Eve went to Karen for Courtney's paperwork. Karen was concerned that they were releasing her too early. Eve explained that Joe and the doctors thought she'd recover better at home, with Neil, for Christmas. Karen said she should go away to stay out of Courtney's sight. Joe walked out with Courtney just as Frank arrived. Frank asked if she had everything she'd arrived with. Courtney quietly replied she had everything but her baby.
Karen returned and talked to Eve about the accident. Karen went over the whole storyline, starting with Joe's chance to be a father from birth. Eve tried to reassure Karen that they were doctors, not gods. They couldn't control everything -- maybe she'd been driving too fast, maybe she'd hit a patch of ice. Either way, she had to forgive herself so she could help Joe get over his grief. Karen felt a little better after their talk but worried that Joe wouldn't be able to forgive her after he stopped worrying about Courtney and thought about his own loss.
At home, Mary was there to help out. Neil was excited that Courtney was home and ran upstairs to get a present for her for under the tree. Frank suggested that he and his mom take a walk so Joe and Courtney could tell Neil about the baby. Joe told Courtney that Neil meant more to him than ever, and Courtney meant so much to him for giving him Neil. Neil walked down, and they told him about the baby. Neil felt like crying.
Outside, Frank blamed himself for the baby's loss. Mary wondered why. Frank told her they'd had a fight, he'd stormed off, and she'd followed him. Mary told him it was not his fault. Frank said his selfishness might have cost Neil his only shot at recovery. He wondered how he could live with himself.
Later, Frank was back inside, and Joe was out talking to his mom. Joe worried about Neil giving up. Mary didn't think he would -- he got his strength from Joe. She told him he was a wonderful father, despite not having a good role model. Joe said he always had her.
Inside, Frank tried to talk to Neil, but he was depressed and just wanted to go play video games alone in his room. Frank talked to Courtney and asked what he could do for her. She told him he was already doing it. He told her he didn't want to see her or Neil get hurt anymore. She saw he had a gift for her, but he wouldn't let her open it early. She asked if she didn't deserve an early present. He decided she did and gave it to her. It was a framed ornament of Neil with a bat and Frank.
Eve and Karen talked about the good old days as interns, which led to talk about Julie. They both worried about her being sent to prison and not getting the help she needed. Karen hoped that Kevin could give the jury insight into Julie's true, pre-murdering character.
Chris told Julie about meeting Nicole, who thought he was just after Julie's money. Julie said that was typical of Nicole and that Mom also distrusted Rachel. Before Chris could say anything, Rachel walked up to them. She told Julie that Kevin wanted Julie locked away, but Rachel wouldn't let him.
Victor and Kevin arrived at the courthouse. Kevin was filling Victor in on the Ellen situation and said that Matt was checking things out. Victor wondered how Ellen discrediting Rachel would help the case. Kevin explained that the defense was based on Rachel helping Julie "remember," as Kevin did the air quotes, that she hadn't committed the murders. He said that discrediting her would discredit the memory. If they couldn't, Julie could be set free, and Kevin couldn't let that happen.
On the stand, Victor told the court that Julie had pulled a gun on him and admitted to killing John Kanelos. Leopold cross-examined. Victor said the sword was his, and Julie had helped herself to it. Leopold pointed out that her prints weren't on it. Victor said there was a straightforward answer that had to have occurred to "even an attorney such as yourself" -- Julie had worn gloves. Victor could not definitely say whether Julie had been wearing gloves or not. He also could not say for sure whether or not Greg Cooper had been there.
Rachel told Leopold she hoped he could do as well neutralizing Victor's son. Julie worried about Kevin's testimony, and Rachel told her she had nothing to worry about. Rachel went to check in at the hospital. Chris told Julie that she should be worried -- but about Rachel. He told her Rachel was up to something bigger than Julie's freedom. She disagreed, telling him that after Chris and Christina, Rachel was the best thing to happen to her. She completely trusted her.
Kevin was the next to testify, and he wanted Dara to get a break until the next morning. She told him the judge wouldn't go for it. Apparently, she did get a short recess, because later, Kevin talked to Matt via phone. Matt was at the clinic, and people said the picture of Ellen looked like Barbara Greene. However, Barbara had suddenly quit a few weeks before, leaving no forwarding information. Dara walked out and asked Kevin if he was ready to do some damage, but Kevin looked doubtful.
At the lobby of the courthouse, Dara was telling Kevin how much they needed his testimony. He said he'd do his best but that he wished Matt had found something on Rachel. They chatted until Rachel approached, and Victor and Dara went into the courtroom. Rachel asked Kevin if there was anything she should know about. He responded that, since they were on the opposing side of a murder case, he doubted they should even be discussing it. She said she hoped that they both understood that whatever went on in the courtroom was not personal.
Chris comforted Julie while they waited for court to start. Court began, and Dara called Kevin to the stand.
Courtney, napping on the couch, dreamed of the accident and woke up gasping. Joe rushed to comfort her. She told him about her dream and that it had just been a dream. It was not a dream that the baby was dead, she said. They shared their grief and their reactions to others' well-intentioned sympathies. She said she was getting through it, and she had Frank.
In the kitchen, Frank answered the door to Karen, who had Neil's gift. She said she didn't want to upset Courtney, but she'd like to see Joe. She and Frank chatted, and Karen said how unusual it was for a couple to get so close so fast. Frank shrugged it off, and Karen asked how long they'd known each other, while flashing back to the pictures. She asked if she could speak to him on the porch. He agreed, and she told him about the picture and asked if he and Courtney had been involved ten years earlier. He stalled, and she bluntly asked if he was Neil's father. He danced around it, but she persisted until he said no.
Karen asked if she could show Joe the picture and thought maybe it would make things easier on him. Joe asked what Karen was really doing there. Frank went to check on Courtney, and Joe asked what that had been about. Karen said he just didn't want to upset Courtney. Joe said that the way Courtney was blaming Karen for the accident wasn't right; she was in pain. She asked him to help her pick out a Christmas tree, and he said it was too late but then relented at the suggestion of mistletoe. They hugged, and Karen said that if they stuck together, they could get through anything.
In the living room, Frank and Courtney admired the tree. Courtney asked him what was wrong, and he said he was just worried about Neil's reaction. He told her that he'd been thinking about the fight they'd had the night of the accident. He said she was right -- her children's parentage should be kept between them. Courtney said they wouldn't keep it a secret forever. She told him she liked him taking care of her, and they cuddled.
In the courtroom, Kevin was testifying. He answered Dara's questions about Julie and how she had confessed to the murders and how she had told him that Cooper had brainwashed her into committing the murders. He agreed with the defense that Julie had been brainwashed, but the agreement ended there. He believed she was capable of murder and that, although brainwashed, she had committed the murders. On cross-examination, of course, his past was brought up to discredit him. It worked pretty well.
Back in the living room with Frank and Courtney, Courtney was sorry she'd given in and changed her testimony. Frank did forgive her under the circumstances. She asked where the real Frank was, and he said he was there. She wondered how it was that Neil had only gotten the best of each of them. Frank said Neil was the best kid in the world, and their daughter would have been the same. They would never forget her.
Karen and Joe walked in the kitchen door, and she was apologizing for her car breaking down. She hadn't gotten it checked after the accident because it had been fine. Joe commented about her car having so little damage while Courtney's had been so bad. She told him he could talk to her about anything, but he got carburetor spray from under the sink and went to start her car. Karen turned and saw Frank and Courtney walking into the kitchen.
Courtney graciously asked "what the hell" Karen was doing there. Courtney went into nasty bitch mode, refusing Karen's apology and telling her to get out. Joe walked in and asked what was going on. Frank and Courtney demanded that Karen leave, and Joe and Karen left. Courtney expounded on how much she hated Karen, forgetting that she had been speeding and driving unsafely herself, as evidenced by her dream, while Frank sympathized. Courtney swore revenge.
Back at court, Julie was pleased with how the day had gone. She and Chris had a few minutes together. Kevin, preparing to leave, was approached by Rachel, and they reran their usual discussion. She told him to move on, he said no, she got threatening, then he got threatening.
Matt returned from Florida with a file that contained information about a former patient of Rachel's whose case had eerie similarities to Julie's. An intrigued Kevin and Eve set out to ascertain if getting dangerous criminals released was a pattern for Rachel. Meanwhile, Rachel took Scott and Lucy a special Christmas greeting from Julie, and Lucy was genuinely affected by what Julie had written in the card. Scott went to pay his father one last visit after learning from Rachel that DV was being sent away to a long-term care facility. Later, Lucy had another dream about Julie and became convinced that it was a sign.
After her latest dream, Lucy convinced Scott to sit in on Julie's trial with her. At the courthouse, an interested Kevin noticed the tension brewing between Chris and Rachel. Kevin then gave Chris a firm warning about Rachel. Dara devastated the defense's case by playing the tape of Julie's confession for the jury. Later, Chris and Julie shared a heartbreaking goodbye before she was returned to Ferncliff for the night. Meanwhile, Joe admitted to Karen that he was angry about the part she had played in Courtney's accident.
Rachel called Julie to see how she was doing. Julie was not happy to be spending the holidays in a mental institution and was depressed over the way the trial was going. Rachel promised to find something to cheer her and hung up. Chris walked up, and Rachel told him she had the perfect present for him. Later, Rachel arrived at the hospital with a special visitor for Julie -- Chris! Julie's spirits rose through the roof. Rachel somehow had been able to get him visiting privileges, at least for the day. They thanked her and found out that she had no Christmas plans.
Chris told Rachel he knew what it was like spending holidays alone with a martini. Julie said Rachel was a member of her family, and she wanted Rachel to stay. Julie had homemade gifts for them. They wouldn't let her wrap them, so she told the two to close their eyes and hold out their hands. She gave Rachel a lace-edged handkerchief embroidered with an R. Rachel seemed truly touched. She said she had to go and left.
The gift for Chris was a box with a note: "To Chris, who helps me escape any box." Chris said the goodies he had taken with him had been confiscated, but he had three promises: first, he would get her out; second, Christmas the next year and every year afterwards would be spent at home with him and her daughter -- Julie corrected him with "Our daughter"; and third, no matter how hard she tried to spend their millions, he wouldn't complain -- all he had was theirs. He held up imaginary mistletoe, and they kissed.
Serena and Scott were about to sneak peeks at their gifts when Charlene walked in with Christina. They discussed the General Hospital Christmas party. Serena wanted to stop and see the Wyndham's Santa first. She explained that the store Santas were not the real one -- they were just his helpers, so she wanted to see as many of them as possible. One of the gifts was partly open, having been attacked earlier by Christina. Scott noted that it was the gift that Rachel had brought over. Serena opened it -- it was a handmade rag doll.
Kevin and Eve stopped by with gifts. Serena and Eve went to search for Kevin and Eve's gifts under the tree. Scott and Kevin discussed how Kevin's testimony had helped the prosecution -- Kevin filled Scott in about the other mentally deranged patient that Rachel had helped. Eve said they should leave, as the Baldwins and others were about to leave. Kevin told them that he and Eve were on their way to Wyndham's -- Victor had called, and that was the only word they'd been able to hear.
At Wyndham's, Lucy talked to the scratchy-voiced Santa and realized it was Victor. He needed her help; he could barely speak. He talked her into being Santa. Lucy talked to a couple kids, who didn't notice her heavy eye makeup, giving one fashion advice. Victor was dressed as an elf. He told Lucy what a good job she was doing, but she was panicking because of Serena's arrival. Serena still believed in Santa, and she didn't want to disappoint her.
Kevin returned with a gift for Mary from Victor -- a dragonfly pin, which Victor proclaimed as perfect; it was an ancient Chinese symbol of faithfulness and strength. He went back to work as Eve appeared. Eve and Kevin realized that Santa was Lucy. Eve said, "No wonder the line is so long -- she's probably giving out makeup tips!" They decided to go home and start a tradition of tree-decorating.
Lucy tried to fool Serena, who was no fool and called her Lucy Claus. Lucy tried to keep up the charade until Serena called her Mom. Lucy was stunned, and Serena asked if it was okay to call her that. Of course, Lucy said it was -- and it was a nice Christmas gift. Serena went to tell her little sister that they needed to get candy canes from the weird big elf. Scott asked if he could sit on Santa's lap and gave "Santa" a big, long kiss. When he pulled away, the beard was stuck to Scott. The waiting children all laughed; luckily, none of them thought she was the real Santa.
