As Kate sleeps, Daniel brings a Christmas ornament and places it by her bedside. She wakes up and jokes how it’s kind of hideous. He intends to get her into the Christmas spirit. She laments taking a lot of Christmases for granted in the past, but vows to do it right if she gets one more. “You’ll have more, Kate. Way more than one,” he assures. A nurse then brings Daniel a note from the lab, which are the results. “I know what I want for Christmas,” she expresses.
Philip reenters Kate’s room and asks if there’s anything new. Daniel reveals that the results are in. An eager Philip proceeds to call Lucas and summon him over. He is optimistic that it will be good news. “I hope so,” whispers Kate.
Philip phones Lucas and interrupts his lovemaking session with Chloe. He tells Lucas the results are in. Lucas says he’ll be right there, then hangs up. “You mean we’ll be right there,” corrects Chloe. Philip also calls Chelsea, who is still at the Cheatin’ Heart with Max. He tells her the results are in and summons her over. Meanwhile, Daniel is quite surprised to see who the donor is.
Lucas and Chloe come to the hospital eager to hear the results. Lucas kisses his mother and hopes that Kate doesn’t mind if he brought Chloe. Just outside the room, Chelsea thanks Max for bringing her. He hopes it’s great news. She hugs him before entering the room. Daniel enters and informs the gang that he didn’t just test the family, but he also told the lab to search throughout the hospital database for patients who matched Kate’s criteria. Philip questions who the match is. “It’s Chloe,” reveals Daniel.
Back to the Pier
Melanie returns and encounters Maggie, who asks how it went. Melanie wonders what it tells her about her life when she screws up trying to help other people. Maggie encourages her to try to be nice because she should, not because it might get her points with other people. Melanie whines how Stephanie has both of her parents and always does everything right, while she does everything wrong. She suggests that maybe Philip gave her all that work because he doesn’t want her around. Maggie advises her to leave Philip alone and believes he wouldn’t have given her the job if he didn’t think she was up to it. She encourages Melanie to come home with her. “I’m definitely up to the job, but I wanna do mine AND Stephanie’s,” she says to herself.
The Park
Steph later meets up with Steve, Kayla, and Joe and brings her dad coffee and her mom hot chocolate with no whipped cream. She curses when she accidentally drops the hot chocolate. Steve asks her what’s going on. Stephanie brings up Philip’s name and reveals that Kate’s cancer has spread and she’s back at the hospital. She recalls the look on Philip’s face at the hospital and shares how she began to think what if it was either of them. Kayla assures her daughter that they are right there and they are fine. Steph expresses how upset Philip was and how he told her to take the rest of the day off, noting how he’s still thinking about someone else despite the circumstances. She cries how she wishes there was something else she could do for Philip. Steve and Kayla comfort her.
Brady Pub
Marlena has just met Dr. Charlotte Taylor and apologizes to John for the mistake, stating that Dr. Taylor is much older. Charlotte interjects that Dr. Taylor was her father who died, and she’s taking over his practice. Marlena berates her for not notifying her about it. John encourages Blondie not to get caught up in a technicality, especially when everything’s going so well. A skeptical Marlena recalls how disturbed John was when she passed on his files without his permission, and now he seems fine that Dr. Taylor opened his files even though they were addressed to somebody else. “And then she began treating you,” adds Marlena. Charlotte clarifies that she didn’t treat John, it was just a consultation. “And since I’ve taken over my father’s practice, yes, I do open the mail,” shrugs Charlotte. Marlena says she should’ve been notified. Charlotte informs her that she left several messages at her office and figured she would’ve gotten at least one of them. Marlena reveals that they had a temp. “See what happens when you rush to judgement?” smirks John.
Marlena extends her condolences for her father’s death. Charlotte affirms that she’s very qualified and believes she can help John based on his history and their initial consultation, but has one reservation about the relationship between John and Marlena. Charlotte notes how the boundaries between them are blurred. John reveals that he and Charlotte met in the park, where he found it very “freeing.” Marlena informs Charlotte that John’s condition is medically based, and he needs a battery of neurological tests and therapy. Charlotte needs to know that Marlena will respect the confidentiality of their relationship before they move forward with treatment. John is willing to see Charlotte again if Blondie is willing to back off for his sake. They are interrupted by John’s phone and he excuses himself.
“You realize this is all a bit of a game to John,” states Marlena. “And you realize that I’ve manipulated his feelings for you in order to get him into treatment,” counters Charlotte. The ladies sit down, where Charlotte believes John has gone over the first hurdle, since he’s agreed to see her again. Marlena assumes that Charlotte isn’t as academic as her father. Charlotte reminisces how her daddy loved his research, but believes she’s a lot more like Marlena. Marlena assumes that the commute from St. Claire must be a “devil.” Charlotte informs her that she’s not staying at St. Claire’s and is affiliating with University Hospital. A seemingly jealous Marlena congratulates her and offers to make the transition easier. John returns to the table, where Marlena informs him that Dr. Taylor has joined the staff at University Hospital. He asks if she’s moving to Salem. Charlotte says she’s in the process, but her first priority is to get her office up and running. She reveals that her office is in fact right next door to Marlena’s.
