Chad and Valerie have dinner together while Whitney and Fox watch from another table. Whitney gets very uncomfortable when Fox mentions the possibility that Chad and Valerie are seeing each other, and even more so when Fox starts talking again about his plans for after the baby is born. Fox is planning to use Chad and Valerie's relationship to get Chad fired; he thinks that Chad will eventually become too distracted with Valerie to focus on his work.
When Alistair passes out, Beth is caught and thrown out of his room before he has a chance to explain what he means by "mother." Back at her house, she is determined to figure it out by herself but is distracted when she sees Luis and Sheridan skating together and learns that her mother took Marty to the ice rink to be with them.
Tabitha brings Endora to the ice rink, which seems to be the hot spot for all the Harmony couples. As it's getting to be Christmastime again, Tabitha is constantly on the lookout for Norma. She even calls the asylum to make sure that Norma is still locked up, but already Norma is escaping. Sheridan and Luis are at the ice rink, along with Julian, Eve, TC and Liz. TC devastates Eve by telling her their divorce hearing has been set.
Theresa continues to insist that the baby is hers. Both Rebecca and Gwen nearly fly off the handle. Rebecca threatens Theresa that if the baby really is hers, she'll wish she'd never been born, and then Gwen tells Theresa that she'll never see Little Ethan again if Theresa is the mother. When Ivy starts in, Theresa quickly shuts her up by saying that maybe she should find out what really happened between Grace and David. The nurse arrives to take DNA samples from Theresa, Gwen and Ethan, and tells them they should know the results in one to two days.
At Tabitha's house, Simone, Kay and Jessica with baby Maria decorate the house for Christmas. Tabitha and Endora come in and are repelled by the display. Kay snipes that Endora is going to grow up to be a big witch just like her mother. Tabitha tells Kay this isn't for them on the dark side and she knew that when she signed on. Kay doesn't want to give up Christmas. She wants Maria to enjoy Christmas like she did growing up. Tabitha tells her to remember where her priorities lie. She relishes in the fact that it's going to be a miserable Christmas. When the girls finally find the angel for the top of the tree, Endora starts making nasty growling noises. Kay makes nice with Jessica and all three girls bemoan the loss of their moms at Christmas. As they get ready to leave for the tree lighting, a giant box arrives for Tabitha.
Julian and Eve fly on his private jet to a surprise location-Rodeo Drive via stretch limo (Eve is blindfolded until they get there) for "a moment out of time" and decadent shopping. She doesn't feel like she deserves it, but Julian wants to give her a gift for every year they were separated. Julian and Eve (with the store clerk's help) then shamelessly plug Capital One credit cards. Julian gives Eve a final surprise - an expensive necklace.
Arriving at the Crane mansion, Theresa and Pilar find Rebecca and Gwen tossing all of their belongings (stuffed into trash bags) out of an upstairs window. They yell down that Theresa and Pilar are trespassing and want them off the property immediately. Theresa wants to take little Ethan to the tree ceremony and Gwen goes ballistic all over Theresa.
At the ice skating rink the Christmas tree lighting ceremony is being staged. Beth has a cold and she argues with Mrs. Wallace (with Marty and Precious in tow) about Marty going back to his real mommy.
Martin and Katherine meet Paloma at the ice rink. She gets to light the tree since it's her first Christmas in Harmony. Katherine remembers lighting the tree with Sheridan years ago and tells Paloma that she can't stay. Paloma talks them into staying so she won't be homesick.
Luis and Sheridan join Beth and take Marty off Beth's hands to watch the tree lighting. Sheridan tells Beth not to get sick for their wedding. Beth says she's getting them a great present - "a real show stopper."
Sam needs someone to fix the lights at the top of the tree and Precious hops to it. Sam then makes the rounds, telling everybody that he's still actively investigating Alistair's poisoning.
Beth and her mother discuss what Alistair could possibly mean by the word "mother" being the secret word.
Luis sees Martin and Katherine and threatens them. He wants them to leave so they don't upset Pilar. When they start scuffling, Sam breaks them up for the sake of the children at Christmas.
Tabitha and the girls arrive. She asks Precious if Beth has figured out yet that Mrs. Wheeler is Katherine. Precious shakes her head "no." Martin and Katherine kiss under the mistletoe in front of Pilar who slaps them both. Paloma blames Pilar for the fight. She then gripes again about being sent away while Theresa and Pilar lived in wealth at the mansion. Theresa joins them and tries to set Paloma straight and shares how they were just thrown out of the mansion and she can't even see her son. Gwen shows up and the mommy brawl resumes. Once again, Sam has to break them up for the sake of the children. He tells Gwen to let Theresa have little Ethan for the ceremony and tells Luis to back off Martin and Katherine for one night.
Sam tells about how Katherine started the tradition. Tabitha lets Mrs. Wheeler know (obliquely) that she knows what happened to Katherine. Sam asks Paloma to start the ceremony and part of it entails giving a rose bouquet to her mother and asking her to help with the lighting. She gives the flowers to Katherine instead of her mother. Sheridan remembers lighting the tree as a little girl with her mother.
We're left with a very interesting tableau of family groups watching the newly lighted Christmas tree.
Chad gets nervous when Valerie suggests that Fox is trying to steal Crane Industries' most important project from him. Fox manages to convince Julian that Chad doesn't have the expertise to successfully finish the project, and Julian tells Chad that he is putting him back on the record label project and giving the other project to Fox.
Ivy and Gwen host a surprise shower for Sheridan, but it turns out not to be the party they'd hoped for when Theresa, Paloma and Mrs. Wheeler show up unexpectedly and cause trouble. Both Theresa and Gwen are desperate to hear the DNA test results, but have no luck when they call the hospital. Theresa is overjoyed to hear that Whitney is pregnant, but Pilar doesn't share her enthusiasm as she watches Paloma and Mrs. Wheeler. Beth is finally able to figure out that Mrs. Wheeler is Katherine Crane only after Tabitha tells Sheridan that she has a strange feeling her mother will be at her wedding.
Julian gives Luis his job back, along with a hefty paycheck and promotion to detective. Luis and Sam work together to try to figure out who poisoned Alistair while Rebecca plans to frame Eve for the attempted murder.
At her house, Tabitha talks to Endora about what a dolt Beth is-even Precious figured out that Alistair's clue "mother" meant that Mrs. Wheeler is Sheridan's mother. Tabitha talks to Endora about behaving when Kay takes her and Maria to see Santa at the ice skating in the park. Then they muse on what could be in the gigantic Christmas present that was delivered to them. She's sure it's a present to them from Endora's father, Julian. Endora shakes her head "no."
In Chad's office at Crane Industries, Valerie reminds Chad that he's swimming with sharks, but she'll help him and he's got something Fox doesn't have-street smarts. Whitney walks by and Chad runs after her. She's upset that her parents are still planning to get divorced and even more upset that this will always be one of her Christmas memories. She's sad that Fox can't go with her to the divorce court, but he's just gotten a big project on which to work. Chad doesn't let his disappointment at having the project taken from keep him from offering brotherly support to Whitney. He'll go with her if she wants.
At the Cottage, Theresa and Pilar argue about the direction in which Theresa is going. Pilar reminds her that the baby could be Gwen's. In a poison-filled voice, Therese declares that the baby is hers. She is going to get little Ethan back, she's going to get her baby and she is going to get Ethan back. She's going to get back everything Gwen has taken from her and Gwen will be left with nothing.
At the divorce court, Julian and Eve talk about the ending of her marriage. She regrets all the secrets she kept from T.C. about Julian, her lifestyle, and her baby with Julian. She blames Liz for poisoning T.C.'s mind. They run into Simone. She makes no bones about the fact that she's there to support her dad. The proceedings begin with the judge asking T.C. and Eve if it's still their intent to divorce. T.C., with Liz at his side, is the first to reply. Eve answers with tears. The judge makes the decree and Liz congratulates T. C. Eve cries, "It's over. It's really over." As they leave, Chad reminds Whitney that she can always count on him. As Eve reflects on the finality, Julian lists the good things she still has. They meet T. C. and Liz in the hallway and Liz sneers at them.
At the ice skating rink, Luis and Sheridan are discussing their good fortune-getting married and he got his job back. Beth, Mrs. Wallace, Precious and Marty are enjoying the Christmas atmosphere and overhear. Beth confides to her mom that that she knows that Mrs. Wheeler is Katherine and that Luis and Sheridan will never get married now. Luis and Sheridan join them and Mrs. Wallace says how excited Marty is to see his daddy and his real (pause) step-mommy. She keeps digging in to Bethie about Luis and Sheridan getting married. Luis and Sheridan take Marty to see Santa. Beth and her mother continue their discussion. Precious stands under the mistletoe making smoochie sounds and pointing at Luis, Mrs. Wallace agrees that she wishes she could have somebody like Luis under her Christmas tree. The elf taking Santa pictures comments several times about how much Marty looks like Sheridan. Sheridan comments to Luis that she really does feel a connection to Marty. As they watch Marty sleeping in his stroller, Sheridan tells how she used to always wish on the Christmas star that her mother would return and now she wishes for the return of her baby.
Beth leaves to speak with Tabitha at her house about what she should give Luis and Sheridan for their wedding. Tabitha and Beth discuss in a sort of "code" Mrs. Wheeler and Katherine Crane. Tabitha says that a person can do facial surgery to change their looks, but their body type will always give them away. Beth asks about what kind of body type Katherine had and when comparing her body type to other women, she finally asks if Katherine's body type is like Mrs. Wheeler's. Tabitha replies, "I believe it is!" She adds one hint about Katherine. She has a heart-shaped birthmark on her neck.
At the Crane estate, Gwen and little Ethan finish decorating his room. Ethan joins them and then little Ethan runs off to get his list for Santa. While he's gone, Ethan tells Gwen she looks happy and she says the only thing that will add to it is getting the results of the DNA test and to get rid of Theresa forever. She reiterates that she's glad that Ethan has now seen Theresa for the monster she really is. He looks stricken, but says nothing this time to defend Theresa. Little Ethan returns with his long list for Santa and they convince the tyke to take a nap so that he can stay up late for all the Christmas Eve festivities. Outside the mansion, Theresa and Pilar stealthily approach the wall below little Ethan's room. Theresa is bound to see her son on Christmas Eve and she won't let Gwen keep her from him. She scales the wall just after Gwen and Ethan leave the room and as she gets to the window, Ethan re-enters the room to check on the boy. He and Theresa see each other and as Gwen approaches Ethan, he pulls the door closed a bit. When she leaves, he re-opens the door. Theresa mouths a silent thank you to Ethan who then closes the door. Theresa pushes the window open and enters. She reads a story with him and then tells him nobody can know she was there.
With Beth safely out the door, Tabitha gives in to her curiosity about the enormous gift. She pries off the lid only to find... Tabitha's favorite Christmas visitor-crazy lady, Norma Bates! Norma is geared up in a Santa suit with her trusty hatchet by her side Tabitha faints straight away.
Pilar receives a cryptic message asking her to visit the house she lost. What she finds there will drastically alter the lives of the Lopez-Fitzgerald family.
Beth attempts to discover whether "Mrs. Wheeler" has the same heart-shaped birthmark on her neck that Katherine Crane had.
After narrowly escaping the Crane mansion, Theresa disguises herself as Santa in order to see Little Ethan. Though Gwen is unaware of Theresa's stunts, Ethan allows mother and child to be together without telling Gwen.
Crazed Norma is on the loose with only one nightmarish goal -- to kill Tabitha! Mrs. Wallace, Precious and Rebecca unwittingly walk in on the chaos and find themselves at the mercy of the axe-wielding maniac.
