actions to Eric.

Eric tells Donna that she was foolish not to tell him about Marcus right away, but he understands why she didn't. Felicia says that no one else understands and asks her dad to please explain it. "It's because of the three of you, lurking in the shadows, waiting for some scandal to descend upon this family!" Eric tells his children. But this isn't a scandal, he insists, and neither is Marcus, and he's looking forward to getting to know Marcus a lot better. Thorne isn't buying this given his own experiences with Donna and asks her why she didn't think to reveal the truth until now. Donna starts to say that it was long ago, but Eric stops her and tells her that she doesn't have to explain herself. He points out that there's no rule that they have to tell each other every detail of their lives up front, since he certainly didn't tell her everything. They have the rest of their lives for that. Donna promises never to lose faith in their relationship again. "OK," Eric responds. Ridge can't believe that's all his dad has to say. "Oh, I'm sorry, Ridge. You're disappointed," Eric fires back. Ridge asks Eric where his loyalties to them are, but Eric refuses to let his kids question his love or loyalty for them. Ridge warns that this won't be the last time Donna has some secret, but Eric might not find anyone in his corner next time. With that, Ridge storms out, with Thorne and Felicia right on his heels.

Steffy stands up to her dad.

Steffy goes back down to the shipping office and finds her dad waiting for her. She tells Ridge that he won't make her feel like she was in the wrong. Ridge insists that she let Marcus and Donna use her as a party to their lies. Steffy states that she'll be the first to come down on Donna if she steals or cheats in any way, but giving up a baby for adoption isn't a scandal or a crime. She asks Ridge to consider how he'd feel if he was in Marcus's shoes as the subject of a witch hunt. Ridge keeps telling her that Marcus played on her sympathies, but she says she feels for Marcus. Ridge asks how well she knows him. She takes exception to his telling her who to be friends with when he's barely seen her for four years. Ridge insists that he just wants to protect her from Marcus's lies, because he's her father. "Stay away from Donna's son," he advises.

Eric tells Donna and Marcus how he feels.

Upstairs, Eric tells Donna that he's ashamed by what happened. Donna admits she made a mistake, but Eric tells her that he was talking about the climate of fear that's come to exist here. "It's okay, sir." Marcus tells him. Eric tells Marcus it's not, and he wants to start changing that by having Marcus call him "Eric" instead of "sir." He then asks Donna and Marcus to both consider that while he's not condoning his children's actions, he understands that they were just trying to protect him, as they've had to do many times over the years. "I'm glad. And as of today, if you need it, I've got your back, too," Marcus promises. The one thing he can assure is that Eric doesn't need protection from his wife, since it's been good learning that he has a mother who can love someone as much as Donna loves Eric.

Brooke and Stephen confront Beth.

In her bedroom at the Marone mansion, Katie asks Stephen about how distant Beth seems. Stephen thinks his ex is just a bit overwhelmed by everything. Just then, they hear Brooke shouting at someone downstairs and wonder what's going on, so Stephen goes to check it out and finds Brooke and Beth arguing. Brooke tells him that Beth is going back to Paris in the morning. Stephen asks Beth if she's OK, since she just got here. Beth says she's fine, but she really didn't have a chance to prepare for the trip when she left. Brooke says they can get her anything she needs, but Stephen asks Brooke if he can speak with Beth alone. After Brooke leaves, Stephen asks Beth why she wants to leave. He can't understand it given how the family just came back together after a tragic loss. He warns Beth that she could do irreparable damage if she leaves, as he should know. Beth says that they'll never know how things would be had he not walked out, but Stephen disagrees. He tells Beth that the girls have forgiven him, and it gets easier between them every time he comes back to L.A., so he wonders if maybe the same might be true for the two of them while they're here. If he's looking for forgiveness, Beth states, then he's forgiven. If that's true, Stephen asks, then can't she please trust him and tell him what's going on? She tells him that the only thing that's going on is that her life is in Paris now. She suggests that he stay here with the girls, since she did it for years. "I don't owe anybody anything," she insists.

Katie pleads with her mother.

Brooke goes up to Katie's room. Katie reveals that she heard Brooke shouting and asks if Donna is back. Brooke says Donna's not back, and the shouting Katie heard was her and their mother having words. Katie can't understand why they were arguing, since their mom just got here and probably just needs a few days to adjust to being back in L.A. Brooke tells her that their mother is going back to Paris in the morning. Katie thinks Brooke must have misunderstood, but Brooke says she didn't. Katie insists that their mom can't leave and runs downstairs, where Stephen is asking Beth if she's still angry with him. Beth tells him that she always knew he loved her and their kids, but now she has other things in her life that she can't bring to Los Angeles. Stephen asks if she's seeing someone, but Beth says it's not always about love. "Then what is it about?" Katie asks as she comes down. Katie asks Stephen for a moment with Beth, so he leaves the room. Katie lashes out at her mom for wanting to leave so soon and asks if she even intended to say goodbye. Beth says she'll be back, and Katie can come visit her in Paris, but Katie points out that she's not able to fly yet because of potential health risks. Given her mom's reaction, she wonders if Beth will even come back for her funeral if she kicks the bucket. Katie then asks Beth if she blames her for Storm's death. Beth says she doesn't, but Katie can't think of any other explanation for why her mother wants to run away and can't even look at her.