All language subtitles for Bringing.Christmas.Home.2023.WEBRip-Netflix.Hi

[guitar playing]

♪ Silent night ♪

♪ Holy night ♪

♪ All is calm ♪

♪ All is bright ♪

♪ Round yon Virgin Mother and Child ♪

♪ Holy… ♪

[groans]

♪ So tender and mild ♪

♪ Sleep… ♪

Deb?

Well, that was fast!

What if there's a long-lost painting
in one of these boxes worth millions?

Don't get your hopes up.

My Aunt Sarah never met
a garage sale she didn't like.

And, lucky me!
I have inherited all her bounty.

Yeah. So, you're getting rid
of everything?

Yep. I'm turning this into a studio
for my line-dancing class.

- That sounds fun.
- It is.

- Thanks for giving me first dibs.
- I'm thinking… like 15 bucks a box?

- Does that sound fair to you?
- More than fair. Yes.

Want to make sure
there's not something you want?

No, I gotta get my Christmas cards out
before my sister.

I'll just come in and settle up
when I'm done.

Yeah. Have fun.

- Okay.
- Alright.

- You're a legend, Deb!
- I know!

[page turns]

This is a good paper.

I think you can make it great.

You're one of my best students.

There's a book that I want you to read.

Hold on just one second, let me find it.

Ah.

Right here.

So, this is basically a psychology book,

but there's a chapter in there
that talks about

how our military men and women
celebrated the holidays on the war front.

My paper is on Operation Torch.

I'm not asking you to change your subject.

I just... I think it's gonna help you
think outside the boundaries

of weaponry and formations, 'cause…

war's personal.

I want you to take
a personal approach to your writing.

Get inside the heads of our soldiers,

and know what even
a small piece of home can do for them.

[deep breath] You know, the heart
of the battlefield is not weapons…

it's people.

I understand.

You can use that.

[laughs]

Okay! Alright.
I look forward to a second draft.

Thank you, Professor.

You're welcome. You can do this.

Hey.

[surprised] Hey!

Morale seems high
amongst the troops, Major Upton.

A good leader brings out
the best in her soldiers. Come here!

[laughs]

- How are you doing? You look strong.
- Hey, feeling strong.

Well? To what do I owe this visit?

The university library received a donation

with some old War Office reports
to authenticate.

Figured I could visit
my favorite commanding officer.

Former commanding officer.

I can't get used to the fact
that I can't boss you around anymore.

Mm.

It is my least-favorite part
about retiring.

I wonder who you'll boss around
when you're in merry old England

being a fancy Sandringham Scholar?

I haven't heard back from the committee.

They will email the finalists
for the fellowship this week,

so, fingers crossed.

I know how much this means to you.
I'm sure you'll get it.

Major Caroline Upton
always succeeds at her mission.

In the meantime, why don't you help me
take my mind off of it

and let me help you with those reports?

Yes, ma'am!

- Hey, hey.
- Hey, hey, big bro.

[chuckling]

Most of these boxes, I haven't opened yet.

Whatever we don't keep for the store,
we can donate.

- Hey, bro?
- Yep?

Oh, come on! Every time!

Definitely for the "donate" pile.

Ooh.

Come look at this.

- Wow.
- This is a World War II jacket.

This soldier was heavily decorated.

- Wow!
- Some of the ribbons are missing.

- Is there a name?
- Let's look.

Sometimes it's on the inside of the jacket
or inside the pocket. Let's see.

Yep, look at that. "O. Newton."

What is...? What is this?

[woman] Oh.

[chuckles] Oh…

Huh.

- "From Alice, to my true love, Orin."
- Mm.

Wow.

It's a love letter.

- Read it!
- Okay. "Dearest Orin... "

Without you, Christmas
is just a shell of a holiday,

like one of those displays
in the window of the five-and-dime,

all drippy with Christmas presents.

You can see the gifts,
but not touch them through the glass.

"How I miss holding your hand... "

"It's going to be a lonely season,"

but no matter how many tears
I shed while you're away,

it doesn't hold a candle
to your brave sacrifice.

I'll be thinking of you on Christmas day,

waiting underneath the mistletoe
for you to return.

You're in my thoughts,
my prayers, and my heart.

"Your always-loving Alice."

That is so sweet. Why don't people
write letters like this anymore?

This is history.

This should not be just jammed away
in some box somewhere.

We have to return this to Orin and Alice.

Do you think they're even still alive?

- It's possible, right?
- Yeah.

I mean, the family would be somewhere.

Maybe I could track 'em down.

- Why don't we try searching his name?
- [snaps] Let's start there.

Okay. "Orin…"

[woman] Mm-hmm.

[typing] "…Newton."

- Fingers crossed.
- [beep]

That didn't look good.

I'm not seeing any Orin Newtons
serving in World War II.

I guess that would've been too easy.

Okay. Let's bring in a professional then.

- Here's a military forum.
- Yeah.

Okay.

"Recently found a World War II uniform…"

[typing]

"And want to get it back
to its rightful owner."

I'm near Bardwell.

"Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Russell."

Yeah.

- Boom. Godspeed.
- Yes.

[typing]

Why not?

"Russell, I am a professor
of military history"

at Bardwell College.

Since you're local, I'd be happy
to take a look at the uniform

"to see if I can help."

Hmm.

[trumpet playing
"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"]

Hi. Are you Caroline?

- Yes. You're Russell?
- That's right.

- Yeah, that's me.
- Nice to meet you.

Thanks for meeting on such short notice.

No problem. Is this the uniform?

- This is it.
- Okay.

I'm trying to get it to them by Christmas.

Oof. All right, well, let's take a look.

[Russell chuckles] Okay.

- Oh, I got you a coffee.
- Ah.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

So, I looked everywhere online
to try to find Orin, but nothing.

Ohh…

Wow! Oh.

This is so cool.

It's actually in pretty good condition.

So, here's what I can tell you
right off the bat.

It definitely is a dress uniform
for an Army officer.

And you were right, it's World War II.
Very good.

- [chuckles]
- Um…

There's ribbons missing,
I'm assuming some patches.

However, this one is very important.

This is Orin's division patch.

So, I think that's probably
a good place for us to start.

Great. Oh, and this is, um…

this is the letter.

[gasps] The letter.

It's so fragile.

Look at her. She's beautiful.

[tsk] Ohh…

Oh, Russell, I gotta be honest with you.

Sometimes, these young men
didn't make it back from the war.

This may not have a happy ending.

Well… it is the season of hope,
right, so, here's hoping.

[Caroline] Yeah.

I was stationed overseas,
and I can tell you

that any communication with home
is a lifeline.

I mean, sometimes…

it's the only thing that keeps you going,

is knowing someone is at home
waiting for you.

Now, there's cell phones and email,
and all of that, but back then…

Think about it. I mean,
this fragile little piece of paper…

this had to cross oceans and…

war, just to get to someone, you know?

That meant something. It was special.

Shoot straight with me here.

Do we stand any chance to find this guy?

- It's hard to say right now.
- Okay.

However, I would like to take this home,
take a closer look,

maybe take some pictures, if that's okay?

You're not some international
vintage uniform thief?

How do I know that I can trust you?

Would an untrustworthy person
buy you coffee?

That's a pretty good point. [laughs]

Well, I don't want to take up
too much of your time. Thank you.

Yeah. All right.

You mentioned you're
a professor at Bardwell?

I am, yes.

We are on Christmas break,

which makes it easy for me
to go sleuthing with you.

Even so, it's Christmas,
a busy time with family and friends,

so I appreciate it.

Well, I just moved here this summer,
so I don't really have any friends yet.

I'll be your friend.

- [chuckles] Where'd you move from?
- [inhales deeply]

All over, I guess.
I just retired from the military.

- Ah, what did you do there?
- I was an M.I. officer.

What's that again?

- Military Intelligence.
- Oh, okay.

And you were an officer?

- I was a Major.
- Wow!

If you don't mind me asking…
what made you retire?

Did you get injured, or…?

Uh…

Hmm. I guess you could, uh,
you could just say that…

not every wound requires stitches.

Right.

I'm sorry, I didn't...
I didn't mean to pry.

No, no, no. Look, it's fine.

The Army gave me far more
than it ever took from me.

Well, let's hope the Army gave you
good sleuthing skills. We'll need them.

Yes, we are.

Well, I'm gonna take this home
and get started on it,

and I'll call you tomorrow?

- Sounds great.
- It's nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you too.

- Bye.
- Bye!

[lighthearted music playing]

[ringing]

Hey. Caroline.

[Caroline] Hey.

- Did you hear back about the fellowship?
- No, not yet.

But in the meantime,
I have a little project for you.

- Bring on the challenge.
- So, I met this guy…

Oooh…

You want me to look up driving records?

Employment history, blood type?

[laughs] No, I'm not trying to spy on him.
I met him online.

You're finally trying online dating?

I told you there's nothing
to be afraid of.

In my military history forum.

He found this old uniform

and asked me to help him locate
the soldier it belonged to.

Dang it. I thought we might finally
get you married off.

[chuckles dryly] No such luck.

Listen, I'm gonna send you
some pictures of the uniform.

I want you to tell me
everything you can find out

about this soldier, Orin Newton.

Will do. But, hey.

Tell me more about this guy.
Did you meet in person?

Do you guys share any hobbies?

I'm hanging up the phone now.

[door bell chiming "Up on the Housetop"]

- Over there by the wreaths.
- Okay.

Hi! Welcome to Past Presents.
Can I help you find anything?

Hi. I'm just gonna wait
to speak to Russell, if that's okay.

- Oh. You must be Caroline.
- Yeah.

- I'm Russell's sister. Jules.
- Nice to meet you.

- [Jules] You too.
- [chiming]

Oh! Isn't that great? I came up with that.

Russell has not stopped talking about you.

He's so thankful for your help.

[doorbell chiming]

- I swear, it never gets old. [chuckles]
- [clears throat]

[chuckling]

- Hey, thanks for that.
- Hi. You're welcome.

- Thanks so much for stopping by the store.
- [repeated dinging]

[door chiming]

We get slammed around here
at Christmastime.

- Yeah, I can see that.
- Yeah.

Yeah, I wanted
to come update you in person.

- [Russell] Right.
- Oh, excuse me. Sorry.

I mean, of course,
and bring this back to you.

There it is.

- [tuning crackly radio]
- Oh…

[laughing] It also gets very loud here
at Christmas. Yeah.

- [crackling]
- [banging radio]

- [music stops]
- There we go.

[sighing]

Jules, could you do me a solid
and handle the shop for a few minutes?

Yeah, sure thing.

I live in a loft in the back.
It's quieter there.

- Okay.
- After you.

Oh, wow!

You really do Christmas, don't you?

- [Russell] Is it too much?
- No. No, not at all.

You have two Christmas trees.

I don't even have one.

I don't even have any ornaments, either.
[chuckles]

I do have a store,
and we could probably work out a deal.

Yeah, I'm not much of a decorator.

Let me show you something.

Oh, hey, buddy.

So, this is, uh... This is Brian.

This little guy is
how I got started in all of this.

Oh… Brian is ugly. But...

No, no, no. Listen.

I don't know. In your world,
he might be a collector's item.

No, it's pretty much
the ugliest thing I've ever seen,

and I think that you should borrow him.

- Okay.
- [laughs]

Have a seat. Have a seat.
Can I make you coffee, or…?

Uh… No. I'm fine. Thank you, though.

Okay. So… you have an update?

Okay. Well, uh, I reached out
to an Army buddy friend of mine.

He works in historical records,

and I asked him
to check out Orin's division.

He confirmed that Orin was in Europe
at the time of Alice's letter.

Really? That's great. What else?

He also said that Orin's platoon
was on a mission

to go behind enemy lines on... get this...
On Christmas Eve of that year,

but records state that he was captured.

- And the trail goes stale after that.
- Agh!

- Did he not make it back home?
- Not necessarily.

MIA records of that time period
were often lost

or just not updated after the war.

It's not looking very good, is it?

Well, I'm not gonna give up.

- But can I ask you a question?
- Yeah, sure.

Why is this so important to you?

[slaps his thigh]

Well, with this uniform,
I have an opportunity here

to give something back
to its original owner, and that is rare.

Plus, I'm a little bit of a romantic.

I just love the way fate
ties everything together.

Well…

I don't believe in fate much,
but I do love a good mystery. [laughs]

Yeah, so do I! I just love
being a part of the whole story.

Especially if it has a happy ending.

Yeah, I hope this has one.

We could use a little more of that
in the world right now.

That is for sure.

So, what's next?

Well, I have a few errands to run first,

but here's what I think we need to do.

Let's meet up at Bardwell Library.

They have
an extensive military history archive.

Just do some more digging.
You want to say around 2:30?

- Okay.
- Okay, great.

But I have one condition.

What's that?

That you let me make you dinner.
Just to say thank you.

- No. You don't have to do that.
- I insist.

It's the least I can do.

[sighs]

I mean, you did loan me Brian.

- Please take good care of him.
- Okay.

See ya.

[sighing deeply] This is so stupid.

Could you clarify what "this" is?

Since I've been wearing a uniform
for 10 years,

apparently, I don't know
how to put together an outfit.

You're lucky I'm here then.

- I don't want you to freak out.
- Do I appear freaked out?

The uniform guy is cooking dinner for me.

He's cooking for you?

See? You're being weird!

I'm not. I'm not.

It's just friends. I just don't want
to look like I'm teaching a class.

You do have the market cornered
on button-downs and blazers.

- Don't make fun of me.
- I'm not! Okay. Uh…

- The dress you wore to Anderson's wedding?
- No.

That's too much.
It's just dinner at his apartment.

First, there's no such thing.
Second, you look great in that dress.

And I know you feel great,
so just go feel great

and let this guy cook you some dinner.

- Let's see the dress.
- Okay.

[clears throat] Here it is.

That dinner might start as friends,
but that is ending with sparks. [laughs]

Okay, I knew I should've
never invited you over here.

- You have to go.
- I just got here.

I have to meet him in 30 minutes.
Come on.

Well, hey, I expect a full...

- A full debrief!
- [Caroline] Goodbye, Alton.

[Alton] Have fun!

[jazzy Christmas music playing]

- Hi.
- Hi.

- Have you been waiting long?
- Not at all.

Okay. Well, follow me.

I have an "in" with the librarian.

She always gets things all set up for me.

Really? You have an "in"
with the librarian?

How much time do you spend here?

[both laugh]

All right, it's right here.

Wow. My librarian wouldn't do this for me.
She's actually quite mean.

[laughs] Well, I may have bribed her
with a little coffee and doughnuts.

Is that one of
your high-level Army negotiation tactics?

- "Work smarter, not harder."
- [Russell] Right.

What?

This? It, well…

it's just a dress
I found in my closet, and I…

- Mm-mm-mm.
- [laughing] Thank you.

[Russell] All right.

[Caroline clears her throat]

- Okay. Here you go. Start reading.
- Okay.

Okay, so this is interesting.

Yeah?

So, there were a few ribbons left
on Orin's jacket.

- Yeah.
- And I'm no World War II specialist.

I didn't recognize the foreign decoration.

What's that again?

A military award
bestowed by a foreign government.

And this one right here is from France.

This is the Croix de Guerre,
and it's awarded for heroism in combat.

So, our man Orin was a true hero.

This commendation would have been rare,
so, I think we could use that.

What we should do is just research
a list of American recipients.

I think that might lead us
to what happened to Orin.

How'd you do that?

- Do what?
- That was incredibly fast!

Well, it was lucky that he had that award.

I'm impressed.

[Caroline chuckles]

Well, I do know what I'm looking for.

I think we may have found our man.

I think that we are definitely
one step closer, yes.

- We still have a lot of reading to do.
- Yes!

[pages rustling]

I'd love to hear one of your
Christmas stories from the military.

That was so long ago... Whoa!

- You made that?
- Sure did, from scratch.

That is beautiful!

Thank you very much.
It's raspberry panna cotta.

- You didn't make that.
- I made that.

That's very good.

Okay. Back to your story.

I don't... [sighs]
I don't want to talk about myself.

What about you? I want to hear some of
your favorite Christmas memories.

That's easy,
it was our very first Christmas

with our foster parents,

who eventually ended up adopting
Jules and I.

Dad brought home
this rescue pup named Marvin.

- Marvin?
- Yeah.

Just so that we would feel… welcome.

So, you were adopted?

I was adopted, yes.

- Oh.
- What?

You're deflecting.

I'm not deflecting!

Okay, back to your Christmas story.

[groans] Oh!

I mean, my story's in the desert.
It's not evergreen and holly.

That's okay. I can handle it.

[sighs] Well, you know, It's interesting

how different people
celebrate the holidays.

There's the ones who try to make it
as close to home as possible,

and then others just try to forget it.

- Which one are you?
- Definitely the "forget it" kind.

Oh. I forgot the coffee.

- Speaking of forgetting it.
- [laughs]

Can't have dessert without coffee.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome. Okay, continue.

Well, this Christmas in particular,

one of my guys got this big care package
full of all of this Christmas stuff.

There was a tree.
There was lights, tinsel.

Anyway, we put it all up,
and we had a little party,

and it was so simple.

Sat around,
much like we're doing right now,

and we just talked about our families,

and some people laughed,
some people cried. [laughs]

It was nice.

I'd have to say it was probably
one of my favorite Christmases.

That sounds nice.

I guess it doesn't take a lot
to make magic

when all you're surrounded with is war.

And it's odd, because I miss it sometimes.

I mean, not the war,
but the sense of family…

a sense of a common purpose,

because I'm telling you,
you can come back here,

and you don't know what your purpose is.

You don't even know
how to be normal anymore.

[quietly] And I struggle with that.

Uh… [clears throat]

You know what? I just realized
that I have an early meeting.

- It's okay.
- [Caroline] Tomorrow morning.

- I really should get going.
- It's okay. I... Are you okay?

- Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine.
- Hey…

- At least let me walk you to your car.
- Not necessary.

But, hey, thank you for that dinner.

It was really good.

[door closing]

[instrumental "Jingle Bells" playing]

[rapid knocking]

- Hi. Everything okay?
- Yeah.

- Come in, it's freezing.
- Thanks. [chuckling]

I thought maybe I had given you
food poisoning or something. No?

No. Your food was great, yeah.

And I didn't, uh, didn't offend you
or make you talk about something

you weren't quite ready to talk about yet?

No. No, you didn't offend me,
but thank you.

Okay, good.

I have something to tell you.

- Okay.
- We got a lead!

- No.
- Yes!

The Croix de Guerre panned out.

Another soldier in Orin's platoon
was awarded the same medal.

He lives not too far away from here.

He said he remembers Orin.
I told him the story.

He is willing to talk to us
and said we can come this afternoon.

I mean, if you can break away,

'cause I know that you're busy,
and it's Christmas and all.

Hold that thought.

"Jules got a big lead."

[marker squeaks on paper]

[chuckling]

"You're in charge."

For now, 'cause I'm the boss.

Oh. Oh. One last thing.

Yep?

Driver gets to pick the tunes.

And if it's not Bing Crosby
or Nat King Cole,

it doesn't count as a Christmas song.

[inhaling sharply]

Perry Como?

- Dependable alternate. Yes.
- Okay.

I think maybe we'll get along
just fine, then.

[Caroline chuckles]

- Madame.
- Thank you.

[Caroline] Thank you, Mr. Cordray,
for taking the time.

Well, time's
about all I got left to give…

- [Russell laughs]
- …these days.

[groans] So… you want to hear
about Orin Newton?

Yes. Did you know him?

Well, we served together for three years.

He was one of the cleverest fellas
I ever knew.

Could fix anything

and was always looking out
for other people.

We've been trying to find out
anything about him that we could.

Yes. And here you are,
just a couple hours away.

Well, God has a funny way
of putting the right people together.

Did Orin ever talk about
his girlfriend, Alice?

Oh, yes! He was sure smitten with her.

Always talkin' about
how he was gonna ask her to marry him

the minute he made it home.

None of us were sure
we were gonna make it home,

but I had this feeling Orin and Alice
would see each other again.

Orin got more letters
than all the other boys.

That Alice was a big writer. He was lucky.

- Any idea what happened to him?
- Well…

He and I got captured on a mission.

We were separated almost immediately.

I never saw him again.

When I got rescued, they sent me home.

I just wanted to put the war
behind me forever.

I did eventually look up Orin
a few times over the years.

Never found him.

- But that doesn't mean he didn't survive.
- [Russell] Right.

Well, I don't blame you

for not wanting to talk about
some of the things that you saw.

Well, I'm sorry I don't have
any more information for you two.

But I did dig this up.

[chuckles warmly] Yeah.

That was us in better days.

Aw. Well, you two were very handsome.

Well, I'll take the compliment.
[chuckles] Oh!

I nearly forgot to tell you...

I have a friend named Silas.

He's a major World War II history buff.

He's got a mind like an encyclopedia,

and if there's something he doesn't know,
he'll know someone who does.

He's at the local VFW branch.

He's the fella
with all the pins on his vest.

I, uh... I wrote down his info.

Ah. This is... this is wonderful.

- That's great.
- Yeah.

Yeah. Well…

[Caroline] Okay. Well… Oh! Uh…

- Would you like your photo back?
- Please keep it.

- Are you sure?
- Oh, yes.

Okay. Well… thank you
for your service, sir.

Yeah. [chuckling]

- [Caroline] Bye, Frank.
- Thank you. Merry Christmas.

You know… better not let anyone
steal her away from you.

No, no, no, no, we're not...

We're just…

Merry Christmas.

[Frank] Merry Christmas!

- Bye, Frank.
- Bye-bye.

[door closes]

Well… it's still early.

Yeah?

So, we could go by the VFW
and see if they're open.

I mean, if you want to,
but I can always go by myself later.

[Russell] No way. I'm digging
this whole mystery-duo thing.

We're like Cagney and Lacey.

Starsky and Hutch? Sherlock and Watson.

[laughs] I'm definitely Sherlock
in that duo.

- Oh, ho, ho! To be determined.
- Come on. Let's go, Watson.

[lively music playing]

Thank you.

They must be having a fundraiser.

Ah!

Well, anything for a good cause.

Two, please. There you go. Thank you.

Thanks. You look great.

["Joy to the World"
big-band style playing]

- It's like we stepped back into 1942.
- [chuckles]

It's so great they do this.

- [Caroline] I feel very underdressed.
- No, you look great.

Here.

For your hair.

- There you go.
- [laughs] Thank you.

[Russell] Hmm.

[Caroline] Well, I don't see a man
with all the buttons on his vest.

- We could dance until he shows up.
- What? No.

Come on!

- I'm not a dancer.
- It doesn't matter. No one's watching.

Milady? [chuckles]

- Oh! I can't do that.
- [laughs]

- You don't have to. Neither can I.
- Oh!

[chuckling]

- You're doing great.
- You're a good lead.

[both laugh]

- I'm gonna send you out.
- What? No, no, no.

Too fancy.

What am I doing?

[both laugh, music ends]

[slow "O, Christmas Tree" waltz plays]

- You look beautiful.
- It's the flower.

[Russell laughs] "It's the flower."

Oh. I think that's Silas.
Come on, come on.

Okay.

Excuse me, sir. Are you Silas?

I am.

- I'm Caroline, and this is Russell.
- Russell. Hi.

- And Frank Cordray gave us your name.
- Oh, Frank! How is he?

- He hasn't been around.
- He's good. He says hello.

Huh!

Why did he send you my way?

We have a bit of a mystery
we're trying to unravel.

We are trying to locate the family of
a soldier who went MIA in World War II.

[Russell] Orin Newton.

We have personal effects we want
to return to the family before Christmas.

Right. Oh! And…

I also have this photo.

This is Orin and Frank,
and it says it was taken in 1941.

This weapon here Orin is holding,
that's an M1 Carbine.

Right. And that would've been
a standard issue?

Well, it had only
just been approved in 1941.

They would have distributed this weapon
to those most in need of it first.

Maybe that could help you
narrow your search.

Extremely helpful. Thank you.

I can do you one more.

I'll give you the name of my buddy
who's a buff on World War II MIAs.

Here's the number.
The name is Peter Kitchenmaster.

- [laughs] That is a heck of a name.
- He's a heck of a fella.

- Thank you, sir.
- It's a big help.

- I aim to be of service.
- Thank you for yours.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

[Russell] This day was full of surprises.

[Caroline] It sure was.

[Caroline] Thanks for the lift.

- [Russell] That was fun.
- Yeah.

If they ever have another dance,
we should go back and do it again.

I don't know about that.

All of my amazing dancing
might have just been beginner's luck.

Why don't we just take it
one step at a time?

[laughs] Was that a joke?

Probably not, if you have to ask, but…

[both laugh]

I think we made
really great progress today.

Yeah, we did.
And I'll call Peter first thing tomorrow.

Yeah. And then just give me a ring
straight after.

Okay, you got it.

- Good night, Watson.
- Ohh…

Come on, you know I'm Sherlock.

You look a little bit more
like a Watson. [laughs]

All Sherlock.

- Good night.
- Good night.

[singsong] Watson.

[Russell laughs]

[door chiming festively]

[phone keys chirping]

[jazzy "Jingle Bells" playing]

She's going to text you.

Don't worry.

I'm not. I'm just a little bit anxious.

Trying to get any news, really.

How's that going?

[sighs] I can't really tell, because…
I think she likes me,

but if I make any sort of move,
I feel like I scare her off.

- I meant, how's it going looking for Orin?
- Orin? Okay. Um…

Still haven't found him, but…
got some promising clues.

Well, hey, the longer it takes
to find Orin,

the longer you have to convince Caroline
not to be scared off.

I personally believe
in love at first sight,

but there's something to be said
for a slow burn.

I like the way you think. Here you go.

I know.

[general chatter]

[Russell] I think so. [laughs]

Hey. Sorry, guys. Parking was nuts.

Why don't you guys grab a table,
and I'll get some drinks?

- You know what I like.
- Double-whip.

Well… there's Santa.

Imagine him trying to parallel park
with eight reindeer.

[both laugh]

[Caroline] Now I'm thinking about
his sleigh, beeping in reverse.

All those reindeers taking up the spots...
That's why you were late!

[chuckling]

[Russell] He's coming.

- What?
- Santa's looking at you.

[Caroline] Because you've been
on the naughty list.

Hi. Are you Caroline?

Um…

I don't know. It depends.
Are you the real Santa?

[hearty and jolly] Oh, ho-ho-ho!
I am Santa!

Santa's helper.
My name's Peter Kitchenmaster.

I work at the mall at Christmas.
I'm heading to work from here.

Well…

[loudly] Santa…

in that case, you can sit down.

Ho, ho, ho! Thank you!

I really do love seeing
the looks on people's faces

when I'm doing "regular people" stuff
dressed in this.

- I'm Russ.
- Russ, hi.

- [Russell] Thanks for coming.
- Russell found the uniform.

Okay.

Okay, I got us hot chocolates…

- [Russell] Thank you.
- Hi!

Santa!

This is my sister. This is Jules.

- That's Peter.
- I, uh…

Sometimes it's better not to know.

[Peter chuckles]

So, Caroline tells me you have
important information about Orin.

I do. I ran down Orin's information
through my networks.

I found the relative that received
the telegram from the government,

informing Orin's family he was MIA.

And was the relative still alive?

Unfortunately, no,

but I was able to trace them
to Orin and Alice's grandkids.

Oh! And I have an address
you can look into.

Oh! This is incredible.
Thank you so much. This is great.

That is the best lead that we've had.

We might be able to get
this uniform home in time for Christmas.

Well, I hate to cut this short,
but Santa's work is never done.

- Thanks so much.
- It was nice meeting you kids.

- Thank you.
- [Peter] Merry Christmas.

[loudly] Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you!

- That was fun.
- Like a rollercoaster.

- [laughing]
- But that way… but he could fly!

That's the only… [laughs]

That's such a dad joke.

It is a dad joke.

- [Jules] He has a lot of those.
- [phone ringing]

- It's all I have.
- Excuse me, guys. Hey.

Hey! Did you meet the guy?

Yeah.

- It was all great info.
- Okay.

Oh. Hold on just one second.

- Argh! Jules? Can you hold this?
- [Jules] Yeah.

[Caroline] Thank you. I think…

- I forgot my gloves. I'll be right back.
- Hey, your phone…

- [Caroline] I'll be right back.
- Okay. Um…

Oh!

Oh.

Hi! I'm Jules.

- Pleasure to meet you, Jules.
- You too.

I'm Alton.

[Jules giggles]

Hey, sorry. Found them.

Uh…

- What's happening?
- It's like I'm not even here.

Yeah, I studied at West Point.

That's great.

- [chuckling] Okay.
- Hi. Hi, I'm back.

I have to get these two
back to their store, but…

I think there's a little connection here.
Hold on just one second.

- Do you want me to give him your number?
- Yes. Absolutely.

Okay, I am going to text you
Jules's number,

so you can finish your conversation,

but for now, I have to go.

So, say goodbye.

- Uh, bye!
- Bye, Jules.

- Bye!
- Bye.

Um… he's gorgeous. Please tell me
he's not fresh off a break-up

or has something weird,
like he hates puppies.

No, no. He loves puppies.

And he has been vetted by me
and the United States Army, so he's good.

- There we go.
- Oh. Great!

So, so, so… a super-sleuth
and a matchmaker?

- I'm a woman of many talents.
- Mm.

[Jules] Hey! How's it going?

Yeah, this address looks like
it's only about 30 minutes away from here.

You should go. Like, today!

I think it's a little late
to show up on someone's doorstep.

- Can't you call first?
- No. No number.

Come on, who wouldn't want
a completely unexpected visit

from two strangers during the holidays?

No one. [laughs]

We could just bring a "thank you" gift
to sweeten the deal.

Everybody loves presents.

- Where are we gonna get one of those?
- Pfft!

Come with me. I have an idea.

This Santa is
an original Corbin Supnik design.

The woman this belonged to had
every one of these that was ever made.

This collector comes along…
picks up the whole lot…

except... see that crack right there?

I guess the collector thought somehow
that the crack made it more fragile

or less valuable in some way, but…

I think that it's a crack that proves
just how strong something can really be.

[clunking]

Russell? Printer's jammed again.

I should probably go rescue her.

Yeah. [laughs] I have to take off anyway.

Okay, so we'll go to the address tomorrow?

- Yeah, okay.
- Yeah. You know what?

We should just make a whole day of it.

There's this incredible little place
in Marionville,

where this sweet lady makes
these German Christmas stollen,

and outside the place looks like
a Christmas globe ornament.

- [Caroline] Yeah?
- Bye.

Inside, it looks like a movie.

Does that, uh, sound like fun?

Actually, yes.

You want to go?

- Yeah.
- Okay.

[door chiming festively]

Text me your address,
and I will wrap up Santa.

- Okay. Goodbye.
- Bye.

[exhaling deeply]

[German-style music playing]

- [Caroline] Thank you.
- [Russell] You're welcome.

It doesn't get
any more Christmassy than this.

- Except for your apartment.
- True. Wait till you try the stollen.

Ingrid! [speaking German]
Zwei Stollen, bitte.

- And you speak German?
- Ein kleines bisschen.

- Like two words.
- [both laugh]

- Danke.
- Danke.

That's the other word.

- Right here?
- Yeah.

- This place is lovely.
- Been coming here for years.

Oh! Okay, you get the first bite.

- All right. I just… kind of dig in?
- Yeah, just dive right in.

Mmm!

- Right? Told you.
- Totally worth the detour.

Okay, so other than this,
what's your favorite Christmas confection?

- [laughing] My what?
- Confection. Come on.

You have to have a historical affection
with confection.

- No?
- I don't know. I like a lot of things.

- Mm. Just one.
- I don't want to talk about myself.

What about you?
Let's talk about you. Like…

- How'd you get started with your store?
- My store?

In college,
my ex-girlfriend and I got involved

with auctions
for abandoned storage units.

Yeah, yeah.
Did you ever find any lost treasure?

No. But I did find that I loved things
that have a history.

So, she would want
to throw everything away,

and I wanted to go through every box,
every envelope, every pocket.

[Russell laughs]

It didn't take us long to realize
we weren't very good business partners,

but I started collecting things
and got my own storage locker.

I started an online store,

and then Jules came and helped me
after I build it up a little bit,

and here we are.

Nice.

So, what happened to the girlfriend?

Was the ending of the business
the ending of true love?

True love? No.
I wouldn't call it true love.

I don't think I've ever had that
with anybody.

Well…

do you want it?

True love?

Absolutely.

But I want
the Alice-and-Orin kind of love.

One hundred percent,
all-in, forever and ever,

the good and bad, through rain or shine.

- And you think it's possible?
- I do. I definitely think it's possible.

So, one of your relatives
used to live here?

No, we're not related.

It's actually complicated,
but we're trying to track down

a World War II soldier who went MIA,

and he was related to the man
who lived here.

Does Brad Newton ring a bell?

We bought the house from one of his kids.
They moved to Florida.

Would you have a name or an address
to get in touch with them?

I didn't keep up with them. [sighing]

Okay. Well, thank you.

I might have information in the paperwork
from when I bought the house.

- I can drag it out.
- You don't mind?

- Sit down. I'll go get it.
- Thank you.

That's great!

[Russell clears throat]

- Hi there.
- Hi.

I don't know you.

No… No, you don't,
but your mother let us in.

- We're just...
- Who's the present for?

This is for you… all.

- For you all.
- Even my big brother?

- Yes.
- Yeah, of course.

He won't like it if it isn't a video game.

- Oh, okay. [chuckles] He's probably not...
- Are you married?

[both] What?

No.

[both] No.

You smile at each other
like my mom and dad…

and they're married.

Do you have to be married
in order to smile at somebody?

Depends on the smile.

It's got to be in here somewhere.

Oh! [clears throat]

Thank you so much for doing this.

This all can seem a little crazy.

Believe it or not,
you're our best lead so far.

We want to get this uniform back
to its family before Christmas.

There! Now, this isn't Brad,
it's his son, Griffin,

and it's just an email,
from four years ago.

I don't know if it's still correct.

- I'll take it. Mind if I take a picture?
- Sure.

[snapping photo]

[Caroline] Thank you so much.
We should get going.

We don't want to take up your time…

- Do we get the present now?
- Right, this!

Yes, there you go. Merry Christmas.

Good luck. I hope you find
who you're looking for.

We do too.

- Okay. Thanks.
- Merry Christmas.

- Bye-bye.
- Bye.

[footsteps recede]

It's definitely not a video game.

[laughing]

Thank you.

Yeah, you're welcome.

- [Caroline sighs] Well…
- That was fun.

Yeah! [laughs]

Oh, and thank you
for giving me the leftovers.

Yeah, that's hard for me.

I had a really great time.

- I think we're closer to finding Orin.
- Yeah.

I'm gonna send that email
early tomorrow morning, okay?

Sounds great. Then just…
you can call me afterwards

with the results, if you want to.

Or, even better yet,
you could just swing on by the store.

Again. That was nice.

- I'd like that.
- Yeah. Yeah.

I could… I could do that.

- So, just… good night.
- Good night.

- Thanks for driving.
- [clears throat]

Okay. Bye… Ooh! Snow.

Get home safe.

Bye.

[instrumental
"Angels We have Heard on High" playing]

Who is that?

This is Alice and Orin before the war.

[Jules] Wow.

- They look so in love.
- They have no idea what's coming.

Nobody knows how things will turn out,
where love is concerned.

Okay, that said… I wonder
if they'd have made different choices

to avoid some of this pain.

No!

That's not how love works.

If you don't dive in head-first,
then you aren't doing it right.

And… you miss a lot of the good stuff.

That may be true, but not every woman
just wants to dive in head-first, Jules.

Well, love is cannonballs
and belly-flops, pal.

You've got to go for it.
You know I'm talking about Caroline.

- Yeah.
- What are you waiting for?

I'm okay with taking my time.

She needs time, and I can give her that.

I love you, big brother,
but if you know what makes you happy,

why wouldn't you want
to be happy right now?

[phone buzzing]

- Yeah.
- Speaking of being happy…

Excuse me while I take this phone call.

Hey, Alton.

[doorbell chiming]

Come in!

- Hey.
- Hey.

Dinner's almost ready.

It is cold out there.

Yes, it is.

So… what's going on?
Said you want to talk?

- I got a little problem.
- Hopefully I have a solution.

Shoot.

I think I like Russell.

[chuckles]
That doesn't sound like a problem.

It is if I go away to London,
if I get the fellowship.

That's only 18 months.
What's the big deal?

I almost had a... a panic attack
in front of him.

What happened?

I was telling him about that…

about that Christmas.

It was the good part,
not even the bad part.

I didn't even tell him
what happened afterwards.

[exhaling deeply]

- Caroline… hey.
- What?

[Alton] Look at me.

It's okay. We're both here.

We're both safe.

I just want to do something normal.

Just go to dinner with somebody.

But it seems like every time I go,
you know… [sniffling]

…and I start to like somebody,
I get this feeling that creeps up on me,

and I almost fall apart.

But you came back from it,
and you didn't fall apart,

and even if you did,
Russell would've understood.

[quietly] No.

He's not gonna understand.

People will not understand
what we've seen.

Russell deserves a chance to figure out
what he can and can't handle.

You gotta stop pushing people away.

You deserve to be happy.

Ohh. [sighing]

Another dead end.

Maybe you don't want to be found, Orin.

Ha! Ahh!

Message received.

I'm not gonna give up yet.

[call ringing]

Come on, come on. Pick up.

- [Caroline] Hello?
- Caroline?

- You have got to get over here now.
- What have you found?

It's a Christmas miracle.

This is the last of its kind.
It's from Wichita, Kansas.

Just can't believe
we still have this around.

[chuckles] Merry Christmas. And thanks.

- Hi.
- Hi!

Okay.

- What?
- Where is it?

Where's what?

- The jacket!
- Right here.

[Russell] You gotta tell me.

[Caroline] Oh, wow, you are brilliant.

- Eh, don't give him a big head.
- Too late.

The symbol embedded in the patch
on Orin's jacket is hobo code.

Travelers would mark
the trees and the rocks

to let the next person know
what to expect in the area.

Now it's just sold as folk art.

- What?
- I'm really impressed.

- I know things.
- [Caroline] Yes, you do.

[all chuckling]

So, this symbol means "hold your tongue."

[Jules] Oh.

Okay. Still confused.

Okay, so, the Army used to use
this symbol in connection

with an elite unit,
the Special Service Force.

They were responsible for building
all the code during World War II

to get all of the top-secret information
across enemy lines.

So, Orin was a secret coder?

If he had that patch, then he was
most definitely from that unit, yeah.

But his cover could've been so deep

that the other members of his platoon
wouldn't have known.

The Army never even fully acknowledged
the unit until after the war.

What does this mean?

Well… [chuckling]

…it means that when Orin went MIA,

he might have been on a top-secret mission

to infiltrate enemy lines
and send back coded intel.

Orin… you sly fox, you!

So, I asked Alton if we could get
onto the base, into the records office,

and he said we could, tonight.

I'm in.

I figured that. What about you?

Tonight? Let me see. I'm pretty busy…

- Stop it.
- [laughs] We'll get our coats.

[Caroline] Don't tease me.

[phone ringing]

- Hello?
- [man] Miss Upton?

Charles Leith from
the Sandringham Scholar program.

- Yes, sir. Hello!
- I wanted to let you know

that your references have proven stellar,

and someone from my office
will be in touch

via email to schedule an online interview

in the coming days.

Oh, that sounds amazing.
Thank you so much, sir.

Good. I look forward to it.

Okay, then. Bye-bye.

[beeping phone off]

Ready to go?

- Yeah.
- [Russell] All right, pitter-patter.

Probably shouldn't forget this.

[door chiming festively]

This... yeah, this looks good.

- Hey.
- Hi.

- Nice to see you. [chuckles nervously]
- You too.

[Caroline] Ahem!

- Oh, uh, hey. Nice to meet you, Russell.
- Alton.

These two won't stop talking about you.

- It's all good stuff, of course.
- [laughing] Well, I'm glad.

So, I assume you want to get to it?

- Yeah.
- [Alton] This way.

So, I've got some relevant docs
pulled up on my computer.

Top drawer of the file cabinet
has some documents as well.

Okay.

Jules, do you want to go get
some snacks for everyone?

- Sure.
- Okay. We'll be right back.

Just don't set anything on fire, Caroline.

- That was one time!
- Well, once is enough.

- Fire...?
- Don't ask. Long story.

[chuckling]

Okay. There's lots
of declassified information here.

- How do you even read this?
- I'm trained.

[laughing] Okay.

- [Caroline] Look.
- [Russell] What is that?

[Caroline] So, Orin was on
a top-secret mission.

More importantly, he had a cohort,

who went by the name of "SL."

[Russell] Okay, but who's SL?

I don't know, it doesn't say.

- What's the next step?
- Well… that's it for this.

Let's check the file cabinet.

[drawer rumbles open]

Lots of info...
Like, classified, declassified…

Welcome to my world.

Spy stuff!

[both laughing]

- Oh!
- Let me get it. I got it.

[Caroline] Sorry.

- [bang]
- Oh! Oh…

- Are you okay?
- [groans loudly] I think so.

- That was a nasty hit.
- Ooh, yeah.

- Look at me.
- Caroline?

- Stop.
- Caroline? I hear you...

[laughs] Stop it.

- [Alton] I hope you like grape soda.
- [bang]

- Oh!
- [Jules] Ow…

- [inhaling sharply] Hi.
- Don't knock yourself out on my watch.

Yeah, yeah, no, no, no…
I was just, um…

I was looking
for some declassified information

on intelligence personnel,
and it's not in there.

Yeah, we won't have any of that in there.

But we have ledgers in the archives
I could order.

- Okay.
- Oof, how long will that take?

At least a week.

Okay. That's getting close to Christmas,
but it's worth a shot.

I think that's the next best step.

Mm.

- It's getting close to dinner, so...
- Should we go get something?

I'm still on duty, but we could order in.

- Yeah. Davenport's?
- Best burgers in town.

[chuckles] Yeah.

Ah! These eggnog milkshakes
from Davenport's…

- That's one reason you still visit me.
- You blackmailing me?

Maybe.

[laughing]

The fries are also very good.

Hey. You guys must've spent a lot
of Christmases together on duty.

- What was that like?
- Caroline told me a little bit.

You always seemed to make the best of it.

Mm.

Yeah.

Well, it wasn't always the best.

[both chuckling dryly]

[Caroline] Ah. No, it wasn't.

Yeah, there was one Christmas Eve

where we were having
this little Christmas celebration...

- I was telling you about it.
- Yeah.

And we had to go on patrol that night.

Wait. You had to do that on Christmas Eve?

- Mm-hmm. Every night.
- [Caroline] Yeah.

Every night.

But this particular night,

we were in a convoy, and…

and let's, uh… [chuckles dryly]

…let's just say it wasn't
a good place to be…

and we weren't
in the same vehicle, and, uh…

[sighing]

You know what? I'm gonna…
spare you guys the details.

Let's just say it was a rough night.

I will tell you this, though.

This woman…

she pulled me out of the wreckage.

She saved my life.

[Russell exhales softly]
Wow. You're a true hero.

[chuckling uncomfortably]

They gave her the Silver Star.

- [Caroline] Ahem.
- Wow.

[clearing throat, sniffling]

Excuse me. I'll be right back.

- Can I help her?
- She doesn't need help.

She just needs you to be patient with her.

Yeah.

I can do that.

[starts ringing]

Hi, Deb. What's up?

Yeah, look, I found something
I think you might be interested in.

You want to come by?

- Be right over.
- Okay, bye.

[beep]

[blowing]

Hey, Deb!

- Oh, hey, Russell.
- What you got for me?

I was just finishing up the cleanout,
and I think I found something.

It was just a garbage bag,
but you can never be sure.

[Russell] That's right.

- It's a whole bag of letters.
- You're kidding. Letters?

You can't sell them,
but I couldn't throw 'em away.

I know. Does it say who they're from?

I opened a few of them.

It seems to be a bunch of love letters
between a couple named Alice and Orin.

[claps hands]
This is great, Deb. Mm! [kissing]

You're the best!

- Merry Christmas!
- Merry Christmas. Take them!

Yes, okay!

Good luck with this engine.

Thanks!

[instrumental "Deck the Halls" playing]

[dog barking]

All right.

There you go. Stay. Stay.

Okay. [sighs] That's gonna have to do.

[mutters] You need decorations.
You need decorations.

I don't have any decorations.

[gasping]

Yes, I do!

Hi, Brian.

There you go, buddy.

[sighs]

[beeping phone on]

[placing a call]

[his call ringing]

[her call ringing]

[voicemail] You've reached Caroline.
Leave a message after the tone.

[voicemail] Hi. It's Russell.
Leave a message after the beep.

[beeping phone off]

[doorbell chimes]

- Hey, Jules.
- Hey.

[Caroline] Is Russell here?

Russell left a little bit ago.
He was going to your house.

My house?

- All right, thank you.
- Sure.

- Oh!
- Oh! Sorry. Excuse me…

Hey.

- I called...
- I called you.

Yeah.

- I just had to tell you something….
- …to tell you…

Um… ladies first.

Well, I just had this wild hair,
and I got a Christmas tree. [laughs]

But I don't have a tree stand
or ornaments, or anything, really.

So, I thought maybe you could come over
and help me make my house

look a little less like a Grinch's cave.

If you're not busy.

[laughs]

What did you want to say?

I... Are you kidding me? Yes.
Help you de-Grinch your house?

That… yes. But…

I just had a really big breakthrough
in our mystery.

- Yeah?
- Yes! Like, really big.

All the stuff is in the store.

We're gonna get you some ornaments…

- We'll kill two birds with one stone.
- Okay.

Okay, here's your coffee.

Thank you.

So… all of Orin and Alice's letters
cover the entire war.

But the Christmas card is 1944,
and after that, all correspondence stops.

Mm-hmm.

Hey…

- Come here. Look at this.
- Show me.

So...

Uh… [chuckling]

So, look at the handwriting in both
of their letters. It's very… stylized.

Right? At first, I just thought
it was the penmanship of the time period.

But if you look closely…

see the slants in the lines?

You see that?

It's creating shapes within the letters.

Repeating shapes.

- What do you think that means?
- They were communicating in code.

What if Alice is…

[both] …SL?

Russell, if that's the case,
then this could be a massive discovery.

That would mean that all these letters
contain military intelligence.

This could be huge!

Whoa.

We need a headquarters.

[Russell] That's a "V."

Yeah. Which makes this a "P."

- Why is that, now?
- It's just a guess.

This is kind of like a puzzle, you know?

[pounding at door]

One second.

[door opens]

- Alton.
- We thought you needed coffee.

- And company.
- [Russell] Yes, please.

Thank you. I thought you were on duty.

I told my commanding officer that
an old Army buddy needed some help,

so he let me take a couple days' leave.

Thank you, because clearly we can use it.
[laughs]

Yeah, wow! Is this how you run
your station, Major?

I know. I've become lax
in my civilian life.

That's why I'm here.

- Okay. Well, let me walk you through this.
- Mm-hmm.

From the little bit that I can gather,
I think that Orin

was passing on
enemy intelligence to Alice,

and then Alice was passing it
to the American government.

So, does that mean
their whole relationship was a cover?

It could have been, but I don't think so.

This is different. All of this personal,
romantic information, it's so detailed.

It's so woven through these letters.

Just... I don't know.
I think it's different with these two.

Yeah.

This intel would've been
an incredible help for the Allies.

- For sure.
- [Caroline] This code is so intricate.

But, from what I can gather
with Alice's last letter,

I think she was trying to tell him
that he'd be extracted on Christmas Eve.

But the question remains whether or not
the extraction was successful.

Yes.

And we still don't know
if they were ever reunited.

The ledgers should arrive
in the next few days.

Sure hope they bring good news.

I can't stop thinking about Orin's family

getting this jacket
sometime before Christmas.

[deep breath] Ah! I'll be of no use
if I don't get a shower and a nap.

[overlapping agreement]

Should we just rendezvous tomorrow,
bright and early?

- [Russell] Yes, that's a great idea.
- [Alton] Yeah.

- [Russell] We'll see you guys tomorrow.
- See you tomorrow.

Bye.

Can I walk you to your car?

Oh. Uh, no, Jules can let me out.
Thank you.

- Caroline?
- Yeah?

I can be patient.

And if Alice and Orin taught us anything,

it's that if two people
are meant to be together, they will be.

Yeah. I just need to make some decisions.

Yeah. Like I said, I'm not gonna push.

- I'll see you tomorrow.
- Okay.

- Get some sleep.
- You get some sleep. [chuckling]

- Bye.
- Bye.

Good night.

[door closing]

[phone ringing]

[beep]

Hello?

Ms. Upton. This is Charles Leith.

Professor Leith.

Oh, It suddenly occurs to me that,
with the time difference,

it might be quite late for you.

Oh. No. Don't worry, sir. I'm still awake.

I just wanted to inform you that
we would like to offer you the fellowship.

- [astonished laugh]
- Starting in the new year.

Are you serious?

I don't know what to say.
Thank you so much. I'm honored.

Well, the board was particularly moved
by your decision to focus

on the importance
of the home front in wartime.

We are very much looking forward
to what you will discover.

Well, I am very much on my way
in that regard, sir.

Good to hear. Well, I'll let you go.

We'll send an email with more information.

Thank you so much.

I really appreciate this call.
And merry Christmas.

[chuckling] Happy Christmas.

[beeping call off]

[laughing quietly]

[message alert dings]

[chuckling softly]

[Caroline] Before we go inside,
I have some news.

[Alton] So, what's the intel?

Well, I, uh…

- I got the fellowship.
- What? That's great!

Yeah. Yeah, but… I didn't tell Russell.

You didn't tell him?

No. I didn't think I would need to.

- So, basically, you chickened out?
- I didn't "chicken out."

Think about it. Why would I start
a new relationship right now?

- I'm leaving town.
- Once again... 18 months isn't forever.

- I'm not buying your excuses.
- I'm not making excuses.

- Caroline?
- What?

You're making excuses.

[Caroline sighs] I hate when you're right.

Yeah. I am making excuses.
You want to know why?

Because I don't feel like a whole person.

You know?

And I really like this guy. I didn't think
I was gonna meet anybody like him.

And to be honest with you…

I think he deserves better.

Russell cares about you…

everything about you,

the good and the bad.

And, you know what?

That stuff isn't even bad...
It's just part of us.

- But it's easier for you.
- It's not!

It's scary, and I have no idea
what's gonna happen.

But, believe me,
the benefits outweigh the risk.

You're not doing
a proper risk assessment, soldier.

Okay. Well, can you just keep this
between us for right now?

Please?

Well… you're lucky. The ledgers are in.

My assistant is going to send through
what she found.

So, we have plenty of other stuff
to talk about.

Thank you.

But you can't avoid it forever.

[door chiming festively]

Hey. So, yeah, it should be here
in just a couple…

- Here. We'll set it up right here.
- Okay.

[no audio]

[Alton] It is go-time.

- [exhales deeply] I'm holding my breath.
- Is that the e-mail?

- Has she said what she found?
- Only that we'll be surprised.

Based on the documentation,
it looks like Orin was extracted in 1944.

- Yes!
- Ah! Okay, good.

But his team was forced into hiding

while trying to escape
back into Allied territory.

Did he make it back?

Uh, Orin was listed as
missing in action for several months.

Please don't tell me that means he's…

But they did make it back to the Safe Zone
sometime in 1945.

- Yes!
- [chuckling] Yeah.

And Orin was allowed to return
to the U.S.,

where he spent the remainder of the war
working in Intelligence.

There we go! Does it say anything
about him marrying Alice?

[Alton] I... I don't know.

I can't see either an Orin Newton
or an Alice Tilbury once the war ended.

I don't understand. What does that mean?

It's like they ceased to exist.

Where are those letters?

- In the back.
- Show me.

Follow me.

Okay.

Okay.

Hey, can you grab me that coder?

- This one?
- Yeah.

What do you see?

Thank you.

Want a pen? Pencil?

Hold on. Just give me a second.

What'd you find?

- There's a second code.
- What?

There's a second code!

Alice and Orin
were secretly trying to make plans.

- Plans for what?
- I'd need more time with these,

but I think that they were trying to make
plans to "disappear" after the war,

to protect themselves and their families,
due to the dangerous mission.

Like witness protection?

Right, but then the question is,
who did Orin and Alice become?

It's gotta be in here somewhere.

[sighing]

Well, this is gonna be tricky.

- Can you grab me that photo you found?
- Yeah.

- This one?
- Yeah.

"Swanson's Lodge."

"SL."

Yeah. That's Alice's codename: "SL."

"Swanson's Lodge." Does anyone have
a cellphone I could borrow?

Thank you.

"Swanson's Lodge…"

Okay. It is an hour away from here,

and it says it was run by a couple
named Gerald and Doris Wheaton,

who bought the camp from
its original owner after World War II.

Gerald and Doris
passed away in 2013, however,

the Wheaton family still owns it.

It's them.

[laughs incredulously]

[Caroline] It's them!

What?

[Alton] That's them?

Are you serious? You did it! You did it!

- Oh!
- [laughing]

- [Russell] You did it.
- We did it.

[Russell] Yeah, we did.

And they literally lived
happily ever after.

[laughter]

- [high-fiving]
- Look at us.

Yes!

[laughing]

- Whoo! Teamwork.
- [Jules] Wow.

Let's see it again.

That's them, huh?
That is them, right there.

This might seem forward,

but I was wondering
if you might have Christmas with us.

You know, Jules, me, and, you know, Alton.

He can come.

Yeah, I have to go.

Yeah, yeah.

I know, it's been a big day.

We can just talk about it tomorrow.

No, I have to go, meaning…

I have to leave the country.

- What?
- I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just…

I wasn't sure that…

because I didn't know
what was gonna happen here, but…

I've been offered
the Sandringham Scholar Fellowship.

And it's very prestigious, and…

it's in London, and… I'm gonna go.

I'm so happy for you. That is…

Wow. That's a big deal.

Thank you.

I'm happy that we found Alice and Orin,
and you're able to give that family

a really great Christmas gift,
'cause that's important to you.

It's important to you too.

I couldn't have done any of this
without you.

You could move your flight
to the day after Christmas easily.

- I really do want to be there, I do.
- You can.

But it's a very fast-paced program,
and I need to hit the ground running.

Yeah.

I understand.

Hey, but we had fun. Right?

Running around the town like a couple
of teenagers, looking for clues… [laughs]

It's like we were in our little fairytale.

But I'm a realist,

and…

I know that the longer I stay here,

the harder it's gonna be
for me to leave, so…

I'm gonna go.

So, this is merry Christmas…

and goodbye?

[Caroline] Mm.

[kiss]

[starting to speak]

Merry Christmas.

[Russell] Wow, this is it.

I sure wish Caroline was here.

So do I, but look on the bright side.

At least I could fast-track
the declassification of these letters

so we could bring them home
to Orin's family.

- True.
- We'll take lots of pictures.

I know, but she would've loved this.

Welcome.

- [Russell] Thank you.
- [Jules] Hi!

- I see the resemblance. [laughs]
- Thank you.

- I'm Jules.
- Nice to meet you.

- I'm Russ.
- Thanks for coming. We're excited.

- [woman] Come on in.
- [Russell] Okay.

Welcome.

[Jules] Wow. This is beautiful.

It's all Nana's things.

Grandpap built it with his own hands.

Wow! Orin... [laughing] Gerald?
I don't know what to call him anymore.

We just called him Grandpap.

Well, Grandpap was a man of many talents.

I know. We've been learning
all about him and Nana's secret code.

Sorry, what? The secret code?
You don't have any letters yet.

I've been telling them.

Caroline.

You're meant to be on a plane to London.

Yeah. I know.

I just decided to move my flight
until after Christmas,

'cause I wanted
to be here for this, and I…

I wanted to speak with you.

But… I thought you didn't want to…

What's changed?

Look. [clears throat]

I come with a lot of bumps and bruises,
and some of them you can't see,

and I was just afraid
that you couldn't handle it.

I thought I'd scare you away.

[sighing]

There's nothing about you or your past
that scares me.

Orin's uniform wasn't placed
in my hands by chance.

I didn't find you by chance.

This was a gift from God.

This was meant to be.

I fell for you the very minute
that I saw you in that cafe.

- You did?
- I did.

I've never been more certain
about anything in my life, but this…

this is what true love feels like.

I don't know what to do,
but we'll just figure this out.

But I'm all in.

It would be more fun
if you were also all in.

[laughing] I'm all in.

[Alton clears throat]

[louder] Ahem!

[laughter]

This uniform's waited
an awfully long time for its reunion.

[both] Yeah.

We should probably go.

[laughing]

You go ahead.

Welcome home.

Thank you so much.

♪ Dreaming of you ♪

♪ A thousand miles ♪

♪ But one day soon, I'll see a smile ♪

♪ And after all this time ♪

♪ I hear your voice, it echoes on ♪

Yay!

♪ It won't be long ♪

♪ I'm bringing Christmas ♪

- Thank you.
- You're so welcome.

♪ I'm bringing Christmas ♪

♪ I'm bringing Christmas home to you ♪

[light music]