Jessica was devastated when Viki explained the painful truth of her conception and birth. Jessica was horrified when Viki admitted she'd willingly given Jessica to Mitch immediately after she'd been born. Seth accused Rex of having put Jessica in danger when he'd told her about Natalie's marriage to Mitch. Cristian broke up Rex and Seth's fight. Mitch overheard Cristian telling Natalie that he was going to end things with Jen once and for all. Mitch later went to see Jen.
Nora was caught going through Daphne's files but not before she realized Troy and Lindsay had both been at the jewelry store on the same day. Nora later confronted Troy with the information, but he tried to cover before being called away. Sam told Nora he had seen Lindsay harassing Troy. A curious Nora began to snoop through Troy's desk.
Jen was incredulous when Lindsay suggested that Troy might still have feelings for her. Antonio turned to Troy for answers about having a paternity test conducted on Liz's baby.
At the Buchanan mansion, Asa and Max discussed their deal to get rid of their respective wives, Rae and Roxy. Max produced the goods first -- an envelope containing Rae's divorce agreement.
At the Palace bar, Renee, sporting a languid Cabaret-style coif, continued her con on Rae. She faked another drunken scene, swilling "liquor" straight out of the bottle, and told Rae that Asa would never part with ninety percent of his holdings. At Renee's challenge, Rae agreed to consult with Gabrielle, who had just returned from the ballet with Nigel. Nigel was lavishly decked out in white tie, an evening cape, and a top hat. He professed his admiration for the previous Mrs. Buchanan and felt Asa was wrong about her.
At Rae's prompting, Gabrielle revealed that Asa had left her without a cent. Renee was jubilantly victorious in her prediction of Gabrielle's response. As Renee and Rae continued their acerbic banter about Asa, bar-side, Gabrielle confided to Nigel that she wished Bo's life didn't always have to be filled with police emergencies. Nigel appreciated that Gabrielle had true feelings for Bo. Hank happened by on both conversations and learned that Rae was "willing to give up on [her] marriage." With romance in his eyes, Hank told Rae he was "interested to see how that plays out."
Rex stopped by the Millhouse, looking for Jessica, but Roxy was preoccupied with her latest conquest: Asa Buchanan had the "hots" for her. Drinking from a leopard-covered, ostrich-trimmed martini shaker, she shared her plan to use Asa's "affections" to make Max jealous and want her. Rex pointed out the stupidity of her plan: Asa was rich. He encouraged her to "hop on that gravy train."
Roxy knew her son was imagining himself a big trust fund, but Rex feigned love and concern for his mom. Wishing her the best, he left to continue searching for Jessica. The phone rang, and it was Asa amorously calling Roxy his "Buttercup." He extended an invitation to share Christmas together in New York, complete with a whopping shopping spree for Roxy. Listening from Asa's speakerphone at his mansion, Max and Asa clinked glasses in triumph as Roxy agreed and hung up.
Max returned home, and Roxy handed him his present, telling him not to worry -- he didn't have to "regurgitate." Roxy's bags were packed, and she was out the door. But a moment after her departure, Max plucked a slick zoom-lens camera out of the desk drawer and followed.
Rae returned home and was both surprised and delighted that Asa had accepted the divorce papers. As Asa left the room, she elatedly whispered, "I'm rich! I'm rich!"
Todd stopped by Llanfair to see Viki and tossed in a nasty quip about Cristian moving in on the other sister. He told them he "got by Bo's little boys in blue" because they had been busy escorting a man off the property. Todd left because Viki wasn't there, and Natalie and Cristian construed that the man had to have been Mitch. Despite Natalie's objections for his safety, Cristian left to end things with Jen.
Jessica was horrified to learn that it was Viki who had let Mitch take her as a baby and not Niki Smith. She angrily announced, "You're not my mother!" Their emotions soared as they tearfully screamed back and forth. Jessica believed that her mom had "blocked [her] out of [her] mind" because of the rape by Mitch Laurence. Jessica had ambivalent feelings about her identity and credited Mitch with at least telling her the truth. Racing out of the gatehouse, she told Viki she "never want[ed] to see [her] again!"
Bo arrived with the report that his officers had escorted Mitch from the grounds of Llanfair. Bo tried to comfort Viki. Todd arrived at the gatehouse and found Viki and Bo. After he told Viki that she looked like "death," he respected her wishes for him to leave and asked her to call him later. Bo continued to console Viki and encouraged her to "be strong." Viki vowed to get her daughter back.
Mitch visited Jen at her loft and revealed that Natalie and Cristian were together at that very moment, and Cristian was on his way home to break up with her. Jen was petulant and resistant to Mitch's slimy schmooze and held the door open for him to leave.
Cristian arrived home to Jen. The tension between the couple was palpable. He finally said it. Cristian confessed he was in love with Natalie. Jen revealed her evasion to his pending confession and confided she still loved him. She was surprisingly accepting of his love for Natalie and thanked him with an embrace for the love they had shared.
With tears on her cheeks, Jen amicably handed Cristian his Christmas present. He left and outside the door read the card to "the daddy of our baby." Slithering out of the deeply recessed shadows of the loft, Mitch leaned in close to her and quietly assured Jen that he was "glad [she] decided to play things [his] way."
Natalie lingered on the terrace at Llanfair, and Jessica found her. Jessica revealed Mitch Laurence was her father. Natalie, in disbelief, tried to console her. But Jessica described her conversation with their mother in detail and confirmed that it was quite true. She described herself as being "half a monster" with a mother that didn't want her. Jessica felt like she was "nothing." Despite Natalie's reassurances that she was very loved, Jessica ran away declaring she "never want[ed] to see any of [them] ever again!"
Due to the Christmas holiday, One Life to Live did not air this day. The show resumed Thursday, December 26, where Tuesday's show concluded.
Liz, Keri, Antonio, R.J., Hank, and Carlotta all got together at Liz's house for a Christmas Eve celebration. They managed to keep things fairly civil until Carlotta complained that Antonio wouldn't be spending Christmas Day with her. Antonio and Keri finally explained that the reason they'd invited everyone to get together on Christmas Eve was that the two of them wanted to spend a quiet Christmas together, alone.
Liz took the hint and offered to stay at the Palace Hotel for the night. Hank offered Liz his couch to sleep on, but R.J. suggested that she stay at his apartment in Keri's old room, and Liz accepted. Everyone left, and Keri and Antonio celebrated the peace and quiet with a kiss under the mistletoe.
Lindsay delivered some Christmas presents to Jen and explained to her daughter how she'd left a copy of Troy and Joanna's marriage certificate in Troy's office for Nora to find. She told Jen that obsessing over Cristian wasn't good for her, but Lindsay couldn't seem to understand that she was doing the exact same thing with Troy. Lindsay was confident that once Nora found the marriage certificate and broke up with Troy, he would be all hers.
Nora confessed to Troy that she'd snooped in his desk at work and found something she shouldn't have. Troy was nervous about what she'd found until she told him it was a diamond ring. He pulled it out and asked her to marry him; he was afraid of losing her. "You're stuck with me," Nora informed him as the couple headed off to bed to make love. Later, Troy slipped the ring on Nora's finger as Lindsay spied on them through a window.
Al stopped by Bo and Gabrielle's in a Santa suit. He had just played Santa for the kids at the community center. He asked whether Bo had asked her to marry him. Gabrielle claimed to be relieved that Bo hadn't asked her to marry him. Al gave her tickets to The Nutcracker ballet instead.
Bo arrived home and apologized to Gabrielle for being away so much lately. Since Al was a good friend of Jessica's, Bo filled him in on what had been going on, and Al headed off in search of Jessica. After Al left, Bo accidentally slipped and told Gabrielle that he loved her then repeated more confidently that he was in love with her. Gabrielle told him in return that she loved him, and the two kissed.
Todd was jealous when he saw Blair watching the tape that Sam had sent. Sam could not go to see her anymore, Todd insisted. Unfortunately for Todd, Sam had other plans and showed up at the door with Matthew and a bag of presents for Starr and Jack. Todd tried to block Sam from going up the stairs, but Sam didn't give in, and eventually Todd backed down and let him go up.
While Todd stayed downstairs with the kids, Blair told Sam she was very glad to see him. Sam told her he thought Todd still had feelings for her. That might be true, Blair admitted, but Blair had strong feelings for Sam and wanted them to find some time to really be alone together, without Todd being around.
Cristian returned to Llanfair after breaking up with Jen. Natalie wanted him to take her to look for Jessica, but Bo insisted that they both stay put where Mitch couldn't get to them. Natalie recalled that she'd never liked Christmas while growing up with Roxy. She'd always wished that she could have a Christmas like the ones she'd seen families having on TV. Jessica had had everything growing up, but Natalie wouldn't trade lives with her if it meant having Mitch Laurence as a father and having her whole world blown apart.
When Nora told Sam about her engagement to Troy, he realized what had caused his ex-wife's rampage. After discussing the situation with Emily, Troy decided to go to the gallery to tell Lindsay the news himself. When he did, she told him the wedding would never happen.
While the search for Jessica continued, Al found her in Asa's stables. He convinced her to let him call her mother and promised to take care of her. Deciding they needed some other place to hide, Jessica and Al were surprised by Asa before they could leave.
Mitch and Jennifer toasted the end of Natalie and Cristian's relationship without knowing that Cristian had agreed to stay at Llanfair until Bo could arrest Mitch. Arriving at the loft for his belongings, Cristian caught Mitch and Jen together.
Following Roxy, Max was surprised when she ended up at her mother's apartment in Philadelphia instead of meeting Asa. Eavesdropping, Max overheard her mother degrading her and stepped in to defend his wife.
