Walters and Brinkman are on a roll lately and like to brag, much to the irritation of Reed. He and Malloy help them out by finishing one of their calls, then rescue a sick teenage girl and arrest the young man who took her in. Back on patrol, they meet an informant who gives them a tip on a big drug buy scheduled for 11 PM. They give the info to Sgt. Miller who asks them to help in the bust.

On Christmas eve Reed and Malloy make rounds distributing police department donation packages to needy families, and pull many heartstrings.

It's been a long night of patrol for Malloy and Reed. Just as the two tired officers are headed to the station to turn in for the night, shots are fired at the patrol car. In the blink of an eye, Reed kills whom he believes was the gunman. Back at the station, Reed undergoes a night of intensive questioning from the captain and lieutenant, as part of the superior officers' investigation into the incident. In the end, the captain confides in Reed that his story is credible and the rookie officer will likely be allowed back on patrol upon the completion of the investigation.

A couple of neighbors co-own a boat and continually fight over it so Malloy and Reed do their best to mediate this latest rift.

Malloy and Reed are on the lookout for the "Mulholland Mauler," who has raped six female hitchhikers and left them for dead. They quickly make an arrest of a likely suspect and take him to the location of an abandoned vehicle, after learning its owner never made it to her destination.