Tuesday, May 06, 2008, Episode #5305

Katie refuses to accept Storm's gift.
At the hospital, Donna and Brooke try to calm Katie down, but Katie is sickened by the thought that Storm's killing himself to give her his heart was some kind of gift. She argues that Storm condemned her to a lifetime of pain and guilt by giving her his heart, and she thinks it would have been better had he let her die! Brooke and Donna beg her to understand the gift their brother gave her. Katie scoffs, finding it odd that they're telling her to fight when Storm didn't stay and fight himself. "Storm's dead! Coward!" she tearfully shouts, and the force of her cry makes Brooke and Donna back away from the bed. Donna tears into Katie for saying such horrible things, since Storm acted out of love to save her life. Brooke tries to calm Donna down, since Katie needs some peace. Katie laughs at the thought that she could ever be at peace. Donna insists that Storm did an incredibly beautiful thing. Katie fires back that there is no beauty in an act that left her broken inside and rails, "You call it a gift, but it's not. It's a curse." She compares herself to Frankenstein with the way she was torn up and stitched back together with her brother's heart inside. Katie then turns to Brooke and asks if she agrees with Donna. "Do you think I'm being cruel?" she asks. Brooke tries to stress that Storm gave his own life for Katie's because he loved her and begs Katie to see Storm's heart as a gift, but Katie says that she can't!

Donna tells Katie to stop being so cold.
Donna tells Katie to stop being cold and see that their brother was a hero, but Katie can't see how their brother blowing his brains out was heroic. Donna refuses to listen to this anymore, so Katie tells her to get out and be happy getting married. Donna can't believe that Katie wants her to leave. Brooke advises Katie not to be alone with these dark thoughts, but Katie can't see how she can help it with the nightmarish image of Storm shooting himself stuck in her head. She suggests that it might not even matter, since she might not even be here for long, and even if she is, she'll feel like she's burning in hell from the pain. Donna asks Katie if she expects them to feel guilty that their brother sacrificed his life for hers. Katie calls herself the villain here, since Storm is gone because of her and won't be there to walk Donna down the aisle. She just wants to take it all back. Brooke pleads for Katie not to talk that way, but Katie refuses to be treated like some kind of sacred vessel of their brother's heart. Fed up with listening to this, Donna says she's leaving. She says that she's going through with the wedding tomorrow, since that seems to be what Katie wants, and she storms out.

Eric and Stephanie share a tender moment together.
At the Forrester mansion, Stephanie tells Eric that she just saw Rick drive off. Eric informs her that Rick agreed to be his best man. Stephanie notes that it will be quite a big day and asks if it's still going to happen tomorrow. That's up to Donna, Eric advises. Stephanie wonders if she should even be at the wedding, since she feels guilty about the Logan family's ordeal. She feels like everything would be different had she sent Storm to jail. Eric tells her that it won't be easy for him to be in this house without her. He again offers to let her stay and find a new place for him and Donna. She tells him to forget it, as this is what she wants. When Eric asks her to at least think about it, Stephanie feels like he's having second thoughts. Eric says that it's a little late for that now, but Stephanie counters that it's only too late after he says "I do." Before Eric can answer, he gets a call from Donna telling him that she just saw Katie, and she thinks it's best that they go ahead with their wedding plans. Consider it done, Eric tells her. After he hangs up, Eric and Stephanie have a drink together. As Stephanie prepares the drinks, Eric laughs that he'll miss her martinis. He cheerfully accepts one from Stephanie and they toast to their memories, good and bad. Stephanie then wishes him luck tomorrow. Eric tells her that no matter what path their lives take, he'll always treasure her and love her in his own way, and he gives her a warm hug. Meanwhile, in the hospital hallway, Donna looks at her engagement ring and tells herself that she'll be the new Mrs. Eric Forrester tomorrow.

Brooke tries to get through to Katie.
Back at the hospital, Katie tells Brooke that she can leave, too, but Brooke won't hear of it. Katie tells her to stay if she wants, but it won't change her feelings about what Storm did. She thinks it's best if her sisters just write her out of their lives. Brooke understands that Katie feels frustrated living a medical nightmare, but she won't just sit here and listen to her sister say that her life isn't worth living. She concedes that what Storm did was life changing, and it will take time for Katie to cope with that. At the same time, though, she wants Katie to remember that she has a family around her that loves her, and that alone is a reason to live. "You have to start looking at the things that you have, not at what you lost," she urges. Katie thinks those are pretty words, but they won't change the way she feels. She can't bring herself to be grateful that her brother died by his own hand because of her, so she asks Brooke to stop shoving it down her throat. Brooke tells her that she has two choices: she can feel angry, mad and robbed, or she can take this as a second lease on life, and she asks if Katie really wants to live with all of that negativity. She suggests that Katie can find happiness through forgiveness, but Katie doesn't think she can, since she loved her brother so much and just wants him back. "I want him with me," she cries, "but not like this." Brooke tries to comfort Katie, who sobs as she repeats, "not like this."