At the hospital, the Scooby Gang awaits news from the doctor about Joyce's surgery and they are all relieved when the surgery is a success. Dawn spends the night with Xander and Anya. With the house to themselves, Buffy and Riley spend a romantic evening together. In the middle of the night, Riley sneaks out through the window and Spike follows him into an old building.
After attending a football game and observing how enthusiastically the crowd sang "The Star Spangled Banner", Dick observes that humans have a deep love for their country of origin. They'd better get with the program or they'll look very suspicious.
Dharma regretfully taps into her hidden anger and a penchant for boxing when a woman challenges her to a barroom brawl. Meanwhile, Larry takes his familial relationship with the boss for granted.
The gang are planning a Christmas party at Bud's place but when Kelso suggests a funnel instead of cups, the girls walk out. The guys continue their party to the point where Eric can no longer walk and ends up puking on Red's shoes. After walking out, Jackie feels lonely and decies to find company in a bar but the guy she meets turns out to have been familiar with her mother.
Angel goes on a frantic search after Drusilla turns Darla back into a vampire, and he must catch them before she rises again and the two go back to their old ways and paint the town red. Meanwhile, as Angel goes off the deep end, his staff worries they are the only ones standing between Angel and real darkness.
