"David arrives at the Free Clinic to begin his 500 hours of Community Service and is immediately offended when Dr. Janelle Anderson assigns him to scrub used medical instruments so they can be used again. David points out that, at Pine Valley Hospital, those used instruments would just be discarded but Dr. Anderson assures David that the free clinic can afford no such luxuries. Dr. Anderson informs David that his reputation has preceded him and she plans to keep a tight reign on ALL of David's activities. Maggie slips into the clinic unnoticed by David. As David and Janelle tangle, Maggie muscles in and urges David to watch his P's and Q's so that she does not lose yet another family member to the criminal justice system.
Hayley arrives at the Chandler Mansion and reluctantly informs Adam that she and Mateo are moving to California so she can syndicate her show. Adam surprises his daughter by telling Hayley that she should NEVER apologize for success and, as Adam gives her his blessings. father and daughter share a tender farewell.
When Edmund arrives home at Wildwind, he is surprised to find Mateo and Lorenzo, playing with Sam and Maddie. When Mateo informs Edmund that he and Hayley have made the final decision and ARE leaving for California, Edmund expresses his regret that Mateo will NOT be there to help as Maria regains her memory. When Mateo quizzes Edmund on the possibility of Maria regaining her memory, Edmund admits that he has experts working on a solution. When Mateo tells Edmund that Mateo could send Hayley ahead to California alone while Mateo stayed behind to continue to help with Maria's recovery, Edmund urges Mateo to NOT let the woman he loves get on that plane alone!
Meanwhile, Maria is shocked when Aidan collapses at her door at the Pine Cone Motel and she quickly realizes that Aidan has been shot. But, when Maria insists that Aidan let her call the Hospital so he can receive immediate medical attention, Aidan tells Maria that, if any doctor gets involved, Aidan will surely end up dead. Aidan tells Maria that SHE will need to remove the bullet, even though Maria protests that she does NOT remember her medical training. Aidan reminds Maria that she saved Edmund's life with her quick thinking, but Maria insists that Maria only followed David's telephone directions. Aidan tells Maria what medical supplies she will need and tells her that he has always trusted her. Maria grabs the toys she had wrapped for the kids in the Pediatric Ward, stuffs them into a Christmas shopping bag and heads to the Hospital.
Laurie brings her father in to the free clinic, suffering from a lacerated head and, when Laurie realizes that Maggie is there, Laurie begs Maggie to never mention to anyone that Maggie saw Laurie at the free clinic. Maggie assures Laurie that her lips are sealed. Later, Laurie confides to Maggie that her Dad drinks and then picks fights with people in the bar. Dr. Anderson urges Laurie to get her Dad to attend some AA meetings but Laurie tells Dr. Anderson that she doubts that Laurie could ever successfully convince her father to do something like that.
When Maria arrives at the Hospital, she tells the nurse on duty that she brought cookies and presents for the Pediatrics Ward. But, when the Duty Nurse leaves, Maria slips into an unused Emergency room and dumps the presents out on the bed and begins stuffing bandages and antibiotics into the bag. Unfortunately, Opal spots Maria and invites Maria to have a nice long chat in the cafeteria about Opal's memories of Maria. But Maria begs off, claiming to have a headache. Opal notices a blood stain on Maria's blouse, but Maria claims that she had been helping Maddie paint Christmas ornaments and it must be paint. When Opal leaves, Maria finishes filling her bag and returns to the Pine Cone Motel.
A patient is brought in to the free clinic in full cardiac arrest and David reacts automatically, pressing Maggie in to service to perform CPR on the patient. David gets the patient breathing again. And Dr. Anderson admits to being impressed with the way David reacted instinctively to a crisis. After David supervises making sure the cardiac patient is loaded in to the ambulance to be moved to the Pine Valley Hospital, Janelle invites Maggie to volunteer at the Clinic again. Maggie agrees that she would get a lot of practical experience at the clinic. David again asks Janelle to let him begin working on the patients, since Janelle is so desperately in need of every hand she can get, but Janelle informs David that where he is needed most is in sterilizing the instruments, because the need to avoid spreading any kind of infection is critical to the clinic.
After Mateo leaves Wildwind to pick Hayley up at the Chandler Mansion, Maddie gets out of bed and comes to tell Edmund that she is worried that Santa might not find Maria at the Pine Cone Motel. Edmund promises that they will hang a stocking up for Maria at Wildwind.
Hayley, Mateo and Lorenzo share a tender farewell with Adam at the Chandler Mansion.
When Maria returns to the Pine Cone, she finds Aidan delirious and still losing blood. When Aidan regains consciousness, Aidan tells Maria that he was in Special Forces and instructions on how to take care of bullet wounds was part of his training, so Aidan is going to tell Maria what she needs to do, and Maria begins removing the bullet."
- Soap Central