It is Christmas Eve in the ER, and the hospital is overrun by homeless. When Chen can't find someone to cover her shift, she quits, leaving Carter as the only ER attending. Carter and an off-duty Ray save a critically injured boy, and Ray learns the real story of his injury from his little sister. Abby and new medical student Jake treat a dialysis patient who is in critical condition, but she can't reach his physician, who is supposed to be on call. With encouragement from Carter and Dubenko, she breaks the rules to save the patient's life. Pratt heads to Chen's house and finds she is about to euthanize her father, who has begged her to do so in his lucid moments, and then take his body back to China.