The Hortons Gather to Hang Their Ornaments, But Jack and Jennifer Aren’t Done With Chad Just Yet!
JJ visits Chad at the hospital. He just flew in, but the kids are driving back with Jack and Jennifer. He promises that he just tagged along with Jack and Jennifer to protect the kids — he wasn’t taking part in the custody battle. No hard feelings! Though he’s worried Theo’s still going to hate him.
Out in the square, Lani’s distraught over leaving her parents, but she and Eli are hoping for a Christmas miracle for Theo. Then before they can go “rescue” Johnny and Chanel from the twins, the two share a kiss under some mistletoe.
Will Maggie Forgive Xander?
Sarah wishes her mom a merry Christmas, but Maggie can’t join her to go see the big tree in the square with Victoria. (She hasn’t seen it yet? Everyone seems to be in the square every day!) They’re gonna head to the Hortons’ separately, but worry about Jennifer and Chad’s custody battle and that carries them into Xander and how he’s not fighting Sarah and being a decent guy. For once.
After Sarah leaves, Xander drops in with a giant gift for Maggie. She thinks he’s buttering her up. “I tolerate you for the sake of the company, but…” Ouch. He begs her to just open the gift and if she doesn’t like it, throw it out. And it’s… a new portrait of Victor!
Well, if she throws it out, it’s like throwing out her husband, so check and mate, we guess, Xander. But he just wanted to make up for destroying the portrait and hurting her. Maggie gets all emotional and thanks Xander, breaking into tears. Victor did love him, Maggie insists.
Brady spots Sarah out in the square pushing Victoria around. They share a Merry Christmas, and talk about their family dramas lately. They’re both making peace with their exes. Kristen would do anything for Rachel and Xander’s doing the same for Victoria, against all odds. But they’ve both been making things easier for each other. They wish each other a Merry Christmas again, then notice the mistletoe. They have to kiss. It’s the law. So they do!
The Hortons Gather for Christmas
Julie’s getting all the Horton ornaments just right in their box as Jeremy helps her. He insists he wouldn’t miss this tradition — even if he has for decades… Then Hope calls and wishes everyone a Merry Christmas. They’re off on a trip to Hawaii. See ya, Horton suckers!
Jack and Jennifer get in with the kids, and Chad and JJ follow shortly after. Charlotte runs straight into his arms and, after just a split second of waiting, so does Thomas. JJ and Jeremy figure they can give everyone a chance to hash things out, grab the kids and Julie and go play Mario Kart.
Will Jack and Jennifer Drop the Custody Case?
Jack and Jennifer awkwardly try to explain why they ran off with the kids, but Chad thanks them for taking care of them. The in-laws get all emotional about his disappearance and suggest that since his kids got upset over their dad disappearing, maybe they should back off the custody fight and move to mediation, instead of court. Gee, that’s so generous.
Chad agrees (with the sarcasm). He’s not giving up his kids or finding some middle ground. Then Eli and Lani break in, along with JJ and Jeremy. (They were gone for like two minutes. How did they think that would be enough time to help?)
In the Show’s Final Moments
Lani talks to JJ, cop to cop, telling him she understands how he feels with Theo. And Eli thanks Jeremy for looking after his grandmother for the last few months. Then Lucas shows up, Maggie drops in and voila! Sarah arrives! Poor Shawn’s working.
Julie leads the Hortons in hanging all the ornaments on the tree, while back at the mansion, Xander hangs Victor over the fire and gazes sadly at a photo of Sarah and Victoria. In the end, everyone’s on the tree, except for Xander, and they sing Thomas’ favorite carol: Silent Night.
