Monday, June 30, 2008, Episode #5344

Marcus thanks Steffy for her support.

In the shipping office at Forrester, Marcus tells Steffy how amazing her granddad was in accepting him as Donna's son. Steffy apologizes for her dad. Marcus asks if things are OK with her dad, since he knows that her keeping his secret ticked Ridge off. That's because family loyalty is big for her dad, Steffy explains, but she thinks they'll be fine. Marcus wonders how Ridge found out. Steffy doesn't tell him that it was Phoebe who exposed his secret and covers that he always expected the truth to come out eventually. Marcus states that he expected the worst, which is why it was so incredible that Eric accepted him into the family without question. Steffy guesses that he impressed her granddad, but Marcus gives the credit to Donna and her love for Eric. He marvels at the way he went from living on his own in Texas to being accepted into a real family in such a short time, and he wants Steffy to know that he'll never forget how she helped make that happen.

Steffy explains her family's feelings about Donna to Marcus.

Steffy claims that she just told the truth, so she's no hero, but Marcus knows it couldn't be easy for her given how her family feels about Donna. Steffy agrees that it was hard, since she understands her family's feelings. She explains that almost everyone in her family thinks her grandparents would still be together and the company would be doing much better if it wasn't for Donna. Marcus asks what she thinks. Steffy inquires if he's asking about what she thinks about his mother or about what she thinks about him. Marcus playfully tells her that he already knows what she thinks about him, since he can read minds. Steffy challenges him to prove it by telling her what she's thinking. He pauses for a moment and teases, "I am shocked, you naughty, naughty girl." "So you can really read minds," Steffy teases back.

Brooke and Stephen wonder about Beth.

In the Marone mansion's living room, Brooke talks with Stephen about Beth's desire to return to Paris. She asks if Beth said anything to him on the way to L.A. Stephen reminds her that Beth doesn't exactly confide in him, but he admits that he's been puzzled by his ex-wife's reluctance to return to L.A. Brooke refuses to let go until she gets some answers. Stephen wonders if it might be his fault, as he might have pushed too hard to regain Beth's trust and reunite their family while Beth was still trying to cope with Storm's death and Katie's health issues. Brooke doesn't think that's it, since it would be better to cope with their issues as a family. Stephen knows Beth would never run away from her daughters, but he fears that she still doesn't trust him after the way he walked out on their family, so he can only assume that Beth wants to leave to get away from him. Brooke tells him that they can't let Beth run away, since they need each other now more than ever.

Katie begs her mother to accept help for her problems.

Upstairs, a shocked Katie asks Beth why she never said anything about her strokes and memory loss. Beth says that she didn't know how to tell them. Katie thinks they can deal with this by getting Beth help, but Beth insists that she's not the mother Katie remembers, since her memories are slipping away bit by bit. "Do you know who you are?" Katie asks. Beth says that she does, and she knows who Katie is, too - at least for now. But that could change, and she refuses to become a burden on her family when it does after all they've been through recently. Katie understands that Beth is scared, since she knows from her own recent experiences what it's like not to know what's coming next. But at the same time, she can't let Beth just run way without explanation and expect that to be OK. Beth explains that her memories of her life flicker through her mind and then fade, so she can't be sure if they're real or just something from a dream. Katie asks if she remembers Storm. Beth says she has some memories of him, and that's why it hurt so much when she learned of his death. Once those memories of Storm fade, she sighs, she'll have lost him forever. Katie points out that there are always new breakthroughs in medicine, as she's living proof of, so she's sure there might still be hope, but Beth fears that those breakthroughs might come too late for her. Katie argues that she and her sisters need their mother, but Beth insists that everything that made her their mother is gone, and it's only going to get worse.

Beth refuses to be a burden on her family.

Even if that's true, Katie states, she's learned to live for the moment, so their worst case scenario is to enjoy what little time they have left with their mom while she lets them take care of her. Beth refuses to force her daughters to care for her that way. When she looks at her girls, she explains, she remembers things about their lives. But as those memories fade, the only thing that keeps them connected is an invisible thread, and her girls need and deserve more than that. She wants her daughters to have someone who can share their losses and their pain, but she can't be that kind of mother anymore. Katie disagrees and goes to the stairs to call for Brooke and Stephen to help her, but when she returns to the living room, Beth is gone! Seeing the door to the house open, Katie runs over and sees Beth drive off. "She must have grabbed the keys while I got you," Katie tells Brooke and Stephen. Stephen asks why Beth left, so Katie explains what's going on and insists they have to find her. Stephen tells Brooke that they should check the airports. Katie wants to come with them, but they tell her to stay there in case Beth comes back. Once they get in the car, Brooke contacts the airports and learns that there are no flights to Paris until tomorrow. So Beth probably isn't there, Stephen guesses. He and Brooke agree that everything makes sense now that they know about Beth's health problems. They realize that Beth must be terrified right now, which is why they have to find her and help her.