Previously…
– Newlyweds Natalie and Spencer hosted a Christmas gathering at their new house for the entire Bishop clan.
– Rosie busted Caleb buying drugs but, instead of arresting him, turned him over to Brent and Molly. They grounded him for the entire semester.
– Tori finally opened up about her pregnancy to her parents and the rest of her family. She was shocked when Zane showed up at the Fishers’ Christmas celebration.

 

“Oh, how beautiful!” Helen Chase says with a gasp when she flings open the front door of the Fisher home, revealing a gorgeous arrangement of red and white roses. “I wonder who could have…”

As the flowers are lowered, however, it is not a deliveryperson holding them, but Zane Tanaka.

“Is Tori here?” he asks. “There are for her.”

Helen turns to see Tori Gray lingering at the edge of the entryway, stunned into silence by Zane’s surprise appearance. Behind her, Paula Fisher’s annual Christmas gathering continues to play out, with carols dancing in the air and family members chatting merrily over appetizers and drinks.

“What are you doing here?” Tori demands as she storms toward the door.

“I wanted to give you these.” Zane holds out the arrangement, but Tori makes no move to accept it.

“Just hear me out for a minute,” he says.

Tori remains stone-faced.

“I don’t think Victoria has any interest in speaking with you,” Helen cuts in.

Zane frowns at her but suppresses any other reaction.

“You drop this bomb on me, and then I barely hear from you for weeks,” he says. “That baby you’re carrying — that’s mine, too.”

“Yeah. And now you know,” Tori says, every muscle in her face held tight as can be. “Merry Christmas.”

She reaches for the door, but despite his hands still being full of the flowers, Zane uses his shoulder to block it.

“I couldn’t let Christmas pass without seeing you,” he says. “Being with you last year — that’s the closest thing to a real Christmas I’ve had in a long, long time. My family is… Look, they’re a mess, and I’ve had to go it on my own a lot, and I’ve made some really stupid decisions. But the time I spent with you — that was real, and it’s the happiest I’ve ever been, and I’ll never forgive myself for having it start off with a lie. Because it wasn’t a lie. Everything that came after we got together — that was real.” 

Tori holds her breath as she listens to him.

“I’m not going to pressure you, and I’m not going to take you away from your family today,” Zane continues. “But I had to see you, and I had to tell you that if you do want to keep this baby — if you want us to be a family and do this together — then that’s what I want, too. It’s what I want anyway. I couldn’t let you make your decision without making sure you knew that.”

He holds out the flowers awkwardly again, but Tori does not reach out for them.

“Here, I’ll take those,” Helen says, scooping the flowers away from him and setting them on a nearby console table.

With the physical barrier between them removed, the whole thing feels even more raw to Tori.

“Just think about it,” Zane says. “Merry Christmas, Tori.”

“Who was that?” Sarah asks, poking her head into the entryway just as Helen closes the door. She stops in her tracks when she sees the vibrant flowers and Tori’s tense posture.

“That bastard,” Sarah says as she hurries to her daughter. “Are you okay? What did he do?”

“I’m okay,” Tori says.

“I didn’t want to leave her alone with him,” Helen chimes in.

“Thanks, Helen.” Sarah places her hands on Tori’s shoulders. “Don’t let Zane get to you, okay? If he keeps harassing you–”

“He wasn’t harassing me,” Tori says, finally exhaling. “He wanted to talk about the baby.”

“You don’t owe him anything. Remember that,” Sarah says.

Tori nods numbly as Zane’s speech continues to circle through her mind.

—–

“I don’t want you going through this alone,” Diane Bishop says insistently. “Are you sure that you don’t want to tell everyone?”

She stands with her increasingly frail father in the back hallway of her sister and Spencer Ragan’s new house. Poppy Christmas music plays over the state-of-the-art speaker system, but it might as well be a million miles away; Diane stares Henry down, needing him to know how serious she is. Before he can respond, however, another voice snatches both their attention.

“Tell everyone what?”

Father and daughter turn to see Samantha Fisher standing mere feet away.

Diane and Henry trade nervous looks. His weak eyes plead with her as hard as they can.

“Your grandfather and I were talking about your Aunt Natalie,” Diane lies. “He thinks this marriage is as much of a farce as I do.”

“Oh.” Samantha shifts her weight awkwardly, surprised by the nakedness of the statement. She carefully glances behind herself before saying, “It’s really weird that she and Spencer are married.”

“I don’t like that Bree and Peter are being…” Henry’s sentence is interrupted by a hoarse cough. “…being subjected to this… this instability.”

“We were wondering if we should say something and put everyone out of their misery,” Diane fills in for her daughter’s benefit.

Samantha pushes her glasses up on her nose. “I mean, it’s their life…”

Henry nods quickly. “That’s what I think. We can all endure this for a few hours. Right?”

“Right,” Samantha says cheerily.

“Were you looking for the restroom?” Diane asks. “It’s right there.” She points to the open door.

“Great. Thanks.” Samantha slides past them.

Diane waits until the door is closed and locked before she says anything else to her father.

“Is that really how you want your family to find out that you’re dying? By overhearing a conversation?” she asks.

“No,” he says firmly, and suddenly she can see the austere father she remembers so well come back to life within him. “And that’s why we are finished discussing this. Let’s go enjoy Christmas, Diane.”

He returns to the party, using the wall to steady himself as he goes. Diane stays behind, desperately in need of a moment to herself to process his deteriorating state and the secret she is being forced to keep.

—–

In Paula’s dining room, Jason Fisher weaves his way over to the makeshift bar, where Conrad Halston is pouring himself another scotch.

“I owe you an apology,” Jason announces.

Conrad turns with surprise. “What do you mean?”

Jason stuffs his hands into the pockets of his navy trousers. “You were right about Natalie. I should’ve listened to you. I was completely blind to who she actually is.”

“You were in love,” Conrad says, lowering his head sympathetically.

“I was in denial. Anyway, I remembered you trying to warn me, and I should have listened. I’m sorry for snapping at you.”

“It’s long forgotten.” Conrad takes a sip of his scotch. “I’m sorry for what you’re going through, Jason.”

“Thanks.” Jason reaches for a bottle of red wine and begins to pour himself a glass. “Have you gotten a sense of how Bree’s doing?”

Conrad’s eyes widen with concern. “Hasn’t she been having lessons with you?”

“Yeah, but she puts on such a happy face all the time. Keeps her head down, practices hard, then goes home. I get the sense that she’s keeping a lot inside.”

“She’s been staying at the townhouse with me since Natalie moved in with Spencer,” Conrad says. “I don’t think she wants to face what’s going on there.”

“Her and the rest of us.” Jason takes a hearty slug of his wine. “She’s such a good kid. I was really looking forward to being her stepfather. I’m just glad to know that she has you to balance out Natalie.”

“Here’s hoping that I can do that,” Conrad says, lifting both his eyebrows and his glass.

“Here’s hoping,” Jason repeats as he lifts his own drink and clinks it against Conrad’s.

—–

“Man, I can’t believe Tori’s gonna have a baby,” Marcus Gray says as he plops down onto the couch in the Fishers’ den.

Christian Taylor, who is standing by the fireplace watching the flames leap and fall, nods in agreement. “It’s so weird.”

“She doesn’t look too happy about it,” Caleb Taylor comments, despite having his head buried in his phone on the loveseat opposite where Marcus is seated.

“Would you be?” Christian asks.

Caleb looks up from his phone to roll his eyes at his twin. “I’m not exactly gonna get pregnant, dumbass.”

“You know what I mean.”

Caleb sets his phone down on the glass-topped coffee table. “This is so boring. You guys want to do something fun?”

Marcus looks over at him with interest. “Like what?”

“Let’s sneak some booze from the bar.” A mischievous twinkle lights up Caleb’s gaze. “What do you say?”

“How would we even do that?” Christian asks. “It’s, like, right in the middle of everything.”

“Yeah, we’d get caught,” Marcus says.

“That’s why we have to be smart,” Caleb tells them. “Sneaky.”

Christian shakes his head. “And then what? We’re drunk and Mom notices and we get in trouble?”

“We’re not gonna be, like, falling down and puking everywhere,” Caleb says. “Just a little buzz. Do you guys know how bored I’ve been? For months? It’s even worse now that soccer’s over. I go to school, I go home, I go back to school…” 

“You’re lucky Mom and Dad even let you play,” Christian says.

“I just want this semester to be over so my grounding is done and I can do shit again. In the meantime…” He stands up and grabs his phone. “Who’s coming with me? I’m getting a drink.”

Christian and Marcus exchange wary looks.

“I don’t think it’s such a great idea, Caleb,” Marcus finally says. “My parents would be pissed.”

“Fine. Then I’m going in alone.” Caleb hovers by the door for a few more seconds, but when neither of the other boys makes a move, he leaves on his own.

“Do you think he’ll actually pull it off?” Marcus asks.

Christian regards the spot where his twin brother was standing moments ago. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

—–

After using the restroom, Samantha decides to explore her half-brother’s new house. In the formal living room, she finds Bree Halston curled up on the black Chesterfield sofa, scrolling through something on her iPhone.

“Taking a break?” Samantha asks her cousin softly.

Bree looks up. “I guess. Yeah.”

Samantha straightens her cranberry-colored sweater as she comes further into the expansive room. A woodsy candle burns calmly atop the coffee table.

“How are you doing?” Sam asks her cousin. “I’m sure this…” She uses one hand to gesture around the house. “…has to be a lot.”

Bree purses her lips and hesitates before answering, “It’s fine. Kind of weird, you know?”

“My brother married my aunt. So, yes, it’s weird.”

That gets a small laugh out of the teenager.

“You’ve been staying at your dad’s?” Samantha asks.

“Yeah. My mom and Spencer set up a room for me here, but…”

Samantha perches on the arm of the sofa. “It probably doesn’t feel like home.”

“No way.” Bree shakes her head for emphasis, causing her long, blonde hair to sway gently. “So I’ll just stay out of the way.”

“You shouldn’t have to stay out of the way, Bree. It’s your life, too.”

“It’s always about my mom. I feel like you know how that can be, too.”

“That’s true.” Samantha offers a sympathetic nod. “Are you mad at Aunt Natalie for marrying Spencer?”

“Mad? No. I… She told me it was just a legal thing, because of Peter. But then we were moving in here, and they’re throwing this Christmas dinner, and it means Jason doesn’t get to see Peter. It’s gross!”

“Have you said any of this to your mom?”

Bree shrugs. “Not really.”

“Maybe you should. Maybe she hasn’t thought about how it makes you feel.”

That idea seems to puzzle Bree.

“You should let her know if she’s hurting you,” Samantha adds. “Sometimes people don’t always think through how their actions affect people they care about, or they’re eager to believe it’ll all be fine. But if it isn’t fine, you should tell her.”

A long, quiet moment passes between them. Bree stares off at the white painted bricks of the fireplace.

“I just wish everything could go back to how it was,” she says at last. “With Mom, Jason, Sophie, Peter, and me being a family. I liked that. I liked it a lot.”

“I know you did.” Samantha slides down onto the sofa and wraps an arm around her cousin. “Everything’s going to be okay. If you ever need someone, you have me. Okay?”

“Thanks,” Bree says, but her body is still tense as Sam holds her.

—–

Out on the deck that overlooks Paula’s backyard, Conrad is taking a phone call.

“I’m glad you like the Apple TV,” he says. “I remembered you saying you wanted one.”

He turns at the sound of the glass door sliding open as Molly joins him on the deck, a black coat draped over her shoulders to shield her from the cold. He smiles at her and holds up his index finger to indicate that he’ll be done shortly.

“Thank you,” he says into the phone. “Merry Christmas to you, too, Grace. I love you.”

Molly grins as she watches him finish up his call and put his phone away.

“How’s Grace?” she asks.

“She’s doing well. Sorry, we’d been playing phone tag all day.”

“You don’t have to apologize for talking to your daughter on Christmas.” She glances back toward the house. “I wouldn’t blame anyone for needing a break from all this. Family gatherings here usually aren’t the calmest.”

“I’d say this one has been pretty sedate.”

“So far,” she says with a wink. “But thank you for being here. It means a lot to spend Christmas with you.”

“Thank you for having me.” He plants a kiss on her lips.

When they part, Conrad pauses, his lips flattening into a tight line. Molly stares at him.

“What is it?” she asks.

“Just something I’ve been thinking.”

She waits another few seconds and folds her arms beneath the draped coat. “Are you going to keep me in suspense, or…?”

“I’m falling in love with you, Molly.” He rubs her covered arms. “You don’t have to say anything back right now–”

“I’m falling in love with you, too,” she blurts out.

The dual admission sparks a sudden burst of warmth between them.

Conrad beams as he says, “That’s a much better Christmas present than that necklace I got you.”

“I don’t know. It is a really nice necklace,” she says.

“What can I say? I do have excellent taste,” he teases as he leans in to kiss her again, this time more passionately.

—–

“Girls!” Natalie calls around a corner. “Dinner’s ready!”

Samantha and Bree return to the kitchen and pass through it to the dining room, where everyone else has taken their seats. The rectangular table has been immaculately decorated in reds and golds, down to the small placecards indicating everyone’s assigned seats. Bree sits between Peter and Claudia, while Samantha finds herself between Henry and Diane on the opposite side. Natalie and Spencer each have a seat at one end of the table.

“Everything looks amazing, Aunt Natalie,” Samantha says, taking in the enticing sights and scents of the Christmas roast, scalloped potatoes, green beans, and more.

“Yes. Very indulgent,” Claudia adds.

“Thank you,” Natalie says as she picks up her wine glass. “Before we begin, Spencer and I would like to thank all of you for joining us in our new home today.”

Bree catches Samantha’s eye across the table; her annoyance is not difficult to read.

“It means so much to have family gathered together. I’d say this was a year where we all came to understand and appreciate family in new and surprising ways–”

“Very surprising,” Spencer comments dryly from the other end.

Natalie shoots him a sharp glare before continuing: “So here’s to another year of togetherness, joy, and getting everything we want, come hell or high water.”

“What a beautiful holiday sentiment,” Diane says, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she lifts her own glass.

“Merry Christmas, everyone!” Natalie declares as glasses clink and cheers are uttered around the table.

—–

“I’m so sorry you have that harridan as a daughter-in-law!” Helen tells Tim in the corner of the living room, besides the glowing tree. “I wouldn’t wish her on my worst enemy. Well, maybe.”

“Yeah, it’s not exactly conventional,” he responds, “or what I expected, but all we can really do is band together for Peter’s sake, you know?”

“If I were in charge of the case,” Helen says, “and let me tell you, I know quite a lot about the legal system after my brushes with the law — I wouldn’t have her anywhere near an impressionable child.”

“I can’t believe I’m about to say this,” Jason interjects as he sidles up beside them, “but I’m with you on that one, Helen.”

Tim regards his brother with a stony look and makes the decision to bite his tongue — at least for the time being.

In the dining table, Molly finds one of her sons pressed up against the bar sneakily.

“Are you going to go for the mulled wine or the Chilean Chardonnay?” she asks.

Caleb nearly jumps out of his skin. Lips fumbling, he replies, “What are you talking about?”

“Nice try. If anything other than soda goes into that cup of yours, you can kiss spring semester goodbye, too.”

“Mom–”

“Don’t Mom me. It’s Christmas. Don’t make me bother your dad while he’s down in California.”

“I wasn’t doing anything,” Caleb insists.

“Great. Then we don’t have a problem.” She picks up a two-liter bottle of cola. “So, how about that soda?”

Across the room, Matt steps out of the kitchen, a dishtowel slung over his shoulder.

“How’s dinner coming?” Sarah asks as she comes over to him. “Do you and Travis need any help?”

“Nah. Got everything covered.” He wipes his sweaty brow. “I just needed to cool down for a sec. It’s a million degrees in there.”

She drapes her arms over his shoulders, resting one wrist atop the dishtowel. “Have I told you how happy I am that you’re back home again? I missed you so much.”

“I missed you, too.”

Their eyes lock, speaking volumes without the need for any words.

“How’s Tori doing?” he asks. “Zane hasn’t turned up again, has he?”

“No, but I can tell he got inside her head. I have half a mind to go throw those flowers into traffic just so she can’t stare at them anymore.”

“I’ll help you.”

“Look at us,” Sarah comments, swaying slightly as she holds onto him. “Talking teamwork.”

“That’s what it’s gonna be from now. Teamwork.”

“I love that,” she says, “and I love you.”

“I love you, too, Sarah.”

She smiles. “I don’t think there’s any mistletoe in this house, so this spot is as good as any.” She kisses her husband, savoring the familiarity of his warmth and his strength and his kindness; it all gives her hope for the year ahead and for how they will help their daughter through this difficult time she is facing.

Paula stands in the threshold between the living and dining rooms, taking it all in. It is a rare quiet moment for her in the thick of the family holiday celebration, and she steps aside to enjoy the peace. She finds herself beside an end table, where a photo of her and Bill from Sarah and Matt’s second wedding rests in a silver frame.

“Oh, my darling Bill,” she says, touching a hand to the glass covering the photograph. “How I wish you were here.”

She picks up the frame. “Merry Christmas, Bill. I know you’re watching over us. I just know it.”

Paula closes her eyes as she holds the frame close to her.

END OF EPISODE 957

Did Zane’s gesture get under Tori’s skin?
Will Natalie and Spencer be able to cohabitate?
What were the most touching Christmas moments?
Discuss it all in the comments below!

Next Episode