Wednesday, June 25, 2008, Episode #5341

Thorne and Felicia are stunned by Ridge's news.

In his office, Ridge tells Thorne and Felicia that their new employee Marcus Walton is Donna's son, and that he has it on good authority that Eric knows nothing about it. Felicia and Thorne ask if he's sure. Ridge admits that he isn't, which is why he's hired a private investigator to check it out. If the P.I. finds that Marcus is Donna's son, then they can put an end to the havoc that Donna has wreaked on their company. Just then, smarmy reporter Jarrett drops by with some bad news. He informs the Forresters that the fashion press is about to have a field day with Eric over his recent marriage. The siblings assume it's more bad press based around Donna's risque influence on Eric's designs and the fact that Eric married a much younger woman, but Jarrett informs them that the big issue of late is that the new Mrs. Forrester's maiden name is Logan, and that people are assuming that Eric is morally bankrupt because of his unhealthy obsession with that family. When Ridge scoffs, Jarrett assures them that he would never write such a piece, but other reporters are, so he wanted to give them a heads up. Ridge thanks Jarrett for the warning and tells his siblings that it's up to them to deliver a very large wake-up call to their dad.

Ridge thinks they have the ammunition they need.

Later, Phoebe joins the others as P.I. Rocky comes by with his report. Rocky confirms that Donna gave birth at St. Joseph's Hospital on July 9 to a baby boy, and that a baby boy born at St. Joseph's that day was adopted by a family named Walton from Beaumont, TX. Since they know from his personnel file that he was born on July 9 and lived in Beaumont, the Forresters realize that Marcus is indeed Donna's son. After Rocky leaves, the siblings decide that they have to confront Eric with this news. They know it's going to hurt their dad, but they have no choice. Ridge is confident that after tonight, their dad will finally realize why he has to end his marriage.

Marcus and Steffy are relieved after Eric apologizes.

Eric calls Marcus to his office to talk about some changes Marcus made to their inventory logs. Marcus tries to explain why he made the changes, but Eric tells him that their existing system is fine as is and instructs Marcus to put the logs back the way they were. He warns Marcus not to make any more changes without asking first. Dejected, Marcus returns to shipping to fix the logs. As Steffy watches him work, Marcus laments that Eric's reaction doesn't bode well. He fears that Eric will never accept him as Donna's son if he can't handle some simple paperwork changes. Steffy assures him that her granddad will understand, especially if she has anything to say about it. Marcus is about to fix the logs when Eric stops down to talk to him. Steffy asks if she should leave, but Eric wants her to hear what he has to say and tells Marcus that he owes him an apology. After a second glance at Marcus's revised system, he sees why Marcus wanted to make changes and agrees that the new system works. He instructs Marcus to run it by Thorne, who can put the revisions into place if he likes them. Marcus thanks Eric, who thinks he should be thanking Marcus for taking some initiative. "My wife is very high on you," Eric tells Marcus, "and I'm beginning to see why." After Eric leaves, a relieved Marcus and Steffy hug each other.

Eric is upset when Ridge asks for a meeting.

After Eric returns to his office, Ridge drops by and asks if he, Thorne and Felicia can talk to Eric privately, without Donna, on a very important matter. Eric says he'd be glad to, but it can't be tonight, since he has plans with Donna. When Ridge urges him to just give them a small amount of his time, Eric realizes that his kids want to harangue him about his wife and tells Ridge to just accept that he's moved on with a woman he loves and trusts. After years of being neglected by Stephanie due to her constant scheming, he finds it refreshingly different to have a wife who doesn't hide things from him. Just then, Marcus walks by the office and overhears Ridge and Eric talking. He listens as Ridge suggests that Eric might just change his mind about his wife if he just meets with Thorne, Felicia and him at 5 PM. Eric reluctantly agrees to the meeting, but he insists that they keep it brief and leave out any negative comments about Donna. Ridge assures him that they'll keep it strictly informational and leaves. Ridge runs into Marcus in the hall and asks him to prepare a shipment to go out tonight. When Marcus asks where the shipment is going, Ridge replies, "Texas." Marcus then makes a call and leaves a message that he just ran into Ridge, and it looks like something is going down that doesn't sound good. Wondering if Ridge might have found out the truth, he ends the message by instructing the person to call him.

Brooke thanks Nick for helping her family.

At the Marone mansion, Stephen, Donna and Nick watch as Katie reunites with her mother. Katie is all aglow as she tells Beth how glad she is to have her mother back home. Nick goes down to answer the doorbell and finds Brooke arriving to check on Katie. She tells Nick that she has some wonderful news for Katie, since their mother is on her way to L.A. Nick tells her that he knows, since her mom and her dad are actually upstairs with Katie right now. Brooke wonders how her parents could have gotten there so quickly and realizes that Nick brought them over from Paris. "What am I going to do with you?" she asks as she gives him a big hug. She thanks him for everything he's done for Katie and for their family and tells him that she doesn't know how they'll ever be able to repay him.

Katie tells her mom about Storm's death.

Upstairs, Katie and Donna tell Beth about the night Storm died. Katie admits that she couldn't accept at first what Storm did, but she finally came to an understanding and made peace with it. She tells Beth that she thinks Storm would want Beth to be there with them. She understands that Beth couldn't come home sooner because she was grieving, but she's thrilled to finally have all the Logans together again as a family. Katie smiles at the thought of their family being reunited, but Beth seems uneasy. Beth comments that it's remarkable how her girls got through all this and wishes she had been here. Donna tells her that they understand that she didn't come sooner because she was too overcome with grief. And she's here now, Katie adds, and so is Storm, since he'll always be with them.

Stephen talks with Nick about Beth.

Stephen goes downstairs to talk to Nick while his girls catch up with their mom. When Nick comments that a visit from Beth is just what the doctor ordered, Stephen responds that Nick was the "doctor" who knew what Katie needed before anyone else and got it for her, and he can't thank Nick enough for that. Nick asks Stephen if he knows what the problem was that kept Beth away. Stephen presumes that it was the loss of her son, but Nick thinks there has to be more, since that doesn't explain why Beth wouldn't want to be there for her daughters, especially Katie.