Friday, May 09, 2008, Episode #5308

Felicia, Stephanie and Pam are shocked when Eric says "I do."

As the guests sit at the edge of their seats waiting for Eric's "I do," Stephanie whispers to Pam, "I don't believe he can do it." Eric turns back to Donna and asks her to forgive him, as he should be more clear-headed today. He tells her that he loves her, and she's changed his life. Donna anxiously asks what he's saying. "I'm saying, 'I will,'" he whispers. Relieved, Donna breaks into tears as the Reverend pronounces her and Eric as husband and wife. As the happy couple kisses, the guests get up and some start to clap, but Eric's family just stands there silently in disbelief. Felicia takes a stunned Stephanie out to the terrace, while Taylor joins Thorne, Kristen and Pam, who are all glum Eric's choice. Thorne laughs as Pam suggests that they should have taken Donna outside and thrown her off.

Brooke and Stephen congratulate the newlyweds.

Across the room, Brooke and Stephen congratulate Eric and Donna. Ridge stands behind his dad, quietly drinking champagne. Ashley comes over to wish the newlyweds well before she leaves, since she feels out of place at this family gathering. Eric tells Ashley that she's welcome to stay, but she declines. Ridge quips that she's trying to leave before Pam blows her top. Out on the terrace, Felicia tries to comfort her mother, who laments that she was so sure that Eric wouldn't go through with it. Felicia tells her Eric still loves her, and they all saw that from the way he looked at her during the ceremony. She suggests that they should have tried harder to stop this wedding or boycotted it as a family. Stephanie says that she has to go back inside. Felicia asks why she'd wants to do that, but Stephanie goes back in and walks across the room. Seeing the look on Stephanie's face, Pam smiles, confident that her sister is going to give Donna an earful. Stephanie grabs a glass of champagne and calls for a toast, prompting silence throughout the room as everyone waits for what she has to say. She starts out by telling Eric and Donna that what they did today took courage and commitment, since marriage is a weighty proposition. She then admits that she and Eric both made mistakes in their marriage which kept them from getting to the "death do us part" at the end. But even so, Eric was a good husband, so she hopes Donna appreciates how fortunate she is to have him. She raises her glass and wishes the happy couple, "Congratulations and bon voyage."

Nick keeps trying to get through to Katie.

At the hospital, Katie tells Nick that she doesn't need to be rescued or cheered up. Nick says he's just here to keep her company as a friend, and whether or not she talks to him about what happened to Storm is up to her. He just wants her to remember that lying there listening to her oxygen tank won't drown out the sound of her brother's heart inside her. Katie insists that nothing or no one can fix her. Nick sees what she's doing, especially with her telling her family to go ahead with the wedding. Katie says that she just wants them to move on with their lives without her, but Nick tells her that she can't hide from what her brother did. He tells her that he knows how she feels, not wanting to ask for help, since he felt the same way at first when it came to raising Jack. Katie quips that he has lots of help with Jack now. "So now I've got more time to spend with you," Nick fires back. Katie suggests he find better ways to spend his time. Nick says he's working on that, since Bridget's been around a lot lately. That's good, Katie glumly replies, since it's time he saw how special Bridget is. Nick tells her that Bridget really loves her, and this whole thing with her and Storm has taken a toll on Bridget. Katie frets that Storm's death wasn't an accident, but no one wants to admit that. She then says she's tired and asks him to leave. Nick says he will, but he wants her to remember one thing: while no one can tell her how to feel, they can tell her how they feel, and they're all very happy she's still around.

Ashley tells Katie about the night Storm died.

As Nick turns to leave, Ashley comes in. Katie asks about the wedding, inquiring if Eric and Donna got married. Ashley says that they did, and she left shortly after the ceremony, but that's not why she's here. She explains that she heard from Brooke at the wedding about Katie's difficulty accepting what Storm did, so she came by to tell Katie that she doesn't harbor any bad feelings toward Storm. "He threatened you with a gun," Katie states, but Ashley tells her that Storm didn't actually threaten her. She tells Katie how Storm brought the gun to her home in the hopes that her seeing him with that tiny gun in his hand would convince her that he wasn't a monster, and she actually didn't feel like she was in danger all. Katie recalls Storm saying that she didn't understand. Now she knows what he meant. Ashley says that there was no time to explain, since everything happened so quickly. Katie panics as she starts to piece it together. She saw the gun and assumed Ashley was in danger, so she reached for the gun and struggled to pull it away. While doing so, her finger must have gotten on the trigger and she pulled it! "I'm responsible!" she cries out. Ashley tells her not to say that; she was just protecting her, and what she did was very brave. But Katie doesn't want to hear it and asks Ashley to go. Seeing how upset Katie is, Ashley says she's sorry and leaves. Katie then tells Nick that he can go, too, but he sits down by the bed and tells her that he's not leaving her. "I killed my brother," Katie wails as Nick kisses her on the forehead to comfort her.

Stephanie says her goodbyes.

Back at the mansion, Eric sees Stephanie sneaking out the door to her limo. He offers to call the kids so they could say goodbye, but she doesn't want to make a fuss. "I'm sorry," Eric tells Stephanie, who responds, "So am I." Eric gives her a hug. Across the room, Kristen wipes a tear from Pam's eye and tells her it's going to be OK, but Pam disagrees. Felicia assures them that Stephanie is strong enough to make it through this. Stephanie comes over to say goodbye to Pam and the kids. Pam and kids want to leave, too, since they see nothing to celebrate, but Stephanie tells them to stay and celebrate with Eric. The kids protest that their dad made the wrong choice, but Stephanie tells them that it's done now. Eric and Donna are married and this is their home, and she wants them to stay with Eric for her. Ridge offers to at least walk her to her car, but Stephanie says she's doing this on her own and tells them that she loves them all. Outside by her limo, Stephanie stops for a moment and reflects that this house that she and Eric built belongs to someone else now.

Eric and Stephanie's kids don't feel like celebrating.

Back inside, Eric and Donna note that the caterers are gone as are most of the guests. Donna tells him that she said goodbye to her family, so they should say something to his. Looking at the long faces on his kids' faces, Eric tells her to just let them go. Donna points out that they invited his children into their home. And they'll invite them back someday after they lose those sad looks, Eric replies as he smiles at his new bride and gives her a hug. Across the room, Eric's kids stand by Stephen and Bridget, discussing if they should leave. After Thorne suggests that they go get drunk, Bridget rolls her eyes, while Stephen suggests to the others that they honor their mother by showing the same class that she showed with her behavior earlier. Thorne tells his siblings that he's buying. Kristen and Felicia follow him out, while Bridget says goodbye to her grandfather and leaves as well. Still standing there with a glass of champagne in hand, Ridge remarks that it won't be the same around here without his mother. "It feels a lot better already," Stephen responds.

Eric and Donna have their first dance.

Eric turns to Donna and asks if she's happy. She laughs that they're married, and there's nothing that can make her happier. Eric admits that his family was a bit hard today, but Donna giggles that Stephanie and Pam didn't pull anything. They both agree that Stephanie proved what a classy woman she is with her toast, but Eric adds that he has the only he woman he'll ever need right here. They gaze at each other lovingly. Donna then points out that they never shared their first dance, so Eric escorts her to the center of the room and calls for the bandleader to play one last song. Alone in the room, Eric and Donna have their first dance together as an end to their big day.