Episode: 10,215
Directed: Herb Stein
Tape Date: 11/18/05

Claire needs a transplant as friends and family gather at the hospital for the Christmas Story and encounters; the Horton tree trimming takes place as attendees come, go or no show, and
Jennifer and Abby try to deal with Jack's absence.

LOS ANGELES
Austin and Sami get ready to fly back to Salem as he admits having Carrie on his mind. (guess Will is still hanging out at the pub just before Christmas with both parents in LA) She tells him to get his mind off Carrie and on Christmas…handing him his gift…a framed picture of them from the concert…suggesting he remember the good time they had.

Carrie asks Lucas if she can hitch a ride back to Salem with him. He gets all excited, getting the wrong idea, until she clarifies she wants to be with Austin. She realizes she’ll have to explain how things didn’t work out with Mike, but needs to find out if there’s still a chance for them. Lucas promises to always be there for her and says she can fly back with him..hug hug.

IN SALEM
Bo (carrying Zack) and Hope arrive outside Jennifer’s house. (She and Abby must have been busy decorating as the house and yard have white lights everywhere.) Bo kisses Hope and wishes her both Merry Christmas and Happy Anniversary,hinting of a little surprise for her later on, telling Zack (who sits mute in his arms) not to tell. Zack is dressed as a mini Santa Claus and they hope Jen is up for tonight.

Inside Abby is startled to see that Frankie’s packed up and moved out. Abby wanted him there, but Jennifer says that Frankie has his own life to return to. Abby is shocked, saying first we lose dad, now Frankie..who cared for us and is our friend. How could you throw him out on Christmas (my question exactly).

Bo and Hope walk in and announce a surprise Santa helper with a big bag of gifts. Zack walks in (without the facial hair, a first for Brady men, haha) and says HO HO HO and Jennifer shows him where to put the gifts as Abby asks about Chelsea. Bo tells her that Chelsea is okay, just bruised. Hope says Chelsea’s with Max, but they’re meeting them at Grans for the Christmas party and should leave soon so they won’t be late for the tree trimming ceremony. Abby’s ready to go, but Jennifer announces they’re not going this year. Cue surprised faces. Hope talks to Jen alone. Jen’s afraid she’ll lose it while hanging Jack’s ornament and needs to be strong for her kids. Hope convinces Jennifer that her kids need to be there to be reminded there are people and traditions that will be there for them in the future. Abby comes downstairs with “JJ” and happy to hear they’re going. Jennifer tries to back pedal about needing to stop by St. Luke’s with some decorations first, but Hope insists she’ll do it and for Jennifer to go straight to Grans. We see Jack’s picture on the table as they all leave (with fire still blazing and lights lit everywhere…tsk tsk) and one of Jack’s eye’s wink or twinkle as the camera pans away.

PENTHOUSE
John rushes down the stairs at the Penthouse angry that Marlena and Alex are gone. He decides to call every ISA contact he has and Salem PD to help find them. He’s sure they’ll find them tonight with all the GPS tools the ISA has. Roman arrives and says Salem PD is looking everywhere for them (insert your own comment here). Kate says she’s going back to the hospital to check on Claire and Roman and John both send their thoughts and prayers. John asks Kate not to tell Belle about Marlena’s being gone. In the hallway, Kate is determined that no one learn that Claire is Shawn’s daughter. Later John knows where Alex is taking Marlena…to his cabin. (whoa…there’s a shocker…) The two rush out to get there before it’s too late. They leave with the tree lit and lights blazing (obviously our Salemites are not energy conscious ;-)

HOSPITAL
Mimi finds Bonnie (dressed like a sexy candy cane) helping in the pediatric ward. Bonnie tells Mimi to forget the idea that Shawn’s the father of Claire’s baby. Meanwhile, Lexie tells Philip and Belle that Claire will need a transplant or will die. Philip asks how long their daughter has. Lexie can’t tell them that, just that she’s a high priority for a transplant and asks them to keep praying. Belle looks down on her daughter and asks her to hang on. We don’t see Claire, but the angel ornament Shawn left instead.

Philip tells Shawn and Mimi about the transplant and Shawn remembers a friend with internet capabilities and suggests a web site encouraging organ transplants and blood donations. Philip offers Titan’s sponsorship if needed. Lexie arrives with her usual glum Doctor face.

Shawn hangs up the pay phone and tells Mimi and Bonnie that his friend is going to get right at it..(that really IS a friend to do so on Christmas) and if it doesn’t help Claire, it still will encourage people to donate blood or organs. Bonnie takes the opportunity to remind Shawn what a great couple Claire’s godparents are, a match made in Heaven.

Austin and Sami arrive at the ICU (wow…they flew commercial and were just in LA…we all know how long it takes from point A to point B, especially for the holidays…but I won’t digress, LOL…would have been more realistic if she had given him the picture on the plane while flying home…). Austin found out about Claire’s situation on the phone with Kate once they got back to Salem. Sami goes to find Belle while he sees Philip and Kate talking. Kate says they’ll pray for a Christmas miracle.

Lucas and Carrie arrive at the hospital (okay, I’ll cut them a little slack being they had a private jet, but still….) Being on the board of the hospital, he felt he needed to be there for the Christmas Story and she said it was appropriate for her first night back in town. It seems strange being that’s where Mike worked and she and Mike fell in love. She has to move on though and that includes telling Austin she still has feelings for him. Lucas follows her, shaking his head. (he looks might dapper in his green suit and red tie!). (Hello, it’s Christmas…Wouldn’t you think he and Sami would go looking for THEIR SON, not go to the hospital first?? )

Sami preps the kids on the floor at the hospital for Santa’s visit and once he arrives..tells herself she knows what SHE wants for Christmas..Austin (my, they fall in and out of love so easily in Salem). She figures with Carrie so far away, she stands a good chance of getting him.

Lucas finds Kate and she tells him about Claire. She asks about the woman he’s interested in, but he tells her she’s interested in another guy. She encourages him to go after her. Deep down he knows she only wants his happiness. Alone, Lucas knows that one of her sons will get his heart broken.

Lexie asks Shawn to read the Christmas Story to keep the Horton tradition alive and he agrees. Belle and Philip overhear from nearby and softly smile.

Lucas and Sami exchange nasty words. She asks about the “slut” he was with and he tells her she’s not a slut and came back to Salem with him. We see Carrie in a Santa hat walk up behind Sami. She can’t face her yet and Lucas whisks her away to the best party in Salem. Sami dons her Santa hat and hopes to find Austin under the mistletoe.


ST. LUKES
Earlier Belle went to St. Lukes to pray for Claire. We see her at the altar crying and begging for a miracle. Hope arrives with the bags from Jennifer. Belle tells her about Claire and then asks for a sign her daughter will be okay. Belle sees the candles flicker and hopes it’s a sign. Hope figures the door didn’t shut all the way when she came in and it’s a draft, but it doesn’t mean there won’t be a miracle.

HORTON TREE TRIMMING (see separate EE page with ornaments posted on it)
Jennifer, Abby and JJ arrive with Bo and Zack as we see Doug and Julie along with Mickey and Maggie there already. Julie shows Bo the newest ornament for the tree.. as Chelsea’s ornament is shown. Bo knows that Chelsea will love it and she’ll arrive later. Abby mumbles to herself “if she and Max aren’t having too much fun that is”, and Bo overhears. Mickey checks on Jen, who says she’s hanging in there. She finds a picture of Jack and holds it. Maggie asks Jennifer if she and Abby could hang the ornaments on the tree for all the family that couldn’t be there. They do so. Alice looks beautiful as always as she sits in the chair holding the box with the ornaments in it. We see the ornaments of Addie, Marie, Tommy, Bill, Laura, Jeremy, Lucas and Will (hey Lucas…get over there!) Hope arrives, apologizing for being late. Gran knows it was for a good cause and says she’s in time. She hugs Zack and Bo and learns that Shawn and Chelsea should arrive soon (don’t hold your breath). Hope asks Zack if he wants to hang his ornament and the 3 of them do it together. They hang their own ornaments next to each other on a limb and kiss, as Jennifer watches from across the room. Abby hugs her mom, knowing how much she misses Jack and says she does too (sniff sniff). Someone is watching from outside the window. Mickey and Maggie hang their ornaments near Sarah and Melissa’s. Julie and Doug hang theirs under Tom and Alice’s. Mickey tells Maggie that the Horton’s certainly have a wonderful family and Maggie says that’s she’s very happy to be with the man she loves as they kiss and hug (yup, last year she was “dead” and on an island). Poor Jennifer watches.

BACK AT THE HOSPITAL
Bo, Hope and Zack (still in Santa suit) arrive to hear the Christmas story and to be there for Belle and Philip. Shawn is brought in and sits in the reading chair with all the kids watching him. Many of the kids are dressed in nativity outfits, others in their pjs. Shawn reads a few lines (literally) as Bonnie takes a gold star that glitters, saying it’s the star of Bethlehem. Belle sees the star shine and takes it as a sign that Claire’s going to live. Hope says she hopes that Belle is right. Lucas is looking for Carrie (she was just with you)…and sees the Santa hat across the room on a blonde and goes over and warmly kisses her and she kisses back Oops, it’s Sami. They look into each others eyes. Austin steps outside on the terrace for some fresh air. He comments it’s a beautiful city and he’s glad to be back. Carrie is standing on the terrace and replies.”I agree, so am I. Merry Christmas Austin” as he turns and sees her.

BACK TO ALICE’S….
Later we return and the party has dwindled down to Gran, Mickey, Maggie, Doug and Julie as Jennifer and Abby now hang their ornaments alongside Jack Jr. and Jack’s. (gee, rush them over for the gayla and when it’s their turn to hang their ornaments..not there for them to show support…tsk tsk) Abby asks Jen why daddy left them and not there with them now. Jen hugs Abby, saying daddy is there (yeah, he’s watching from outside the window). He reaches for the door handle, knowing he should be inside. Alice puts the baby Jesus in the nativity scene and turns to touch Tom’s picture. She looks at the camera and says: “Those we love, near and far…may the blessings of this day be with you now and all the days of your life.”

PREVIEWS

Jennifer to Abby and Maggie: “I feel like Jack is somewhere nearby. I feel like he could walk in at any moment.

Shawn to Belle: I couldn’t love her more if she were my very own. She could have been if things had worked out differently.

Carrie to Sami with Austin and Lucas listening: “Mike and I aren’t together any more.” Austin absorbs this as Lucas watches from behind him.

We see Alex picking up an axe (and an alarm type of sound starts beeping) and holds it up as he walks to the hearth where Marlena is on the floor getting the wood ready …and the credits roll…

Happy Holidays to our Early Edition family and readers...as this is my last post this week...I'll create a separate post with pictures of the Horton ornaments tomorrow....but feel free to go to MikeR's Spoiler Companion to see some of them from 1999 if you wish (link on top left of page)...

Linda