Out in the mountains,

The children were about to find some fun things to do in the snow before Christmas dinner. Norman, Sarah, James, Mandy, and Hannah were all gathered to start a game. "Ok… What can we do until we can head out for dinner?" Mandy asked.

"Oh! I know! We can throw snowballs!" Norman answered.

"If I see a single snowball hit me from you, Norman Price… I will throw one back at you!" Added Hannah.

"Trust him to play snowballs." Sarah whispered to James.

James nodded in agreement with his twin sister. They both looked back at Mandy. "I was actually thinking we can combine both. Hide and seek with snowballs to tag someone." Mandy chimed.

"Good idea, Mandy."

"Right! Who should start counting?" Norman asked.

"I was hoping you would, Norman Price."

"No way! I'm the best hider in all of Pontypandy!"

"How do you know? You haven't even been found since we played the last time while with your mum and Trevor."

"Well, then… Prove it!"

"You're on!"

"Right! Mandy's going to count and we're all going to hide while she tries to find us with snowballs."

"Game on!" Hannah shouted as they all ran for a good hiding spot.

Mandy started counting while the others went to hide on Pontypandy Mountain trails. She knew that Norman would not hide that easily.

Back in the town,

The spare truck that Sam asked for has arrived. It was a similar design to Jupiter but with a different engine front. They parked it in the parking spot in the garage while Venus was out in Newtown with Penny and Ellie. Sam looked at this truck and then he agreed it was just what he needed. "Thanks for bringing this over to us. We had a mishap with our current rig because one of our firefighters was too distracted. You should see the damage to the ladder on our current rig." He said to the mechanic.

"Oh, I bet it is bad."

They went to where they parked the current truck for Jupiter and then Sam pointed to the extending ladder while the truck itself was stabilized. The mechanic was surprised at the damage done. "Oh my… How did this happen?" He asked Sam.

"We were decorating the station and somehow… Firefighter Cridlington got carried away with his music and didn't focus on Firefighter Phillips getting his attention. She managed to try and catch it but nearly fell and clinged onto the ladder for dear life. Eventually, we got her down with the garland laying right here and she is safe. Firefighter Morris is at the hospital with her right now."

"Ah… Ok. I'll take this rig back to the fitter's while you have this rig for a while."

"Alright. I'll tell Station Officer Steele the news."

The mechanic jumped into the cab of the damaged Jupiter and raised the stabilizers. They later drove off to Newtown Fire Service Maintenance to get Jupiter's ladder fixed. Sam went to find Station Officer Steele in his office, filing a damage report for Boyce. He saw Sam enter his office. "Yes, Sam?" He asked.

"Good news is that the spare rig has arrived, and our damaged rig is off to Newtown for repairs."

"Excellent. But I must say that the one we just received has been damaged too. I remember when the controls for the snorkel were stuck and yet we had to rescue Mike from Bella's roof."

"I do too, sir. Let's just hope that we can get this rig to work with us."

"I hope so."

Back in Newtown,

Ellie and Penny were at the hospital after she was injured decorating the station thanks to Elvis and his distractions. Ellie looked over at Penny worried about her wrist. "Do you think it's Broken, Penny?" Ellie asked.

"I don't know, Ellie. We're about to find out as soon as they tell us. Ok?"

"Ok, Penny. Do we know how long it will be?"

"No idea, Ellie. They said it would be about 10-15 minutes."

Just as Ellie was about to say something, the doctor came back with some news for her. It was bad news from the look on her face. "Well, there is no bad breaks in your wrist, Ellie. The injury from your wrist however is concerning." She told Ellie.

"So, with that plus a clean break… That means…"

"It means you're on light duty at the station for about 12 weeks (about 3 months)."

"Which means I'm in plaster for a few weeks as well. Right?"

"Yeah…"

"What about rehab? Is that a possibility with plenty of after-care?"

"You could say that. I'm sure you have a way to cover the expenses for us and the NHS."

"Yeah… I'm sure we will."

"Well, we better make sure you can get back to the station in time. I hear someone has Christmas shopping to do."

Ellie was gone to get her wrist fitted with plaster. She would need to tell Station Officer Steele about the current situation regarding her wrist and explain that she would be on light duty. After her wrist was in plaster, Ellie signed the papers and then left with Penny. Venus was covered in snow, and they headed back to Pontypandy. Penny had just realized something. "Oh, Ellie. I forgot I need to do some Christmas shopping for us while you rest up your wrist. I hope it gets better soon." Said Penny.

"I hope so too, Penny. I cannot believe Elvis forgot about his job and didn't realize I was clinging to Jupiter's ladder."

"Well, I heard from Sam that a spare rig has arrived for us, and Station Officer Steele wasn't happy with Elvis. Chief Fire Officer Boyce was not happy with Elvis either. I imagine he is going to get a telling off by him later."

"Me too."

Ellie and Penny continued their drive to Pontypandy from Newtown. It was already 10:00 in the Morning and then Penny called Sam with the phone on speakerphone as she was driving. "Hello." Sam answered the phone.

"Hey, Sam. It's Penny. I'm just calling to tell you that Ellie's wrist is broken. We are down one firefighter. We will need to call in a Volunteer Firefighter to fill her position until this gets done for about 12 weeks (about 3 months)."

"Oh my… 12 Weeks? Station Officer Steele will not like this as news to him."

"Yeah… I am with you on that one. I hear our spare rig has arrived. Was it the same one with the controls stuck on the ladder?"

"Yeah… That."

"Well, I hope it works this time."

"Me too."

"I will see you at the station. We just passed the floods house."

"Alright. I'll see you later."

Sam hung up and Penny hung up as well. It didn't take long until they saw Sam outside the station with the spare Jupiter they were given until their current one was fixed. Sam made sure the garage door for Venus was closed and then they parked beside their spare rig. Ellie was surprised by the Spare Rig which was used before their upgrade. "Hey, Ellie… How is your wrist?" Sam asked.

"It could be better…" Ellie replied embarrassed.

"Hey… You're ok, Ellie. You're alright. I am sure Station Officer Steele will find something for you to do around the station."

"You sure, Sam?"

"Yeah. I am sure, Ellie."

Ellie looked at Sam and smiled slightly while Penny was cleaning the snow from Venus. She packed some bags for her shopping trip for everything they needed for Christmas dinner. Elvis later came down after he heard Ellie and Sam chatting. He saw the spare truck for them while the other Jupiter they currently own was in for repairs. "Why did we get this truck?" asked Elvis as he looked around it.

"We got this because of the damage done to the ladder. Thanks to you, Elvis." Ellie added.

"Yeah, it's going to be this Jupiter for the time being." Replied Sam.

"Oh no… I should not have gotten distracted… Sorry, Ellie…"

Just as Ellie was about to say something, they heard a door slam shut and it was not something they wanted to hear. Chief Fire Officer Boyce walked in. "Cridlington?! Station Officer Steele's Office… NOW!" He shouted.

"Yes, sir…"

Boyce looked over at Ellie. "You too, Firefighter Phillips." He spoke.

"Yes, sir…" Ellie sadly replied.

Elvis knew he had made this worse for them and he saw Ellie standing beside him. They both knew they were in trouble and Station officer Steele wasn't happy at all. Boyce closed the door and stood next to Station Officer Steele. "Right… I heard from Station Officer Steele that you have been in a mishap. Am I understood?" He asked, recalling their situation.

"Yes, sir." Ellie answered.

"Firefighter Phillips. Can you tell me exactly what happened?"

"Well, Chief… I… I… I-I was on Jupiter's ladder in full turnout gear with Elvis decorating the station for the holidays… Elvis was helping me at first and I noticed he had Air Pods in… After we both had done a few… Elvis grabbed the garland and acted like it was a guitar and was distracted… I tried getting his attention… It did not work. As soon as I saw the garland leave my sight… I tried to catch it only to fall off Jupiter's Ladder… I held on for dear life until Firefighter Morris, Station Officer Steele, Firefighter McKinley, and Fireman Sam rescued me from peril. I was injured while hanging onto the ladder…"

"Oh dear… What happened?"

"My wrist, Chief…"

"How long will you be on light duty?" Station Officer Steele asked.

"12 weeks, sir."

"Oof… That's going to need some rearranging."

"Indeed, it does, Norris."

Chief Fire Officer Boyce looked at Elvis very angrily after he heard the true story from Ellie. He was not happy to hear what Station Officer Steele had told him. "Firefighter Cridlington. I'm very disappointed with you. You didn't even make sure that the ladder had a harness. Firefighters need to have one in case something goes wrong. What I heard from Firefighter Phillips was true. As of right now, no action will be against you. But I am going to need you to stop getting distracted from your job. You're a firefighter First. Remember the last performance you did for us?" He told Elvis.

"Yes, sir… I understand…"

"Very well… Station Officer Steele will have to call in Nurse Flood to cover for Firefighter Phillips until her wrist is properly healed."

Elvis and Ellie looked at each other and then back at their senior officers. "That'll be all." Boyce told them.

Elvis and Ellie left for the kitchen while Boyce and Station Officer Steele rearranged the duty roster for today up until Ellie had finished resting her injured wrist. They both know that Elvis' Air Pods have become a distraction and they need to put Sam on watch in case anything happens.