Friday, September 19, 2008, Episode #5401

When delverymen bring a bunch of crates into the Forrester living room, Ridge and Thorne assume it's more medical equipment for Eric's rehab. Ridge quips that Eric might not need the equipment to rouse him with Stephanie and Brooke upstairs with him right now. Thorne is surprised that their mother let Brooke into "the sanctum." Ridge explains that Eric wanted to speak to Brooke alone, but that didn't sit well with Stephanie, who waited a bit and then rushed back upstairs. Thorne bets Brooke tries to talk to Eric about Donna, but he thinks it probably didn't work given that they don't hear any yelling from upstairs. Ridge agrees that Donna should be a closed chapter in Eric's life, but he fears that Brooke is the one person who might be able to convince Eric to forgive Donna.

Brooke tries to tell Eric the truth.

Upstairs, Stephanie orders Brooke to leave, but Brooke refuses to go until Eric hears the truth. To satisfy Brooke, Stephanie tells Eric that she's known about Donna and Owen's relationship for some time, since she first saw them together at the mansion the day he first came out of the coma. Rather than confront them, she came back to the hospital, but he had fallen back into the coma. That's when she vowed to protect him from Donna, and that's the truth. Brooke asks Stephanie if that's why she shipped Donna off to Paris with Owen, and she'd also like to know why no one told Eric that Pam attacked Donna and nearly killed her. Stephanie asks Brooke why Donna didn't turn to her or Marcus or anyone else in their family if she needed comfort. Brooke still thinks Eric needs to at least hear Donna's side of the story directly from Donna, since the two of them love each other. Eric starts to hyperventilate, so Stephanie tells Brooke to leave. Brooke continues to urge Eric to remember what he and Donna shared, so Stephanie orders her to stop before she pushes Eric over the edge. Brooke leaves. Alone with Eric, Stephanie tries to convince him to ignore Brooke and wait until he's stronger to worry about Donna, but Eric wants to know what happened. Stephanie agrees that he has every right to know, but she thinks he's seen enough with Owen and Donna together already and advises him to focus on getting better.

Thorne worries about what Brooke might be telling his dad.

Downstairs, Thorne asks Ridge when he plans to marry Brooke. Ridge reminds his brother that a lot has gone on lately, but he still intends to make Brooke his wife, and this time it will be forever. Thorne suspects it won't be easy since Brooke is fiercely loyal to her family while Ridge is intensely loyal to their parents, and he hopes the inherent conflict won't be the latest thing to keep Ridge and Brooke from the altar. Not this time, Ridge assures, but Thorne still can't help wondering if there can ever be peace between the Forresters and the Logans. He just hopes that war isn't being waged upstairs with their mother and Brooke still up there. Ridge agrees that he wants Donna out of Eric's life, but he has to admit that Eric seemed carefree when he was with Donna. Thorne points out that the marriage nearly killed their father, but Ridge points out that their Aunt Pam was to blame for that. The brothers wonder where their aunt is right now, but they agree that their first priority now has to be getting their dad better. Thorne hopes Brooke doesn't mess that up somehow, since their father's recovery was drawing their parents back together again.

Ridge tells Brooke that Donna can't be part of Eric's life.

Brooke comes down, fuming that Stephanie is trying to control who Eric sees and what he knows. Ridge guesses she talked about Donna. Brooke thinks Eric has a right to know everything, including the fact that Pam might have killed Donna. Thorne and Ridge don't think Eric is too concerned about the wife who betrayed him, but Brooke tells them that Eric WAS concerned, and she thinks that proves that Eric still cares about Donna. Thorne doesn't think Donna cares about Eric given that she had an affair with Owen. Brooke states that Owen and Donna did not have an affair, but Ridge doesn't think it matters whether they did or not. What's important, he states, is that Eric is allowed to get better without having to worry about the stress Donna brings into his life. When Brooke suggests that Donna should be part of Eric's recovery, Thorne storms out in disgust. Ridge tells Brooke that her sister can't be around while Eric recovers, but Brooke thinks that should be Eric's decision. Not wanting to argue anymore, Ridge suggests that they go home and discuss this later. Brooke tells him to go say goodnight to his father while she calls Catherine to to tell her that they'll be on their way home soon. While Ridge heads up, a pair of eyes peers out through one of the hand holds on a large crate that the deliverymen brought earlier; Donna is inside the crate!

Stephanie argues with Brooke.

As Brooke takes out her phone to call Catherine, Stephanie comes down and asks Brooke why she's still there. Brooke tells Stephanie that she was waiting for her, since she thought they could talk about Eric's situation like two women who care about him. Stephanie argues that Brooke wouldn't upset Eric by talking about Donna if she really cared about him. Brooke says that she understands that Stephanie wants to protect Eric, but she doesn't think that should include keeping things from him. Stephanie insists that Eric care about Donna after seeing her roll in the hay with Owen, which she thinks is a far cry from the "comforting" that Brooke tried to tell Eric about. Brooke states that Donna loves Eric. "She has a strange way of showing it," Stephanie retorts, pointing out that she's never understood the "Logan girls." Brooke tells Stephanie not to bring her family into this, since this is about Eric and Donna. She knows Eric is upset about what he saw, but she's sure keeping things from him won't help. Stephanie scoffs at Brooke's downplaying what Donna did. Brooke gets a sense of deja vu from Stephanie's complaints about a Logan using her sexuality to get her way. While she admits that Donna made a mistake, she thinks it should be Eric's decision as to whether he forgives Donna. "Eric came back to me and our children," Stephanie insists, telling Brooke not to come around if she intends to defend Donna. While the two women argue, Donna slips out of the crate and heads upstairs.

Eric talks to Ridge.

In the bedroom, Eric flashes back to seeing Donna making out with Owen. Ridge comes in and sees that his dad sees upset. Guessing that it has to do with being caught between Stephanie and Brooke, Ridge reminds Eric that both women want what's best for him, but they disagree about just what that is. But while he admits that each woman is being protective in her own way, he wants to make it clear to Eric that no one is holding him prisoner here. They're all just worried after almost losing him, and he thinks that's especially true of Stephanie. "You coming back from that coma gave her a new purpose, a new meaning in her life," Ridge suggests.