Carter wakes up a man dressed up as Santa.  He has been waiting in chairs and he is going to be late, so he will not stay to be treated.  A man brings in his son named Murray.  He had taken him ice fishing and the boy ran ahead and fell through the ice.  He is not breathing and his blood and organs are almost frozen.  Doug and Mark tend to him.  Carter and Peter take care of a twenty-five year old man who was hurt while riding his snowmobile.  He is being brought in by helicopter and has a head injury.  Mark tries to get away long enough to buy Jen a last minute gift, but he can't.  Linda tells him later that she can go pick something out for Jen.  Mark tells her that he is on a budget though, she responds just like Doug.  A man has been electrocuted after working on string tons of Christmas lights.  Susan fears that it may have damaged his heart, but he tells her that his heart has already been broken.  Peter's snowmobile patient, Mr. Powell is brain dead and Peter wants to use him as an organ donor since it is marked on the back of his driver's license.  Dr. Hicks tells him that he needs to get the families consent first though.  Patrick is back in the ER.  He is missing his helmet and has received a head injury after falling.  He is going to be okay.  Carol and Malik find him a new helmet, but he doesn't want to wear it.  He likes being with the ER staff and thinks that if he gets hurt, then he will get to see them more often.  His parents had left him with a neighbor while they went out of town for the holidays.  Carol tells him that he can stay there for a while.  Susan takes care of a woman that is hurting in her side.  She thinks that it might be her appendix.  Susan does an ultrasound and tells her that she is about 12 weeks pregnant.  She tells Susan that it is a miracle and that she has been trying to get pregnant for a long time.  Carter helps Doug with a young boy he hate a leaf off of a poinsettia plant.  Doug lets Carter check him out and he gets thrown up on.  The brain dead patient's wife comes in and Peter takes her to see him.  She says that he still feels warm and seems that he could improve, but Peter tells her that it is unlikely.  He tells her that he want s to salvage his organs, but she wants a second opinion.  Carter has opened his secret Santa gift from Haleh and he is wearing it.  It is a bow tie and matching suspenders.  

Mary Cavanaugh is back in the ER.  She thinks she has come to a nice hotel and asks Carter to take her bags to her room.  Dr. Hicks is upset with Peter because he has eight transplant surgeons on the way and he still has not got the wife's consent.  Doug takes care of an older woman who is very depressed.  She is depressed because the holidays remind her of an old love that she was engaged to.  They were of different religious backgrounds and did not get married.  She learned that he died a few years earlier.  Peter asks Mark to talk to his brain dead patient's wife.  He needs someone to persuade her to donate his organs.  Carter's Santa is back and is unresponsive.  He is dead.  Carter blames himself for killing Santa Claus.  Mark speaks to Mrs. Powell.  She tells him that she had not spoken to her husband since they separated five months ago.  He had wanted to spend Christmas with her, but she told him no.  She wanted him to hurt like she had.  Mary and Patrick sing Christmas carols to the patients.  Susan finds out from Malik that Div has quit his job at the hospital.  Susan has Carter drive her to his apartment.  Doug is dressed in a tux and is going to meet Linda at a party.  He tells Mark that he can not quit thinking about Carol.  Mark tells him that she is not married yet.  When Susan and Carter arrive at Div's apartment, they learn that he has moved out without telling her.  Carter takes Susan home and tells her that he is her secret Santa and she kisses him on the cheek.  He told her that it is a music box.  Carter tries to kiss her on the lips, but she tells him that they shouldn't.  She gives him the gift that she had bought Div.  It is a fancy robe.  He puts it on and dances around in it until the neighbors walk up and embarrass him.  Doug takes a cab to the restaurant where he is meeting Linda.  He tries to catch the cab before it drives off, but it is too late.  Linda left the gift that she went shopping for Mark for.  She bought a very nice negligee for Jen and Mark seems to like it.  Lydia tells him that all she got from her ex-husband was a vacuum cleaner.  Susan opens her gift from Carter and listens to the music box.  Chloe gets up to admire it and lets Susan open the present she got for her.  It is a red ornament with Susan's name on it.  Chloe tells her that she will have to share it with the baby.  Chloe is pregnant and is going to name it after Susan.  Doug ends up waling to the restaurant where Carol and Tag's engagement party is and he goes in.  Carol comes outside with him arguing and he tells Carol that he loves her.  She does not feel the same way.  Tag comes outside and punches Doug when he tells Carol to admit to Tag that she still thinks about being with him.  Carol tells Doug to stay out of her life.  Murray is going to be okay.  He is going to have normal brain function.  Peter takes the donated organs to the roof to have them flown to the patients by helicopter.  As it flies away, Peter seems to be very happy about it.

Reviewed by Tony Conner on 11-30-2000