1988 (#13) - Stephen's commitment, family disagreements, and the forgiveness of Beth

After the initial euphoria and joy of being able to embrace each other again, Stephen is soon frozen by the words of Beth and Storm, who accuse him of having abandoned them to their own fate. A worried Stephanie tells Stephen how things are and how Beth's illness has brought her closer to Eric; however, Stephanie urges the man to take back his life and make amends for his mistakes, since everyone is always given a second chance. However, Storm and Beth don't seem to agree, and in the end they have to give in and accept Brooke’s demands, Donna's and Katie's requests, who want nothing more than to resume their lives with Stephen in order to finally see their family reunited. As the weeks go by, Stephen's efforts to regain his family's trust are finally beginning to make progress, and thanks to simple episodes, such as when he saves Katie from choking during a family barbecue, Storm and Beth begin to appreciate the man's company and partially reconsider. Stephanie, meanwhile, working from behind the scenes, does everything she can to get Stephen to return to Beth's arms in order to get him away from Eric; and to do so, she encourages Brooke to support her father's cause, even threatening her more or less veiledly that if she didn't encourage the reunification of their family, she would inform Ridge that she knew about Eric's affair with his mother. In the meantime, although Storm remains doubtful about Stephen's true intentions, a man he no longer considers and will never be able to consider his father, Brooke, Katie and Donna are all increasingly impressed by Stephen's efforts and begin to seriously consider, and dream, of being able to truly reunite their family after so many years; and this is also because Beth's tumor, which has now successfully undergone its last round of chemo, seems to be gone for good. Eric is happy for Beth's recovery, but at the same time he is worried and annoyed by Stephen's increasingly cumbersome presence, who is exerting more and more influence on his Beth. Eric tries in vain to make Beth understand that Stephen, as he has done in the past, could abandon them again; but when he sees the whole Logan family joking and smiling happily, he understands that the time has come to step aside. A bitter Eric bids Beth farewell, convinced by now also by Stephanie to forgive Stephen, and returns to the arms of a smiling and sly Stephanie, who gladly accepts Eric's apologies for having been distant and distant from her in such a particular moment as that of the strong misunderstandings between their two sons.

1988 (#6) - Stephanie's plan and the discovery of Stephen

Determined more than ever to defend her marriage, and ready to play all the cards at her disposal, Stephanie is aware that the only way to end Eric and Beth's relationship is to reunite the woman's family. Meanwhile, back at the Logan home, Storm is increasingly convinced that it's time to have his father declared dead and move on for good, despite Katie and Helen in particular being opposed to this. And when an Eric who is increasingly impatient to be with Beth decides to support Storm, considering it inappropriate to wait uselessly for the return of a man who had abandoned them, the first signs of conflict appear between Beth and her mother-in-law Helen, who reminds her daughter-in-law that Stephen's decision was dictated exclusively by his ambiguous behavior that had done nothing but bring to the extreme and exasperation Stephen's sense of inferiority towards the all-powerful Eric and his inadequacy to be next to a woman who had never made him feel truly loved. Stephanie, meanwhile, with the invaluable help of Conway Weston, finally manages to track down Stephen in Tucson, Arizona, and immediately tells Brooke the news. Excited at the idea of seeing and meeting her father again, Brooke decides to leave immediately with Donna for her father, with the intent and hope of convincing him to return home to his family. Happy and almost moved to see his two daughters again, Stephen finally lets himself be convinced by them to return to Los Angeles, also thanks to the prospect of being able to give his marriage to Beth a second chance.

1988 (#2) - Beth's breast surgery and Eric's support

Upon hearing the news that their mother has breast cancer, Helen, Storm, Donna, and Katie appear shocked and unprepared. All of them, trying to hide their worries and anxieties, try to comfort and give strength to Beth, who seems more than anyone else dejected and above all resigned to her fate. The only one who doesn't give up and tries to convince her mother to react is Brooke, incredulous at her mother's words that she doesn't want to face a risky and probably unnecessarily painful mastectomy operation. Determined to leave no stone unturned, Brooke with the force of desperation decides to turn to Eric, the only person probably capable of making Beth see reason. And in fact, after having digested the news and understood the reason why Beth had sent him away, Eric manages to convince the woman to undergo the operation to remove the tumor, assuring her that he would always be by her side. In the end, despite Beth's fears that she would no longer be a desirable woman in Eric's eyes after the operation, she decides to contact Dr. Fred Bailey to tell him that she wants to accept the operation. This operation, to everyone's relief, was successful as the entire tumor mass was removed. Upon returning from the hospital after a few days of recovery, Beth is greeted by the entire family, happy to find their mother already on the mend. These are happy times for Beth and Eric, who returns to the Logan home and spends more and more time with the woman. Absences, these, that return again to worry Stephanie, suspicious of the fact that Eric has again resumed dating a lover, but unaware of the fact that this is none other than Beth. Actually, Stephanie is well aware that her main rival for Eric's heart is his college sweetheart; however, Stephanie does not immediately connect and associate Eric's old flame named "Liz" with Beth Logan. In fact, it isn't until, admiring Brooke's devotion to her mother, she decides not to visit her herself that Stephanie immediately connects all the pieces of the puzzle: Liz, Eric's teenage sweetheart, with whom he has started seeing again, is none other than Beth! Inevitably, Stephanie decides to ask for a confrontation with her husband, who confirms her suspicions and does nothing to hide the fact that something is going on between him and Beth.

1987 (#13) - The quarrels of Donna and Mark, the role of Storm, the flirtation with Alex

If on the one hand the insecure and fragile Katie sees in her sister Donna a model to imitate, and often to envy, given her apparently solid and happy love situation, the reality is actually very different. In fact, while Katie begins to enjoy Rocco's company and to fall in love with him, unaware that he feels a strong attraction towards Donna, the latter is increasingly struggling with the problems arising from her relationship with Mark. After a carefree, romantic and exciting first phase, the relationship between Donna and Mark has reached a stalemate, which creates tensions and continuous arguments. On the one hand Mark, who would like Donna to move in with her to start a life together, on the other hand there is a much more realistic Donna, who does not see how she could take this step without economic stability or an income, since Mark has no job. Of the same opinion as Donna is her older brother Storm, who doesn't like the boy and thinks with increasing conviction that he is just a slacker. Donna has often defended her boyfriend in front of Storm, but with the passing of the months she's beginning to change her mind, given Mark's aversion and unmotivated antipathy towards his family. Several times, in fact, Mark has deserted the family reunions and convinced Donna to do the same, provoking the irritation of Storm, who has always been very attached to this kind of thing. But the episode that literally infuriates the man is the one related to the theft in the house of grandmother Helen, robbed in her own home after opening the door to a couple of thugs who she thought were Donna and Mark. Helen, in fact, was waiting for the same granddaughter, but she never arrived because of an unexpected and suspicious engagement of Mark. A disappointed Storm accuses Donna of endangering her grandmother's safety, who after this scare gladly accepts the proposal to move in with the Logans; and Donna, in response, announces to the family that she has made the decision to move in with Mark, happy for the success of her plan to get Donna away from her family. For Beth, Katie, and Storm himself, it's a huge blow: it's the first time a member of their family has left their home since their father left. This situation is particularly hard on Storm, who since Stephen's departure has always carried the weight of the family and the difficult role of head of the family, always very protective of his women, a role that Donna clearly can no longer bear. And with her, Storm's new girlfriend, model Alex Simpson, begins to show signs of exasperation. She feels more and more neglected and sidelined by the man, who appears to be focused exclusively on the family business from which she is often excluded. And at the end of a tough but sincere and frank confrontation between the two, it is Alex who puts an end to their brief relationship.

1987 (#11) - The past between Eric and Beth and their new dating

Noticing his mother's bright-eyed return from the party at the Forrester mansion, Storm asks Beth for an explanation. Beth admits to having met someone special after so many years. The meeting between Eric and Beth, on the other hand, is not destined to remain an isolated case; the two, eager to embrace each other again, soon meet again with the excuse of clarifying their past after so many years. Here, in fact, an excited Eric finally confesses to Beth the reason why he had left her so long ago at university: Stephanie, a woman with whom he had spent a night of love after getting drunk and who would become his wife a few months later, had confessed to him that she was expecting a child from him, Ridge. Beth, shocked by the news, can't believe Eric's words, revealing in turn that she married Stephen to fill the void caused by her breakup with Eric, who admits in turn that he probably never would have married Stephanie if Beth hadn't married Stephen first. But despite these events, it's clear both Eric and Beth never stopped loving each other; love sealed with a romantic kiss. Stephanie, whose relationship with Eric appears to be deteriorating more and more, does not fail to notice her husband's increasing disaffection towards her; and, imagining that her husband has started dating some other woman, she promises herself that she will not allow anyone to take her husband away, as she intends to defend her marriage tooth and nail. Similarly, it is Storm who notices the increasingly obvious resurgence of feelings between Eric and his mother, to whom he tries to make it clear that Eric is a married man. Helen, who knows well Beth's past with Eric, explains to Storm the bond that bound Beth to the man; a bond that made Stephen suffer so much that he probably decided to leave because he was no longer able to bear the burden of being considered a second choice and to remain tied to a person who loves another man; a man Stephen himself feels unable to compete with. Soon, however, more and more torn by the fact of pursuing the heart of a married man, Beth takes the painful decision to stop dating Eric, who in turn agrees with the decision and decided, in the grip of guilt, to stop hurting his family and give a second chance to his marriage with Stephanie.

1987 (#6) - The Logan family and Stephen's abandonment

Down in the valley, far from the spotlights and glitter of Beverly Hills, she lives with her four children, and the humility that has always distinguished her, Beth Henderson. More than seven years have passed since her husband, Stephen Logan, abandoned her, forcing a painful separation and a life of sacrifice to make ends meet by working hard in the catering agency where she works. Luckily for her, helping her to carry on the family are her eldest son Storm Logan, who has been taking on the responsibilities of head of the family for years now, becoming very protective of his mother and his three sisters, and Brooke, who divides her time between studying chemistry, housework and a few jobs with Beth in the catering agency. They are joined by their two younger sisters, Donna and Katie, who are still in their teens, as well as their paternal grandmother Helen Logan, Stephen's mother, who, after Stephen's departure, lived with her daughter-in-law and grandchildren. Storm, a law student and aspiring lawyer, is the one who has suffered most from the abandonment of his father, towards whom he has a deep hatred, while the three sisters, in their hearts, hope that one day he may return. In this regard, Storm is the one who pushes Beth more than anyone else to decide to apply to declare Stephen dead and to get rid of him forever, although the woman preaches patience, especially aware of the pain that such an action would bring to the elderly Helen and Katie in particular, the youngest of her daughters.