(The hotel is alive with holiday activity. Charlie, Vaggie, Niffty, and Kara are decorating the lobby with garlands and tinsel. Angel and Andy are in the kitchen, busy with cooking. Alastor is at the radio station, with holiday music playing through speakers across the hotel. HUSK sits in the corner with a drink, glaring at the festive décor.)

CHARLIE: (gleefully) The hotel is going to look so festive!

VAGGIE: (teasing) Let's just hope it doesn't end up in flames by the end of the night.

KARA: (adding tinsel to the banister) Or covered in glitter. Seriously, Angel should have a license for how much glitter he uses.

Angel: I make it work.

Arackniss: Again, diva!

Angel: Shut up!

Henroin: Boys!

Angel and Arackniss stopped arguing.

(The group laughs. Meanwhile, Husk mutters under his breath.)

HUSK: (grumbling) Bah, humbug.

(The scene changed to Victoria's room. Victoria sits on her bed, holding her sketchbook, staring at a blank page. Through her door, faint holiday music plays. She sighs heavily, frustrated.)

VICTORIA: (to herself) What's the point? Everything I touch turns into a disaster.

(She flashes back to earlier attempts at helping in the hotel: burning food in the kitchen, waxing the stairs too much, shrinking bed sheets. Charlie's encouraging smile lingers in her mind, but she shakes her head and hugs her knees to her chest.)

VICTORIA: Maybe I'm just not meant to help.

Victoria looked embarrassed.

Aasha: (laughs) Honey, everyone makes those kinds of mistakes.

Andy: yeah. When me and Ben were alive, I tried cooking dinner once and I ended up burning my hands.

Molly: Yeah, me and Angie learned cooking pasta when we were teens and well... the kitchen ended up looking like a bloody crime scene.

Victoria laughs.

(She hears laughter and holiday music from downstairs. This only makes her mood worse.)

VICTORIA: Just like Christmas back then.

Husk: You're not a fan of Christmas?

Victoria: Not really.

(She picks up her sketchbook and heads for the door. Victoria steps off the elevator and heads to the dance room. She surveys the dusty, broken space before walking to the balcony. Snow falls gently outside as she begins to sketch the city skyline. She closes her eyes, memories of her life flashing before her: Martha winning pageants, their parents doting on Martha, and years of bullying. Her face hardens, but her voice trembles as she begins to sing.)

VICTORIA: (softly)

Follow me home if you dare to...

I wouldn't know where to lead you...

Everyone looked stunned hearing Victoria's beautiful voice.

(She flips through her sketchbook, passing by sketches of grand buildings and bridges. Her voice grows stronger, tinged with bitterness.)

VICTORIA:

Should I take chances when no one took chances on me?

So I watch from the dark, wait for my life to start...

With no beauty in my memory

(Flashbacks intensify: Martha winning another award, Victoria sitting alone at family gatherings, and Martha ordering her around like a servant.)

VICTORIA (voice breaking)

All that I wanted was to be wanted...

Too young to wander London streets, alone and haunted...

Born into nothing... At least you have something,

Something to cling to.

Charlie looked heartbroken.

Lucifer even gave Victoria a tissue to wipe away her tears.

Victoria: Thank you, your highness.

Lucifer: You can call me Lucifer.

(Her tears fall freely now. She walks to the window, looking out at the snowy skyline.)

VICTORIA:

Visions of dazzling rooms I'll never get let into...

And the memories were lost long ago...

But at least you have beautiful ghosts.

(Husk enters, holding a bottle of booze. He sees Victoria crying on the balcony and hesitates. Finally, he steps forward.)

HUSK: Hey. You okay, kid?

VICTORIA: (wiping her tears) Oh, Husk. I didn't think anyone else was here.

HUSK: Just looking for a quiet place to drink. And to get away from all this Christmas nonsense. (He takes a swig from the bottle and offers it to her.) Want some?

VICTORIA: (taking the bottle cautiously) Uh, sure. (She takes a sip and nearly spits it out, coughing as she hands it back.) That's... strong.

HUSK: (smirking) First time?

VICTORIA: Yeah. I've never been much of a drinker.

Angel: A sinner that doesn't drink? That's not something you don't see everyday.

HUSK: Came to get away from the festivities?

VICTORIA: Not exactly. I don't hate Christmas; I just... never had a good one. I mostly got hand-me-downs or stuff my sister said was "last season." I was the forgotten twin.

Molly and Angel hugged Victoria. Victoria looked happy.

(Husk's expression softens. He removes his hat, his ears drooping slightly.)

HUSK: When I was alive, it was one of the best holidays. My daughter really liked it...

VICTORIA: (surprised) Daughter? You were married?

HUSK: I wasn't. My girlfriend didn't want kids, but... she got pregnant. She wanted to put our daughter up for adoption, but I always wanted to be a father. I chose my daughter, and my girlfriend left me.

VICTORIA: Oh... I'm so sorry.

HUSK: You can't imagine how happy my daughter was when we celebrated Christmas. It was her favorite time of year. But then the war came... I had to go. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of celebrating with her again. But when I came back... (His voice falters, and tears form in his eyes.) She was gone. She waited, and I...

(Victoria steps forward and hugs him tightly.)

VICTORIA: It wasn't your fault. Your daughter loved you so much. She knows it wasn't your fault.

(Husk wipes his eyes, his expression softening as he looks at her.)

HUSK: Thanks, kid.

Alastor: Finally getting your heart back?

Husk: Not another word.

(Victoria shows him her sketchbook, including a design for the hotel's façade.)

HUSK: You're talented. You should show this to Charlie. She's been trying to fix this place up for a while now.

(Victoria hesitates, then nods. Before leaving, she gives Husk a quick peck on the cheek, leaving him stunned.)

Cherri: The drunk and the archtech.

Victoria: Not funny.

(The scene changed to the party in the lobby. Angel's family was there. Angel got to meet Arackniss's son Jackie. Angel then spotted Alastor in a corner.)

ANGEL: I'll be right back.

(Angel took Alastor to the hallway. Alastor and Angel stand awkwardly. Alastor takes a deep breath.)

Angel: Is this...

Molly: A love confession...

Angel: Molly.

ALASTOR: Angel, I need to say this. I... I love—

ANGEL (interrupting) Stop. Just stop.

(Alastor looks taken aback. Angel's tone is defensive, but there's pain in his eyes.)

ANGEL: I've heard it all before. Guys saying they love me, but I'm just a whore to them. What makes you think this is any different?

ALASTOR: Because I see you, Angel. The real you.

(Angel hesitates, clearly conflicted, then turns away.)

ANGEL: It doesn't matter. You don't know what Val would do if he found out about us. (He looks away, his voice trembling.) And what makes you think someone like me could end up with someone like you?

Angel looked away in shame.

Angel: (mumbles) Stupid, stupid.

(Alastor looks heartbroken, but Angel walks away before he can respond. Once alone, Angel leans against a wall, tears forming in his eyes. Arackniss saw that Angel was crying then he went over to him.)

ARACKNISS: You ok, Tony?

ANGEL: (wipes his tears away) I'm fine. Just... I just got bored

ARACKNISS: You're crying. (sits next to Angel.) Tony, you're still my little brother. Talk to me.

ANGEL: I'm such an idiot. Al... He said he loves me. But I said that there was no way someone like me could ever end up with someone like him. I'm so stupid. I like him too but... Val, he... he'd kill me if I ever got into a real relationship.

ARACKNISS: (stands next to him.) You know, I thought the same way when I started dating Penn.

Angel: Really?

Arackniss: Yeah. I used to get those kinds of thoughts.

Pentious: Til I would remind you every day that I love you so much no matter what.

The two shared a quick kiss.

ANGEL: (sniffles) Really?

ARACKNISS: Yeah. I would get these... thoughts that I wasn't good enough for him. That a mobster like me wasn't meant to be with someone like Penn.

ANGEL: How did you get over it?

ARACKNISS: Penn stayed by my side. He told me that he really loved me no matter what. He actually proposed to me as prove that he truly loved me.

ANGEL: (chuckled) I didn't think I would get love advice from my brother who never got a date when we were alive.

ARACKNISS: (playfully punches his arm) This coming from someone who's been with a lot of guys.

ANGEL: Laugh it up, shorty. But thanks, I needed that.

Everyone: Aww.

Lucifer: Merry Sinsmas!