Sage and J.J. decorate the tree together and Carly brings them hot cocoa. She asks where Parker is, but they don't know. Sage longingly looks out the window and tells her mom that if Jack isn't going to be there, it won't feel like Christmas. As Carly and J.J. try to make Sage feel better there is a knock at the door; it is Jack. He tells them that he was just passing through and figured he would stop in for a bit. Carly tells him that he is just snooping on her to make sure Kit and Sam aren't there. Sage comes in and begs Jack to stay with them and he agrees. Sage gushes that she got her wish. Jack asks where Parker is, Carly tells him that he went to hockey practice. Jack is very upset that Parker disobeyed him, but Carly tells him that she wants Parker there only if he wants to be and doesn't want Jack to force him.
At Al's Sam and his dummy run into Parker. Sam talks to him about being with his family tonight, but Parker is angry and doesn't care about Christmas. Sam tells him that no matter what, Carly is his mother. Parker says he has no gift to give her now but Sam takes an angel statue out of his pocket and gives it to Parker to give to his mom, but Parker leaves it on the table and leaves.
Parker arrives back home and Jack starts to scold him for being late, but Carly is just happy he is there and smoothes things over. She gives him his Christmas present; an autographed hockey jersey. Parker really likes it and is impressed that she remembered his favorite player and smiles.
Arriving home Kit and Sam wait outside and watch, routing for them to get back together but anticipate Jack ruining things by criticizing Carly.
Carly, very happy that Parker is so pleased with his gift starts to explain that Sam helped her find the jersey online, but Parker becomes upset that Sam had helped and runs out the door. Jack tells her that he will handle this. Outside Parker tells Jack that Carly doesn't care about her kids and he doesn't want to live with her anymore and her weird friends. Standing near the door Carly hears what he says and tells everyone that she will pack up their things so they can leave with Jack. Sage is very upset and tells Parker that he has ruined everything- including her Christmas wish. Parker goes to the car. Carly tells Jack that she doesn't blame Parker for feeling this way.
Back at the farm, Parker tells Jack that he cannot forget about the things Carly has done. Jack walks out on the porch and finds the angel statue that Sam gave to Parker sitting on a chair. Jack asks Parker where it came from and Parker tells him about his meeting with Sam at Al's.
Jack goes back to Carly's and confronts Sam about his intentions with the angel statue. Carly thinks it was a kind gesture, but Jack certainly doesn't. Sam explains the he was trying to help since Carly has been so kind to him and Kit. Jack is unmoved and warns Sam to stay away from his kids. Carly continues to defend Sam, but Jack tells her that she just doesn't get it and probably never will.
At the Hospital Lisa, Margo and Nancy gather after being told to come there by Kim. Chris and Emily show up next and they all wonder why they have been asked to come tonight. Chris walks into his father's hospital room to find it beautifully decorated- Kim happily tells him that she wants Bob to spend Christmas with his entire family. Kim tells them that she is hoping for a Christmas miracle. Tom arrives with a surprise; Daniel is there. At Bob's bedside Daniel talks to his grandfather. Chris leaves the room looking upset and Emily follows. He tells her that no matter what they do it won't matter because his father isn't going to wake up. Emily tells him that he is just scared- but just then they are called back into the room. Kim tells him that she thinks Bob is waking up. As Chris comes to his bedside Bob opens his eyes, but says nothing. Chris asks everyone to leave while he examines Bob, but Kim wants to stay. Bob suddenly grabs Chris's arm and weakly tells them Merry Christmas.
Kim announces to the family that Bob is awake and wishes them all a Merry Christmas! Lisa and Margo both comment on what a Christmas miracle this is. Nancy asks Tom when Casey is coming, but he sadly tells them that Casey had a fight with a guard and has to stay in jail a little longer.
Back at the Lakeview Emily tries to comfort Chris and gives him his present; beautiful cufflinks. She tells him since he is the chief of staff he should look the part, but Chris is upset still blaming himself for his father's stroke. Emily tells him again that it's not his fault.
After receiving the news earlier that Sofie wants them to raiser her baby, Will wants to go get dinner but Gwen wants to stay home just in case she calls. Will tells her he doesn't want them to get their hopes up again. Aaron stops by with bad news and tells them that he can't find Sophie. They all leave for the hospital fearing she fled with the baby. At the hospital they learn from a nurse that Sofie and the baby had indeed left.
Back home, Will tries to comfort Gwen and she tells him that as long as she has him they can get through anything. He promises her she will have a baby someday. The doorbell rings and it's Sofie and the baby. Sofie tells them that can't take care of her the way her baby needs to be and needed time to say goodbye. She tells Will and Gwen that she wants them to raise the baby as their own because they can give her baby everything that she can't. She hands the baby to Gwen and they gaze at their new baby. Gwen promises Sofie that she will tell her baby everything about her and that she can be a part of her life but Sofie tells them she is unsure when she will be able to do that. She wishes them Merry Christmas and leaves.
Back at the Wagon Wheel, Sofie finds the hat she made for her baby. After talking to Will, Aaron shows up and holds her as she weeps.
As Christmas Eve in Oakdale continues on:
At the farm Jack sits alone, brooding on the porch.
Kim sits with Bob holding his hand and kissing him.
Emily and Chris make love.
Will, Gwen and new baby spend their first Christmas Eve together.
Carly is alone with her thoughts.
Due to the Christmas holiday, today's episodes of all your favorite soaps were pre-empted for various holiday programming. This pre-emption was anticipated and there will be no "lost" episodes as a result. Programming will resume on Wednesday, December 26th.
On behalf of everyone involved in Soap Central, I'd like to take the time to wish you and your family a very happy and healthy Christmas holiday. For our friends of other faiths and in other countries, we invite you share in the spirit of the holiday season as your celebrate holidays and festivals of your own.
Dan J Kroll
Founder, Soap Central
Carly goes to the police station to thank Jack for letting her spend time with the kids on Christmas Eve and to tell Jack that she has a huge plan to make Metro a success and wants to host a benefit for The Policemen's Holiday Fund at Metro's opening night on New Year's Eve. Jack unequivocally turns her down, explaining that he is worried that it is just another plan to get him back. Carly explains she is trying to do something nice, but Jack continues to doubt Carly's sincerity. Carly reminds Jack that she knows the fund is important to a lot of police families and that she just thought this would be a good way to make extra money for the fund. Carly storms out, as Margo approaches Jack and tells him that Carly's idea could have made a lot of money for some deserving families. Margo counsels Jack that he needs to be nicer to Carly, not only for the benefit fund, but also for his children and his sanity.
As Katie and Brad meet up in the elevator at the Lakeview, Brad decides to take advantage of their alone time and stops the elevator so the two can work on getting Katie pregnant. As they start to get hot and heavy, they accidentally push the button that restarts the elevator and they end up on Henry's floor. Henry gets on the elevator and questions their decency as he shields his new puppy's eyes. Henry condemns their actions and sends Brad on his way. Henry takes Katie and his new puppy on a walk to talk to his friend about her recent decisions.
On their walk Henry admonishes his friend for settling for second best. He reminds Katie that he only let her go so that she could be happy and in love and that making a baby with Brad is not going to make her truly happy. Henry goes on to suggest that Brad is in love with Katie and that she needs to make up her mind about what she really wants. Katie admits she wants Jack, but also wants a baby. Henry tells his friend she can have both if she wants. Katie says she fears that if she takes Jack back it will only be a matter of time before he ends up with Carly.
At Al's Diner, Brad talks to Vienna about surprises for Katie. Vienna suggests that once Brad gets Katie pregnant she will fall in love with him and they will be able to live together happily. Brad makes it clear to Vienna that Katie doesn't want to be with him like she wants to be with Jack, but Vienna explains that if they have a baby together they will be linked to one another for life. Brad is encouraged by Vienna's words and heads out to make plans for a special New Year's Night with Katie.
Carly returns home and gives the bad news to Kit and Sam that Jack turned her down. Carly unburdens her sadness over realizing that Jack doesn't trust her and will never love her again. Sam tells Carly that he and Kit will do everything they can to help her make Metro a success and that she can depend on them. Sometime later Jack arrives and asks if Carly's offer still stands. She says it does and agrees to put on the benefit for New Year's Eve and sees Jack out.
Brad arrives at the station and Katie overhears him making plans. When she questions what is going on, he explains he is making arrangements for a hot New Year's Eve for the two. At first she seems excited, but Jack arrives and tells her that she will have to cancel her plans because she is going to spend New Years with him on assignment covering the benefit. Katie tells Brad not to cancel any plans and that she won't be working New Year's, but Kim tells her she needs her to work. Jack leaves after smugly telling Katie he will see her at the party. When Katie cancels her plans with Brad, he tells her she isn't going to Metro without him. Brad explains that Carly won't let her and Jack be happy on New Year's and that he can protect her by giving her what she really wants, a baby. Katie tells Brad that he has no say in where she goes or who she goes with and Brad claims he is just looking out for her. Katie tells Brad to make other plans for New Year's and when he suggests he will make another date for the night, Katie claims it doesn't bother her who he spends time with.
Once Jack is gone, Kit tells Carly that she isn't donating 50% of her profits and that she wants to keep her money. Carly explains that it won't work unless they all donate, but Kit is reluctant to give up her part of the money. Sam steps in and explains that giving up a little in the beginning will lead to big money in the future. Kit is unwilling to trust Jack and tells Carly to figure out what Jack has planned. Carly explains her plan to work with Jack on this so he will trust her again and then maybe they can be a team again. Kit agrees and Carly heads back to work the phones to get press for Metro. As Sam hugs Kit, he looks longingly at Carly.
The three head to Metro to get ready for the party and Jack arrives with promotional material for the benefit. Jack tells Carly that he arranged for Katie to cover the party and the opening of Metro. Carly is angered by the fact that Jack asked Katie, a woman who hates her, to cover such an important event. Carly says she doesn't mind if Katie is there as his date, but why does she have to do the story. When Jack admits he needed a way to get Katie to the club Carly is happy. Jack explains that if Carly really wants him to be happy she will understand that he needs Katie to cover the story so he can be with her on New Year's.
As Will doses with the baby, Gwen takes a picture and wakes Will up. The two talk about baby names and Gwen suggests they name her after Will's dad and sister, Hallie Jennifer Munson. Will is visibly touched by Gwen's suggestion and agrees to the name. When Gwen proposes they have the baby christened, Will reminds her that, legally, the baby is not theirs yet. Will calls Bonnie and asks her to draw up adoption papers and Gwen is enthusiastic that they are close to making Hallie theirs, but she is nervous that Sofie will change her mind. They make plans to tell everyone about the baby and when Will remarks he isn't telling his mother, Gwen is surprised.
At the Wagon Wheel, Sofie holds the cap she knitted for her baby and thinks about her decision to let Gwen and Will adopt her daughter. Aaron wakes up and sees Sofie with the cap and asks her if she needs anything. When Sofie begins to reveal her sadness over letting her baby go, Aaron asks if she wants the baby back. Sofie confides to Aaron that she misses the baby, but knows that giving her to Will and Gwen was the right thing to do. Sofie gets a call from Gwen telling her that they have a lawyer drawing up the papers for the adoption. Sofie agrees to meet them at the Lakeview later to sign the papers.
Bonnie runs into Lisa and thanks her for her Christmas gift. She tells Lisa she is there to meet a client and Lisa is excited to learn it is an adoption for Will and Gwen. Bonnie, Will, and Gwen head into the bar to meet Sofie and Aaron to sign the papers, but when Sofie sees Hallie she is taken back and seems reluctant at first. She explains that she wasn't expecting to see the baby, but is ready to sign the papers. Bonnie explains the papers to everyone, but encourages Sofie not to sign if she is under direst or is having second thoughts. Sofie tells everyone she is ready to sign and she goes forward with her plan to let Will and Gwen adopt her baby. Sofie and Aaron leave and Bonnie explains that once she files the paper Hallie will be their baby.
Lisa goes into Old Town where she runs into Barbara and congratulates Barbara on the arrival of her granddaughter. Barbara is shocked by the news and tells Lisa that the kids probably wanted to surprise her. Barbara goes to Will and Gwen's house and asks to see her granddaughter, but Will moves his mother away from the door and tells she isn't welcome at their house. Barbara pleads her case, but Will won't hear it and tells her to go. He heads back inside leaving Barbara outside to look in on Will and Gwen with their daughter.
Back at the Wagon Wheel, Aaron tries to get Sofie to eat, but she refuses and asks Aaron if he thinks her baby misses her. Sofie admits she does, but knows she did the right thing. Aaron gets Sofie settled and goes to work. Alone Sofie lays on her bed holding the baby cap and thinks about her decision.
It is New Year's Eve, and Carly, Kit and Sam are tacking up posters for Metro's opening all over Old Town. Jack shows up and informs them that it is against the law to put ads on private property. Parker and his hockey buddies spot Sam and remark how creepy he is with his dummy "Cowboy Jack."
Emily and Daniel check on Dr. Bob at the hospital and Chris mentions to Daniel how exciting some of Evan Walsh's new lab equipment is. They go off to check it out and Emily looks for her mother. She runs into Dusty instead who gives her a hard time about how Chris argued with Bob just before his stroke and defied his orders by allowing Evan lab space in the hospital. Chris returns and bans Dusty from visiting Bob.
Lily goes to the farm and is encouraged when Holden says he wants to talk with her. Lily misunderstands his motives when he wants to discuss their future. She is stunned when Holden wants to finalize their divorce, even to the point of flying to Reno for a "quickie" divorce. They are interrupted by a call from Dusty on Lily's cell. He tells her about Evan and Chris and asks for help getting on the Board of Directors at Memorial Hospital.
Lucinda arrives at the farm and Lily suggests putting Dusty on the Board, but Lucinda nixes that. She also tells Lily that her "friendship" with Dusty is killing her marriage.
Parker goes to the Oakdale PD and tells Jack that Carly is still involved with Sam and Kit. Jack assures him that Sam will not be bothering the kids any more but that Carly can make her own decisions.
Carly also comes to the Oakdale PD with free tickets to the opening. Jack mentions that he thinks Sam is paying too much attention to her but Carly scoffs at that. She leaves and Jack receives an upsetting phone call.
Lily and Carly run into each other in Old Town and Carly gives her two tickets to Metro. Lily calls Dusty and they make plans to go. Holden finds Lily and invites her to sit and talk with him until she mentions that she is going to the opening with Dusty.
At the Lakeview, Emily orders an expensive champagne and is surprised by a very bitter Dusty who is ranting about Chris. She goes to the hospital and convinces Chris that he can leave Bob for a few hours so that they can celebrate New Year's.
At Carly's house, "Cowboy Jack" is practicing his routine and ogling Kit. Carly tells Sam that he may not perform his act with the dummy at the opening. Jack arrives at the door with a US Marshal who has a warrant for Kit's arrest. Kit makes Sam promise he will stay with Carly until she can get this straightened out.
At the Lakeview, Dusty overhears Emily and Chris' discussion about celebrating and realizes that Chris is no longer standing guard over Bob. He calls Lily and arranges to meet her at Metro and then leaves for the hospital. He sneaks into Bob's room and wakes him and begins discussing the argument leading up to Bob's stroke.
At Metro, Carly tries to convince herself that all will go well on opening night, and Sam reassures her that it will. Lily arrives, looking for Dusty, and Carly invites her to sit and have a drink while she waits. Lily calls the Lakeview to see if Dusty is waiting there and then tries his cell phone, but she can't reach him. Jack is among the first to arrive at Metro for the evening's festivities, and he wonders where the great band is that Carly booked. Carly is wondering that herself, and when Sam checks, he tells her that apparently, she forgot to confirm the booking, so the band has taken another gig. Carly is quite upset, but Sam tells her he can perform instead; an obviously unconvinced Carly tells him the puppet, Captain Jack, cannot make an appearance at Metro, and Sam assures her the act does not involve Captain Jack. Katie and her cameraman, Fred, have arrived, followed by Brad, who is dogging Katie's footsteps despite her insistence that she doesn't need him there tonight. Jack goes over to try to speak to Katie and asks if he can have a dance with her later; she agrees, and then he leaves to make his speech on behalf of the police benefit. After the speech, Jack brings Katie a drink, but Brad intercepts it, telling Katie she has to be careful about alcohol while she's trying to get pregnant. When Jack sits down to talk to Katie, Brad sits down, too, and he and Jack begin bickering; the bouncer comes and tells Jack there's a problem with the guest list, and when he leaves to deal with that, Brad goads Katie into leaving Metro, saying she doesn't have to spend New Year's Eve smiling in front of people who know what she's been through. Jack then asks Carly why the band hasn't come on to play yet, saying people are beginning to leave the party, and Carly confesses her problem to Jack. Sam comes out on stage with an electric guitar he refers to as "Esther" and begins playing it and singing quite well. The crowd enjoys it immensely, and Carly hugs Sam in gratitude for saving the party. In return, Sam pulls Carly on stage and tells the crowd that she's the woman responsible for this wonderful event, to which everyone responds with applause. Jack watches and approaches Carly later, telling her he thinks Parker was right when he said he thought Sam had a thing for Carly. Carly says Sam has a thing for Kit and not to worry, but Jack says she never was a good judge of character. He tells her he's sorry about how hard he's been on her lately and says the party was great, and it's all because of her. Sam gets on stage and begins the countdown to the new year, which Carly tells Jack always reminds her of the "Poseidon Adventure," and when they get to midnight, she and Jack wish each other a Happy New Year.
Brad takes Katie to the diner, which is locked, but he tells her that Vienna gave him a key so they could have a private party; Katie asks him to take her home instead, and he says he will, after they have some ice cream. They go inside, and as Brad prepares the ice cream, he tells Katie a story about how he broke his leg when he was 11 but decided after he became good at hobbling around on the rubber-heeled cast that he could play basketball wearing it; the result was that he broke the leg again, and it took twice as long to heal. The moral of his story is that if you get back in the game too soon, you don't have time to heal. Katie tells him she's not getting back in the game at all, but she thanks him for getting her to leave Metro. Brad tells her they should count down to the New Year, then he'll take her home so she can get some sleep. She says they have to kiss, because it's a tradition, and so they do, but Brad breaks away, saying he shouldn't have made her play basketball with him. A puzzled Katie asks, "That was basketball?" and Brad says he told her she has to watch out for Jack, but now he's telling her she has to watch out for him, too, because he doesn't think he can be trusted with her. He says from now on they sleep together, that's all, and no more ice cream, at all. He opens the door to leave, and Katie looks after him with real attraction in her eyes.
At Oakdale Memorial Hospital, Dusty waits until the nurse on duty outside Bob's room walks away, then he enters and tries to wake Bob up. Bob looks at Dusty, who asks him if he remembers what happened before his stroke; Bob manages to say, "Chris." Meanwhile, Chris and Emily arrive at the hospital, and when Emily leaves to go find her mom, Chris sees the nurse returning and yells at her for leaving his father alone. He goes into the room and finds Dusty; he hauls him out of the room and calls for security. Dusty tells Chris he looks scared and says he should be, because Bob remembers what happened. The security officer escorts Dusty out as Emily returns, asking what happened. Chris tells her and says he has to go speak to the neurologist to be sure his dad is okay; Emily leaves, and when Chris goes into his dad's room, Bob tries to tell him something, saying it's important. A monitor beeps, and Chris tells another doctor that Bob's blood pressure has spiked, asking for two and a half milligrams of enalapril. The resident says that sounds like too much and could cause another "episode," but Chris barks that it's a direct order from the chief of staff, and he administers the drug to Bob as Bob looks up with what seems to be fear in his eyes. Meanwhile, Emily has followed Dusty to the hospital parking garage and gets in his car, yelling at him to stop trying to punish Chris just because he's with her now. Dusty admits that he wasn't happy when Emily came back to town with Chris but says Chris can't be trusted and that he's dangerous and a liar. Emily says what happened to Bob is killing Chris, but Dusty says Chris is killing Bob. When Emily yells that she hates Dusty, he says the problem is that she loves him, just like he still loves her. When she tries to leave, he grabs her arm and asks why she came after him in the first place. When she says it was to tell him to leave Chris alone, he asks if that's all, and he pulls her to him and kisses her. When the kiss ends, he lets her go, but Emily moves over to kiss Dusty again, passionately.
At the Snyder farm, Holden tells Luke that he's been stood up for his "Twilight Zone" marathon by the girls, who have gone off on sleepovers instead. Luke invites his dad to go to Metro with him and Noah, but Holden tells him he's not much for big parties, and Luke realizes it's because he doesn't want to run into Lily with Dusty. Noah arrives, and he and Luke get ready to leave, but Luke returns to tell Holden that if Lily is moving on, so should he. They go to Metro, where Noah is obviously nervous about being out in public on his first date with a guy. They see Lily, and she tells them both they look wonderful. When Luke asks where Dusty is, she says he'll be there any minute and not to worry about her. However, a few minutes later, they see Lily leaving, and although she tells them that she spoke to Dusty and is meeting him at the Lakeview instead, Luke tells Noah that it looks like Dusty stood her up and she's just too embarrassed to say so. Luke asks Noah if he'd like to dance, and Noah says no, using the excuse that Luke is still using a cane and he doesn't want him to get hurt. Luke says what's really stopping him is not wanting people to know they're two guys out on a date, and Noah responds that sometimes Luke makes him feel like he's earning a gay merit badge; Luke teases that that could be fun. Noah asks who should lead, and the two of them dance to a slow song that Sam is playing. After the dance, Noah says no one even noticed and asks Luke if he's happy. Luke says yes and asks if Noah wants to go somewhere a little more private; Noah says he does, so they leave together.
Holden calls Bonnie, who is getting ready to go to Metro with Dallas (Dallas being dateless because he just found out his current girlfriend does not like the Bulls, which is an automatic relationship ender for him). Bonnie invites Holden to join them at Metro, but Holden says that's the last place he wants to be, so she asks if he'd like to go to the Lakeview instead. Holden agrees to meet her there, and on her way there, Bonnie runs into Lily, who has been trying to track Dusty down. Lily tells Bonnie about the party at Metro and tells her if she goes there, she definitely won't be alone on New Year's, but Bonnie tells Lily she already has other plans and wishes Lily a happy new year. Lily leaves and goes to the farm, where she sees all the lights are out and decides not to go in and have Holden feel sorry for her; she goes back to Old Town, where she is surprised to see Holden, dressed up, talking to Bonnie.
