The morning after!

Steffy wakes up feeling miserable. As soon as she opens her eyes, all the painful memories come flooding back. She wishes she could just close her eyes, go back to sleep and pretend yesterday never happened. But instead she crawls out of her bed and heads straight to her mother's bedroom to check on her. Steffy had heard her crying last night. It was so heartbreaking for her that there was nothing she could do to help her mother.

The room is empty and the bed is made. Apparently her mother is already up, maybe she's in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

Steffy has a strange feeling that something is wrong in her mother's bedroom. But she can't quite put her finger on what it is. The feeling only deepens when she enters the kitchen and there is no sign of her mother or breakfast. On the way back to the living room, she spots two envelopes on the small table in the entrance hall. She recognizes her mother's handwriting and start to panic. Her heartbeat fastens and her hands get sweaty.

One of the letters is addressed to her. As she reads it, her eyes widen in horror. This can't be true; her mother would never leave them. She runs out the front door. The car is gone. She rushes back into the house and checks the master bedroom again. Now she realizes what is wrong here. Many items are no longer there, the stuff from the bathroom is also gone and the closet is almost empty. It's really true. Her mother is gone. Steffy falls onto the bed and starts crying like a little baby.

Thomas wakes up because he hears someone whimpering. He jumps out of bed and follows the noise.

"Oh my God Steffy, what's wrong with you?"

His sister doesn't answer. She just lies there, crying and breathing heavily. It takes a while before he can calm her down. She throws herself into his arms and sobs.

"Mom is gone. She left town!"

"No, she would never do that!"

Thomas can't believe what his sister is telling him.

"Yes, it's true. She wrote me a letter, there's one for you too. She writes she's sorry, but she has to go. She can't stand the situation with Dad, Brooke and the whole disaster anymore. She needs time and space for herself. She loves us and hopes we understand her."

Thomas feels like someone has knocked him out. The guilt overwhelms him. How could he be so stupid as to go along with this lie when he knew right from the beginning it was wrong.

He goes downstairs to read his letter. Tears well up in his eyes. His mother knows him so well. She writes that he shouldn't blame himself. It's not his fault that she's leaving and she has already forgiven him for his lie. She knows he did it mainly for her. But now it's time for her to take responsibility for her life back into her own hands.

Steffy joins her brother.

"Okay, what do we do now? I mean we have to do something."

"And what Steffy? It's impossible for us to follow her, we don't know where she is and obviously she wants to be alone."

"I don't care what she wants! I want her home with us! With her family so we can support her. She needs us and I need her too!"

Steffy starts crying again. Thomas pulls her into his arms.

"I know, I need her too!"

Suddenly Steffy has an idea.

"I know what we can do. I'll call her, maybe I can convince her to come back."

With shaking hands, she dials her mother's cell phone number.

"Damn it...Mom, it's me Steffy. Please come back! I swear we'll find a way. Just come home. I love you and I miss you!"

Thomas notices his sister is leaving a message on the answering machine. He takes the phone in his hand.

"Mom, this is Thomas. Mom you have to come home. Steffy and I are here for you. The three of us will get through this! We need you! I love you. Bye."

"Do you think she'll come back?"

"I don't know Steffy...maybe...she loves us. But on the other hand, I also understand that she doesn't want to continue like this anymore. I mean, this whole Dad-Brooke drama has been dragging on longer than we both are alive. I hate to admit it, but she actually has good reasons to leave. Maybe it is best for her to get away from all this crap and her letter sounds pretty determined."

"This is all Dad's fault. Why did he make all those promises to her. He knew how hard it was for Mom to trust him again and open her heart for a new relationship with him and then suddenly just because it turns out Brooke didn't do what we all thought she did, Mom is forgotten and he runs back to Brooke. How can he do this to her?"

"Well, that's how it's always been with Dad. I can't remember it otherwise. But it's not just Dad's fault. He didn't make up that lie, that was Grandma!"

"Yes, Grandma and you! What was she thinking? Did she honestly believe Mom and Dad could find their happiness based on a lie? Couldn't she have realized sooner that one day everything will come to light and Dad will leave us again. And her timing to call off the wedding and confess everything couldn't have been worse. She humiliated Mom in front of the entire family. She is her best friend, she always claims Mom is like a daughter to her and then she stabs her in the back and has the nerve to say she did it for her. That's insane!"

"No Steffy, that's not insane, that's Grandma!"

Despite the tragic situation, Steffy has to grin about Thomas' comment.

"Yeah, you're right, but why didn't she just lean back and let things go. I mean, maybe Mom and Dad would have found a way on their own without her interference. Let's face it, Dad wasn't happy in his marriage and with a little more time he probably would have realized Mom is the perfect woman for him. But now Brooke is the poor victim!"

"She is the victim. I know you hate her more than anyone, but Brooke has been through hell these last few days and I despise myself for what I've done. By the way, we're still talking about Grandma. Holding back and let things go, I don't think she has that in her repertoire, especially when it comes to Brooke." Steffy agrees her brother has a point. She comes up with another idea.

"You know what, I'm going to call Dad and Grandma and tell them to come over. They put us all into this mess and now they can fix it."

Steffy grabs her phone again and this time she dials her father's number.

"Dad it's me Steffy. You have to come immediately. It's very important, we have a total disaster here... No Dad, I said now... I don't care if Brooke, the kids and you are ready to have breakfast. If you care even a little bit about Thomas and me and have an ounce of respect for our family, then you march your butt right here."

She hangs up and dials again.

"Grandma, it's Steffy. You have to come to us right now... no, nothing's okay; everything's a total fiasco! We need you here, bye!"

Stephanie Forrester is very concerned after her granddaughter's call.

"What's wrong, Stephanie?"

"I don't know Eric. Steffy just called me and told me to come to them immediately. Something must have happened. She seemed very confused and upset."

"Then we shouldn't waste any time, let's go!"