Justin asks Donna how she could leave him like that years ago; just disappear without a word. She offers that she is sorry, but that was a lifetime ago. He wants to catch up on her past activities and life. He assures her that he loves the business world so doesn't miss basketball. And he was one of those guys that perhaps wasn't supposed to have children. Stephanie looks for Ridge, but finds Eric instead. He tells her that he has some news for her  he is adopting Marcus. She's shocked. She likes Marcus, but he is a grown man now and already has an adopted family and Marcus is already mentioned in Eric's will so this seems a little unnecessary. Katie finds Marcus playing basketball on the rooftop. He challenges her to a few shots. He tells her the most incredible thing just happened; he found his father. She's astonished to find out when he admits it is Eric. Marcus goes by the office to see Donna and she introduces him to Justin Barber, an old friend. Donna looks uneasy. She is jumpy later when Katie walks in. She explains that she just saw Justin and she did not tell him about Marcus. Now she is having doubts if she did the right thing. Four little words and she could change both Marcus and Justin's world plus Eric now that he wants to adopt Marcus. Katie advises her to just drop this. If Marcus wanted to know about his father then he would ask. Stephanie plays the devil's advocate and offers her concern for the children's sake if Eric goes through with this adoption. When Eric leaves, Stephanie stands there feeling strange. She acts like she is dizzy, her arm is numb but she finally moves it and starts to walk out. Justin looks up the Forrester's on his laptop .particularly Donna. When he sees that Marcus is Donna's son, the realization hits him that Marcus could be his son. Donna tells Katie that she must do what is best for Marcus and not tell Justin the truth.
Justin: What happened, Donna? Why did you disappear like that, not so much as even note to me? Donna: It was a lifetime ago. It-- you were just out of high school. Justin: But we had something real, something special, or at least I thought so. Then you were gone, never another word. Donna: Why do teenagers do anything? Justin: (Scoffs) Donna: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I really--I mean that. Whatever pain I caused you back then, I am sorry. Justin: (Sighs) [SCENE_BREAK] Stephanie: Ridge? Oh, Eric. Eric: Stephanie, hi. Uh, Ridge isn't here. He's down in the sewing room. But, uh, no, uh, I'm glad you're here. Come in. There's something I want to tell you about. Stephanie: Divorce petition, I hope, for your sake. Eric: (Chuckles) No. No, a petition for adoption. Stephanie: Oh. Uh, you and Donna are adopting a baby? Eric: Uh, no, no, no. I'm adopting Marcus. [SCENE_BREAK] Marcus: Oh, give me that, Zach. (Laughs) Zach: What are you doing? Marcus: Your ball. Zach: Whatever. I'm taking the goal. Marcus: Got him. Check. (Speaking indistinctly) Zach: Oh! Marcus: He has nothing. Zach: Oh. Whatever. Marcus: (Laughs) Zach: All right, man, we got to go to work. Marcus: All right, man, take it easy. Zach: Okay. Marcus: Bye. Oh, look who's here. Katie: Hey. Marcus: You up for a little one-on-on? Katie: Oh, I have time to shoot a few, I guess. Marcus: Okay. Katie: (Laughs) Marcus: Well, I was gonna ask you to play a little game, but, uh, on second thought, I'm not so sure. Katie: (Chuckles) You wouldn't be trying to hustle me, would you, Marcus? I hear you're pretty good. Marcus: You know, I'm not bad. But, man, you got to love this game, right? Must be all in my genes. Not that genes mean everything. I mean, D.N.A. is just biology. Katie: Right. Marcus: Real family belongs right here. Okay, I got to tell somebody, okay? I just can't take it anymore, all right? Katie: (Chuckles) Marcus: Auntie--Kat-- Auntie Katie... (laughs) Katie: Oh, God. (laughs) Marcus The most incredible thing just happened to me. I found my father. Katie: (Gasps) [SCENE_BREAK] Justin: I didn't ask because I wanted an apology, Donna. (Sighs) But it's still nice to get one. (Laughs) We were kids. What did we know? Donna: (Chuckles) Not as much as we thought we knew. Justin: Yeah. So tell me about you. Your marriage to Eric-- you happy? Don.: Delirious, actually. I mean, in a good way. Justin: Oh. Donna: (Laughs) Justin: And your sisters-- now you all work at Forrester? Donna: Yeah. Yeah, we're still close. But my mom is ill. Justin: Mm. Donna: Alzheimer's. Justin: Oh. Donna: It breaks my heart. Justin: Oh, I'm so sorry. Man, she was always a terrific mom back then. All the treats we get a chance to try when she was testing recipes for catering. Donna: (Chuckles) Oh, my goodness. I-I-I totally forgot about that. Justin: Yeah. Those were the best spinach turnovers I've ever had. Donna: Yeah, that's-- that's one of mom's specialties. Justin: Where is she? Donna: Oh, she's... (sighs) back in Paris where she was living. Justin: Mm. Donna: I mean, we want her to come back to L.A. I hope she does, obviously. I want to spend as much time with her as I can have. Justin: Such a special gift-- a close family like yours. I always envied that when we were kids. Donna: You want some coffee, or-- Justin: I'll take a little. Donna: So it seemed like, uh, you know, your life has turned out okay. You're a high-powered exec, Bill Spencer's right-hand man. You know, I read about your injury, and I often wondered what would happen with you, all your dreams shattered. Justin: It was one of those bad things that turned out for the best. Thank you. Mmm. If I had never got blown off the court, I would have never known that I love business even more. Donna: Really? You feel that way? Justin: Yeah. Competition is competition, on the court or in the boardroom-- who's got the best stats, the most momentum, trying to anticipate what the next guy's gonna do before he does it. Donna: Wow, you do like it. (Chuckles) Justin: Yeah. I better. It takes up almost all my time. Donna: Really? Well, um, what does your wife think about that? Justin: Divorced. Donna: Oh. Um... kids? Justin: Mm. No. We tried. Never happened. Maybe I'm one of those guys that's never meant to have children. [SCENE_BREAK] Katie: You found your father? Marcus: Yeah. It totally threw me off. Katie: Uh, how? Did--I mean, who told you? Marcus: He did. Katie: He knows? Marcus: Yeah. I mean, him and mom talked about it a while back. Just nothing ever came of it. But, you know, there's still a lot of details to work out, but everyone's feeling really good about it Katie: (Laughs nervously) Uh, you know, it's funny. When I was talking to Donna, she made it sound like it was all out of the blue. Marcus: You already knew? Well, who told you-- mom or Eric? Katie: Eric? Marcus: Yeah. He's gonna be my dad. He wants to adopt me. (Laughs) Katie: Oh, of course. (Laughs) Marcus: (Laughs) Katie: Of course. Well, you seem really excited about that. Marcus: Yeah, you think? I mean, yes, it's different.: I'm an adult now. I really don't need someone taking care of me, but... Katie: (Laughs) Marcus: I think it's just that Eric wants the world to see me the way he does, you know, as part of the family. I mean, what better could a father give to a son? (Laughs) [SCENE_BREAK] Eric: There are a few details to work out, of course, but, uh-- Stephanie: Well, why would you want to adopt Marcus? He's a grown man. Eric: Well, our children are grown, but they need their father, do they not? Stephanie: If I remember correctly, didn't you already put him in your will? I mean, isn't he already taken care of from that point of view? Eric: Well, financially, yes. But there's much more I can give him. I can give him a family. Stephanie: He already has family. Don't--don't get me wrong. Marcus is a nice fellow. I like him. But have you really thought this through? Eric: Yes, I have. My attorney's working out all the details now. Stephanie: Oh. And, um...or (chuckles) is the attorney going to discuss all of this with our children? Because you might not want to be in the room when he or she does. [SCENE_BREAK] Justin: So how are things with you, Donna? You told me you and Eric have no kids. Donna: Well, um, you know, he, uh, already has two families. He doesn't really need any more children. Justin: Mm. That's kind of sad for you, though, never having a chance to be a mother. (Knocking on door) Donna: Excuse me. Come--come in. Marcus: Hey, m-- Donna: Marcus! Um, hey, uh, I'm in the middle of something. Marcus: Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt anything. Donna: Oh, um, Marcus Walton, this is, uh, Justin Barber from Spencer Publications. Marcus: Oh. Pleasure to meet you, sir. Justin: Good to meet you, son. Marcus: Spencer. Wow, that's, uh, that's impressive. If you don't mind me asking, how long you been there? Justin: Quite some time. [SCENE_BREAK] Donna: Marcus, um, whatever we needed to talk about, do you mind if we do it later? Marcus: No. No. Sure. It's just I'm still so-- about the-- Donna: I-I know. I know there's a lot of things we have to discuss, but, um, I-I promise I'll find you afterwards. Marcus: O-okay, yeah. Justin: Mm. Donna: Great. Marcus: Sure thing. Well, it was nice to meet you, Mr. Barber. Justin: Indeed. Marcus: All right. (Door closes) Justin: Seems like a good kid. Donna: Yeah. Yeah, he is. Justin: Well, uh, I guess I should get going, too. Donna: Oh, okay. You're going back to New York? Justin: Soon. Donna: Well, it was-- (sighs) it was great seeing you, Justin. Justin: I wish we had more time. I'm glad that you're doing so well. (Laughs) Donna: You, too. Justin: I know it was some years ago, but we shared something, Donna. There's a part of you that will always be with me. Donna: I feel the same way. [SCENE_BREAK] Eric: Nobody has a problem with Marcus. Stephanie: They might have a problem with the idea of you adopting him. Eric: Look, Marcus is already entitled to a portion of my estate. Adopting Marcus won't have an affect on my children at all. Stephanie: He's Donna's son. Eric: Ah, there it is. So this isn't about Marcus. This is all about Donna. Stephanie: Thorne and Felicia left the company because of Donna. Eric: And they came back. Stephanie: Hoping things would be different. Is this how you reward their loyalty? Eric: This is not about them. Stephanie: Oh, it's all about them. And it's, uh, it's about your relationship with them, or lack of it. And it's all about the consequences of your marriage to Donna. Look, I know you don't want to admit that she's had a negative impact on your life. Fine. But the longer she's in your life, the more complicated it continues to become. [SCENE_BREAK] Justin: Forrester creations. Les see what's going on over the. Hmm. Justin: Donna Forrester. (Chuckles) [SCENE_BREAK] Katie: Hey. Donna: Aah! Katie: Oh. Donna: God! Katie: Sorry. Donna: Sorry. Katie: I--gosh. You're jumpy. Donna: Sorry. Sorry. I--sorry. Katie: Are you-- are you all right? I mean, I just ran into Marcus, and he seems thrilled about the adoption. I thought you'd be on top of the world. Donna: (Sighs) Katie: But you're not. Donna: I just, um, ran into Justin. He came by. Katie: He was in the building? Donna: Yeah. Yeah, and he, uh, totally caught me off guard. Asked me if I had any children. Katie: Did you tell him about Marcus? Donna: No, I didn't, Katie. I didn't. And now I'm starting to wonder if that was the right thing to do. [SCENE_BREAK] Stephanie: Eric, I know you so well. You always want everyone to be on the same side, and, I mean, if you adopt Marcus, what--what do you think? That all of a sudden, it's gonna make just one, big, happy family? Eric: You know I'm not that naive. Stephanie: That's-- look, if you give him your name legally, doesn't that compromise our family, our children? I mean, not to even mention, uh, your family with Brooke. Eric: (Chuckles) You're the only one who's complaining. Stephanie: Have you spoken to the children-- our children about this? Eric: No, I haven't, and of course: I'm going to talk to them. Of course. Stephanie: Key words-- "going to." Look, whether you do or not, I-I-I don't know how they'll react. Maybe they'll pretend it doesn't matter, but I-I don't believe that will be the truth. I think it will be very hurtful to them. It's very hurtful to me. Eric: Look, I care about Marcus. Stephanie: (Sighs) Eric: I want him to be my son and he will be. Now please, please don't cause any problems about that. I have a meeting. [SCENE_BREAK] Donna: I mean, there they were. There they were shaking hands, Marcus and his father. (Sighs) Katie: That must have been so surreal. Donna: No. It was actually beautiful, but frightening. I mean, I could have said something, Katie. If--if there ever was a perfect time, that was it. Katie: But your gut told you not to. Donna: No. No, my gut said, "T-tell them. Tell them." But I... (sighs) I just couldn't. Katie: Listen, you were being cautious. I mean, that's not something you can just blurt out. You have to think about it. Donna: Yeah, but Justin seems like the same wonderful guy that he was when we were kids, Katie. I mean, he's just the same. He's smart and he's funny, and then--and then he--he said about wanting to have children and, my God, my heart went out to him. There he was, just looking-- looking at his son, and he didn't know it. My God, Katie, I don't know. I'm so confused. I mean, four little words. Four little words, and I could change Marcus's and Justin's lives forever. Katie: And yours and Eric's. Listen, Eric has gone through all of these plans to--to finalize the adoption. I mean, he wants to give Marcus this beautiful gift. He wants to a real parent to him. I mean, you don't want to mess that up. That's understandable. Donna: (Sighs) You're right. You're right. I mean, Marcus and Eric, they're... (sighs) they use both so excited, Katie. They're like-- they're like father and son. And, oh, my God, I've never seen Marcus happier in his life. But now that-- now that Justin's back, I-I just--I can't help but wonder, so I asked Marcus about biological father, if he was even curious, and-- Katie: He probably thought that you were asking because of the adoption. Donna: You're right. You're right, and that's probably why he answered the way he did. I mean, he said that he's not interested. He doesn't want to meet him. He doesn't--he doesn't even want to know anything about him, but, my God, you know Marcus. He's always thinking about other people. I mean, he probably thought that's what I wanted to hear. But if he knew that his father was r-- (sighs) right there in this building, Katie, and that I could just pick up the phone and-- Katie: No, you need to stop this. You're over thinking it. If Marcus wanted to know about his biological father, he would have asked about him, but he hasn't. You should take him at his word. Donna: You're right. This--this is all going to work out. I mean, Justin is gonna go back to New York, and--and we're gonna go our separate ways, and we'll get on with our lives. [SCENE_BREAK] Justin: "Eric Forrester stunned his family and the fashion world when he married his ex-wife's sister Donna Logan. Since her wedding, the newly minted Mrs. Forrester has been very much in the press." Hmm. "Unfortunately for Forrester Creations, most of the coverage has not involved fashion but rather Donna's personal life from her brother's tragic death." (Sighs) "It was also a revelation that she had given up... a son for adoption as a teenager." Oh. Marcus Walton. Oh, my God. No. I mean, she would say something. She introduced us. Oh, my God. It couldn't be. Is Marcus my son? [SCENE_BREAK] Donna: Justin is a good man, and I don't-- I don't want to lie to him, Katie, but I have to do what's best for my child. And Marcus is so happy. I--he doesn't want to know about his biological father. Donna: Katie, telling him would change everything. I just can't. I can't. Justin cannot know that Marcus is his son.