Previously…
– Things once again grew tense between Travis and Rosie after she noticed that he had made amends with Elly.
– After trying to help her track down Sonja and TJ in Idaho, Landon began an apprenticeship as a private investigator with Sarah.
– Brent questioned both Spencer and Natalie about the day that Loretta died.

Soft golden light radiates from the Christmas tree in Paula Fisher‘s living room. The tree’s branches are decorated with an ever-growing collection of decades-old trinkets and newer additions, gifted to her or even handmade by her grandchildren. The air is rich with the aroma of the prime rib being prepared in the kitchen, and the happy sounds of chatter ring through the space. Paula’s heart swells with gratitude as she stands near the fireplace, looking out over the gathering.

Sarah sits on the living room sofa, talking excitedly with Diane; the two longtime friends have just exchanged gifts, which sits in piles of wrapping paper on their laps. Isaac Banks is perched on the arm of the sofa, listening warmly to their conversation. At the entrance to the dining room, Claire nurses a glass of red wine while catching up with Juanita Jimenez.

It wasn’t like this last year. Last Christmas, things were so tense that different factions of the family retreated to separate corners. Travis and Rosie had just relinquished custody of Gabrielle to Molly and Brent, and Paula’s home felt deathly silent on Christmas day. All she could do was pray for healing. And, to a degree — though things are not perfect — healing has happened.

“Everything okay, Mom?” Jason Fisher asks as he sidles up to her. He wears a navy blue turtleneck and holds a glass of eggnog, its surface dusted with nutmeg.

“More than okay,” Paula replies warmly. “I was just thinking about last year…”

“And now we’re all back here, together. Well, most of us.”

“I miss Molly, Brent, and the kids,” she says, “but maybe it’s for the best that they decided to spend the holiday in California with Brent’s family.”

He nods with understanding. “It’ll be good for the kids to see their cousins. And it made it more comfortable for Travis and Rosie to come here.”

“Yes.” A soft smile plays upon her lips. “It’s so nice to have them here and to have the house full. It would make your father so happy, too.”

She casts her glance over at the mantel, where a framed photograph of her and her late husband, taken at Sarah and Matt‘s second wedding, is displayed amongst the green garland. Bill looks so happy, just as he does in so many of her memories; it is still difficult for Paula to reconcile the fact that he would be dead mere months after that photo was taken.

“Yeah, it would,” Jason agrees, his voice tight with emotion.

The chime of the doorbell cuts into this tender moment. Since they are right by the threshold that separates the entryway from the rest of the house, Jason slips past Paula to answer the door. She joins him, eager to see who else has arrived.

“Merry Christmas,” Landon Esco says when Jason opens the door. “Hope I’m not intruding.”

“Of course not!” Paula says. “Merry Christmas, Landon. Come in, please.”

The dark-haired younger man does just that. He wears a black North Face puffer jacket and holds a present, amateurishly wrapped in paper covered in gingerbread men.

“Travis is in the kitchen,” Jason says. “He’s been stationed there all afternoon.”

“I’ll pop in and see him,” Landon says. “Obviously. But I… this is for Tori, actually.”

“Oh. Oh my. I believe she’s in the den,” Paula tells him.

“Thanks, Mrs. Fisher.” Landon quickly moves off, navigating through the assembled family members and friends to go to the back hallway that leads to the den.

“He’s bringing Tori gifts, huh?” Jason says, raising a single eyebrow.

Paula grins back at her son knowingly.

—–

In the dining room, Samantha Fisher finds her half-brother at the sideboard that is serving as a makeshift bar, fixing himself a drink.

“I’d say that Lego set is a hit with Peter,” she comments.

Spencer glances over his shoulder as he squeezes some lime into his glass. “Really? Glad to hear it.”

“He has all 7,000 pieces spread out on the floor,” Samantha says, “and Billy is trying to help him figure it out.”

“Good luck to Billy. That kid acts like directions were invented to offend him.” He takes a quick sip of the cocktail, then sets it down and adds an additional splash of tequila.  He takes another drunk, sighing with satisfaction.

“It’s that kind of Christmas, isn’t it?” she asks.

“Feels like it always is.”

Samantha observes him with concern for a moment as he takes one more glug of the drink.

“How are you doing?” she asks softly. “I know this must be a lot for you, with what happened to your… to Loretta.”

“You know what’s crazy? I had built up this whole narrative in my mind about how the worst part was going to be telling Peter.”

“How did he take it?”

“I don’t know that he really understood. We’ve talked about death and how it means a person isn’t here anymore, but Loretta came and went so many times that he might just think she’s ‘away on a trip’ again. It’s hard to tell.”

Samantha leans a hip against the sideboard. “Were they close?”

“I don’t know about close, per se,” he replies over the rim of his cocktail glass, “but she was his Mimi — she never wanted to be called something as common as Grandma, obviously — and she doted on him.”

“It’s a hard thing for little kids to understand,” Samantha says. “But how about you? How are you handling it?”

“I don’t know,” Spencer admits. “She was a monster. She hurt a lot of people I care about, and she kept me from all of you until I was in my 20s. I’m really clear on all that.”

“But…”

Spencer gazes around the cheerful gathering, then says, “She was my mother, as far as I knew, for a long, long time. Sometimes it was hard to square that with all the things she did, like kidnapping Rosie and Gabrielle.”

“Do you know for sure that she did that?”

“Do I have proof? Not really. But I know she did.” He takes another pensive drink of the cocktail. “She hated this family, Samantha.”

“It definitely seemed like it.”

“She did. So there’s this sense of relief I feel, too, but I feel weirdly guilty about it.” He shakes his head. “I don’t know. In a way, whoever did this did a lot of people a favor.”

“We ran into Finn a few nights ago,” Samantha says. “He was pretty smug about how Uncle Brent had to let him go. Do they have any other leads yet?”

“Not that I know of. Brent wanted to talk to me, but it was more of a fact-finding thing.”

“Did you have anything to tell him?”

“Not really. He wanted a timeline of that day, so all I could really tell him was how Loretta was at the house and had a stylist coming to do her hair. They’re trying to track who could’ve poisoned her.”

“The stylist wouldn’t have had a motive, would they?” Samantha queries.

“I don’t think so. But that’s the thing,” Spencer says, casting a quick look around before lowering his voice. “Guess who hired the stylist for her?”

“Who?”

“My devoted wife.”

Samantha gasps but quickly lifts a hand to cover her mouth, conscious of not being overheard. “Aunt Natalie wouldn’t…”

“Think about that for a minute before you finish the thought,” Spencer says. “We’ll see what the police find, but after some of the stunts Natalie has pulled… I wouldn’t put it past her.”

—–

“Ho ho ho!” Landon calls out as he enters the Fishers’ kitchen, still carrying the wrapped present. Tim, who is standing at the counter with a glass of Scotch in hand, turns.

“Merry Christmas, Landon,” he says while Travis finishes attending to the smashed potatoes cooking on the stove.

Travis sets down the wooden spoon on a trivet and nods at the present that Landon is holding. “Aw, you shouldn’t have.”

“Don’t get greedy,” Landon says. “Not for you.” He places the gift on the kitchen table, which is doubling as a prep station for the holiday feast.

“Then who could it be for?” Travis asks teasingly.

“What am I missing here?” Tim inquires with amusement.

As he wipes his hands on red-and-green dishtowel, Travis explains, “Landon and Tori went on a date.”

Tim reacts with wonder. “You and Tori? Wow. I’m not sure I saw that one coming.”

Landon shrugs. “I’m full of surprises.” He looks to Travis. “I saw Rosie on my way in here. It’s good you guys could be with the whole crew this year.”

“Yeah, it is,” Travis says, a note of weariness betraying his underlying discomfort about the state of his marriage, though the way that he immediately returns his attention to checking on the potatoes seems like a hint not to pry.

Landon changes the subject. “Mr. Fisher, I’m glad I ran into you, actually.”

“Why’s that?” Tim asks.

“I know Sarah told you that she has me helping out with your case,” Landon tells him. “And I have some– not exactly news about Sonja and your son, but updates.”

Tim’s eyes grow wider. “Really?”

“This probably isn’t the most ethical, but I managed to put an I.P. tracker on Sonja’s known e-mail account,” Landon says. “So if she connects to a network and logs in…”

“You might be able to track it?” Tim says. “That could be huge.”

“It’s a lot of steps, and it isn’t foolproof, but it’s something.”

“That sounds like the best shot in a while,” Travis says.

“I want to do the best job I can for Sarah — and for all her clients,” Landon says. “And the first thing that means is bringing TJ home in the new year.”

—–

Sarah Fisher Gray exits the house with yet another paper bag full of wrapping paper, broken-down gift boxes, and other holiday detritus. Having neglected to put on a coat for the quick run out to the trash pails, she shivers against the December cold, which is even sharper now that the sun has receded behind the horizon. As she descends the side stairs toward the driveway, she nearly bumps into Rosie Jimenez.

“Oh. Hey,” Sarah says with surprise.

Rosie holds out her hands. “Here, let me take that. I just took out a bunch of recycling for Travis and Matt.”

Sarah steps down from the final stair. “I’ve got it. But thanks.”

She crosses to the large, blue recycling bin and lifts the lid. As she is depositing the bag in there, she notices Rosie lingering rather than hurrying back inside. She, too, is without a coat, merely sporting a heavy sweater.

“I’m glad you and Travis felt comfortable coming today,” Sarah says as she closes the lid. “I know it must help that Molly and Brent are out-of-town.”

“I’m not sure I could’ve handled that yet. I’d like to think I could, but…” Rosie grimaces. “I’m sure you’ve heard that I’ve been a little all-over-the-place lately.”

“If there’s anyone who knows what it’s like to be all-over-the-place in this family, it’s me,” Sarah replies with a reassuring smile. “You have every reason to be feeling not like yourself, Rosie.”

“Thanks.” Rosie folds her arms, shielding herself against the cold.

“And I know how it feels to get run over by the Molly Steam-roller,” Sarah continues.  “My sister has a way of, uh, pulling focus. And you wind up feeling crazy for being frustrated by it.”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

“I wish I could tell you exactly when or jhow,” Sarah says, “but things are going to get better, Rosie. That Gabrielle-shaped hole in your heart… it won’t close up, but it’ll get easier to live with. You and Travis have something really special. Lean on each other.”

Rosie stares down at the driveway and kicks the toe of her shoe against the pavement. “Sometimes it feels like we can’t get on the same page anymore.”

“Welcome to marriage.” Sarah reaches out and rubs Rosie’s arms, as much to confer physical warmth as emotional comfort. “During one of the most painful times of my life, after I lost a baby, I pushed Matt away. It was like I was hurting so badly that I needed him to hurt the exact same way, too. I don’t know. But I wish I’d been able to take a step back and see what I was doing and stop myself.”

“I don’t want to push Travis away,” Rosie says. “I already quit my job, and we lost Gabrielle…”

“Then don’t push him away. And don’t let him push you away. You guys need each other.”

“You’re right. I know you’re right.”

“It’s nice to hear someone say so,” Sarah says, throwing in a laugh to lighten the mood. “Now how about we get back inside before we freeze to death?”

“You’re definitely right about that,” Rosie responds as they hurry back up the stairs toward the respite of the house.

—–

“Thanks for the heated blanket,” Tori tells Landon. They stand in the den of the Fisher home, where a fire crackles quietly.

“I remember you saying it’s always freezing in the office,” he says. “Since it’s for work, I thought I shouldn’t get you the one with unicorns and rainbows. Unless…”

“No, the sage green is perfect for the office. And I appreciate you remembering me randomly complaining about how cold it is there.”

“And I appreciate you getting me a new toaster,” Landon says, gesturing to the sleek, midcentury-style appliance on the coffee table.

“The last time I was at your apartment, the current one looked like it was going to burst into flames. And I know how many PopTarts you run through that thing.”

He lifts one palm. “Guilty as charged.”

Tori grins. “Did we just get each other the most boring, practical Christmas gifts ever?”

“You say boring and practical… I say actually useful. Who needs another diamond necklace?”

She laughs. “Have you gotten a lot of diamond necklaces for other Christmases?”

Snickering, Landon glances around the room, then points upward. “You know what else is practical?”

“What?”

“That.” He directs her gaze toward a sprig of mistletoe hanging in the doorway that leads to the back hallway.

“Oh really?” she asks coyly. “What is that good for?”

“So I’ve heard this thing…” He lightly touches her arm, guiding her to the doorway. “That if you stand under this…”

Tori takes a step forward, joining him beneath the mistletoe. Their eyes meet, and she could swear that she sees actual glitter spinning through the air, surrounding them, as their faces draw nearer.

“There you are!” a voice interrupts, and they step back from one another as Matt comes down the hallway toward them. “Glad I found you guys.”

“Hey, Dad,” Tori says, a little awkwardly. “What’s up?”

“Well, dinner’s almost ready,” Matt says, “but since Landon’s here, I wanted to fill you both in on something. I had a run-in with Lucy at the restaurant the other day…”

Accepting that the magical moment has passed, Tori does her best to focus on what her father is telling them — but she continues stealing glances at Landon, wondering when they will have a moment like that again. Very soon, she hopes.

END OF EPISODE 1246

Are Tori and Landon ready for the next step?
Will Rosie heed Sarah’s advice?
Is Spencer going to turn on Natalie?
Talk about it all in the comments below!

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