Christmas time has rolled around again, allowing the 118 to respond to Christmas themed callouts. Maddie is finally able to get closure regarding Doug. Michael reveals shocking news to Bobby. Athena and Buck put together Christmas dinner so the families of the 118 can celebrate together while the 118 is on call.
Christmas comes to Los Angeles again, but at a shopping center, a woman who was being pushed aside with finding a parking spot, getting in, and finding the right gift for her kids, finally snaps when someone else snatches it from her, and begins blasting everyone around her with mace. When the store Santa tries to intervene, it appears to work, but the woman was faking it as she maces him as well with still declaring the toy hers. However, in the end, the woman is arrested by Athena, and when she thinks she'll still get the toy, Athena tells her to forget it as that toy is evidence, and it is going into the LAPD Evidence Locker, while the woman will have to pay a visit to the psych ward because of her little episode, much to the woman's consternation, disbelief, and shock. When some kids ask about if Santa will be okay, Buck makes the mistake of saying that the Santa they're treating is not the "real" Santa, causing the kids to cry, and himself to look like an idiot for even saying it.
When the 118 are then called later to LAX after a airport crewman is sucked into a plane's engine, they find that, by some miracle, the crewman is okay, as the engine was disabled from a set of golf clubs being sucked in, a result of the owner of said clubs not wanting to let them out of his sight, but due to TSA policy, and an impatient crewman loading the luggage into the cart and planting the clubs on the cart's gas pedal in order to get it loaded faster, that's what saved the one crewman's life, while the owner faints upon seeing his clubs destroyed.
Athena later is startled to find her ex-husband Michael in bed instead of Bobby when she wakes up one night, and Michael has no idea how he ended up there. As an apology, he returns the house key to them and leaves, unsure of how it happened, and to make sure he doesn't get in again when he can't figure out why.
The 118 are called to a home where the mom has collapsed from having a heart attack. Maddie attempts to guide the son in CPR until they arrive, but when they do arrive, they initially can't resuscitate her, but after some effort, they get a pulse back, and rush her to the hospital. Hen comforts the son and assures him he did everything right before she has to leave and entrust the son to LAPD until Child Services get there.
Meanwhile, Michael is on his way out of a store after doing some shopping, but his vision is blurry and he's walking abnormally, even staggering, so instead of going out the automatic doors, he smashes right through the glass next to them, leaving him in stunned shock upon realizing what happened. When Athena arrives at Cedars-Sinai later, she refuses to accept any excuses Michael has for what happened, and when she decides to turn and leave in disgust, he begs her to stay as this is his first Christmas without her and the kids with him since their divorce. Nevertheless, he promises after the holidays to get checked out to see what's wrong with him and thanks Athena for coming to get him.
Hen and Karen are retrieving their gifts while discussing the son that is in Child Services protection until the mother is discharged from the hospital, causing them to wonder if they would have been in a similar case when they were his age, and know the kid is very lucky.
Back with Athena and Bobby, Bobby reveals that he's been given a clear bill of health from when he was contaminated with Cobalt-60, much to Athena's relief, and they happily go to sleep together.
Later, the 118 is summoned to deal with a girl who literally turned blue from using too much benzocaine to deal with a toothache, after she was initially mistaken for being downhearted because of the holidays and was going to be redirected to the mental health services. When she suffers a seizure, Chimney and Hen quickly administer a double dose of medication that reverses the effects of the benzocaine and restores the girl's skin color to normal along with turning her blood back to red from looking like chocolate syrup. When she still complains of her toothache and dealing with it at work, Hen assures her she earned herself a day off because of what just happened with them saving her life.
When the 118 returns to the station, Athena is waiting for them, revealing that many of their friends, family, and co-workers decided to throw them a Christmas dinner as thanks for all their hard work. Even the home that the one boy was sent to while his mother was in the hospital, he's there with the other kids to enjoy some of the stuff the crew has around the firehouse for entertainment and leisure. Even Maddie arrives with the mom, fully recovered, reuniting with her son, and everyone digs in before the alarm rings to call the 118 out on another emergency. Gifts are passed out, and Bobby thanks Athena for everything, with Buck having been involved with the preparations himself.
However, noticing Michael standing alone, Bobby goes to talk to him, and Michael confesses that he has a brain tumor, but doesn't want Athena or the kids to know. Bobby promises to keep it a secret, and everyone gathers for a group photo, ending the episode with everyone saying "Merry Christmas!" as the photo is taken.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- Armed with Pepper Spray: The episode begins with a woman spraying a bunch of shoppers trying to fight over the last of an item. She then sprays Santa Claus when he tries to talk her down. This leads to her being arrested by Athena, and when she thinks she'll still get what she wanted, Athena drops the hammer that she's not getting it as its going into the LAPD Evidence Locker while she's going to the psych ward for her little episode.
- Christmas Episode: Second one of the series.
- Mall Santa
- Not Hyperbole: When a woman calls 911 because she's blue, dispatch first tries to direct her to mental health services before she clarifies that she is literally blue. She took too much benzocaine cream for a toothache.
- Wham Episode: The episode ends with Michael telling Bobby that he just found out that he has a brain tumor.
