Later, Travis tried to pass the time by chatting with the station's former captain Pruitt, after seeing him watching his daughter, firefighter Andy, from afar. Travis surmised that Pruitt hadn't told Andy about the return of his cancer, which he confirmed. Pruitt picked up some judgment from Travis, though he disputed that. Pruitt suggested he get back to the phone, which was ringing. Travis answered, hearing the voice of his mother Nari, wondering if he was staying warm. An uncomfortable Travis rushed to get her off the phone, as she suggested he get some soup.
This led to him having a flashback to when he and his then-boyfriend Michael (played by Jonathan Bennett) had a visit with his parents. Their seemingly happy dessert was interrupted by Travis & Michael revealing that they were engaged. While the couple appeared prepared for happy reactions, Travis was disappointed when he didn't get any response from Nari or his father. Travis urged them to congratulate the couple, but his father instead left the table.
Back in the present, Travis fielded a call from a woman who told him that she was very cold. He let her know that he was going to have to put her on hold. She told him that she had been on hold for a long time. Travis apologized, before putting the call on hold. He was then distracted by a young woman, Rose, who was taking his picture. She suggested he become her boyfriend, but Travis let the girl down gently, telling her that he was gay. She feigned her heart breaking. He jokingly wondered if he might be able to get her help with the phones. He then remembered the woman on hold and got back to her call. She told him about being trapped in her car out in the snow. As he tried to hear more of the details, a rowdy group of jocks began making too much noise in the lobby, leaving him unable to hear her, despite his yelling to the guys to quiet down.
Forced to put the woman on hold again, Travis retreated to the nearby private office, only to find a man using the phones for his business calls. Travis was having none of the man's snarky attitude and he quickly kicked him out of the room. Travis got back on the phone with the old woman, learning her name was Pilar. He asked about street signs or landmarks where her car was, but she couldn't remember anything helpful, telling him that she was not from Seattle. When she mentioned not being able to see because of the car being buried in snow, Travis got even more concerned over the situation, as the blizzard raged on. He grabbed the radio, contacting emergency services.
Travis explained that he needed a search and rescue team to locate the woman trapped in her car, buried in snow. He tried to get more information from Pilar to assist with the rescue. When she mentioned her car skidding off a bridge near a park, he tried to pinpoint her location, while getting her to continue talking. She told him about how she was in Seattle to visit her son Simon. Travis asked her more about her son and she confided in him that Simon was 32 years-old and she knew he was still upset with her for taking him away from his father.
Trying to keep the woman talking, Travis asked her more about her relationship with her son. Pilar told him about how much she wanted to protect him and how abusive her husband was. She relayed to Travis the story of the day she moved away with Simon as a little boy. When she said that he was upset with her ever since, Travis was surprised. He was even more shocked when the woman said this happened a few days ago, after Simon's fourth birthday party. Travis realized Pilar was growing confused, which could be due to hypothermia, upsetting him. This led to another flashback as he sat with his mother Nari going over his favorite poem that she wrote. He asked if she would read it at his and Michael's wedding. She was caught-off guard, and a bit afraid to read it publicly, but she agreed.
Back in the present, Travis was getting closer to locating Pilar. He asked her to honk her horn and she did. He heard it through the phone and was glad to hear it was working. He told Pilar that she was going to have to do that again when search & rescue got closer so they could find her in the snow. Pilar experienced a bit more confusion, not remember who she was talking to on the phone. This worried Travis. Pilar told him about how wrong she might have been not to tell her son Simon the truth about his father. She chose to just protect him however she could and she knew he couldn't be in a house with that man. This led to another flashback for Travis, as his father wondered why Travis & Michael couldn't elope, instead of having a public ceremony. This upset Travis, as his father talked about how embarrassed his mother was and how worried his father was about her. Travis told him that he wasn't going to be ashamed of being in love or marrying a wonderful man. He said his father had enough shame for them both.
Back in the present, Travis tried to convince Pilar that she did what she felt was best to protect her son. He then got the call from the dispatch radio that the search & rescue team was at the bridge where Travis pinpointed Pilar's location. Travis told Pilar it was time to honk her horn so they could find her. The search & rescue team relayed to Travis that they didn't see any damage to the bridge or any cars nearby. Travis pushed Pilar to honk that horn, but she said it wasn't working. Feeling she might be getting weaker, he begged her to push as hard as she could. With conditions getting worse, the search & rescue team relayed that they would have to move on and perhaps they weren't at the right spot. Travis begged them not to stop looking just yet, but they couldn't find the car. With the team moving on, Pilar asked Travis if she was going to die. A crushed Travis told her that she wasn't going to die, despite knowing the truth of the situation.
Another flashback revealed Travis' wedding day. As guests were gathered and music played, he stood with Michael in front of everyone. Michael looked over to him, knowing they couldn't keep waiting. Travis said he knew. He looked over to the front row, seeing that his parents had not shown up. Michael leaned over to him and told him that in a matter of minutes they were going to be married. They were going to be a family and he was always going to be there in the front row. Michael promised that he was going to show up for him. Travis smiled as the two locked hands, moving forward with the ceremony.
Back in the present, Travis enlisted Rose's help to keep Pilar talking on the phone while he scrambled around the office, looking for something. He returned to the phone and Pilar said it was nice to meet his girlfriend. Travis didn't bother to correct the woman, revealing he had found a bible. He asked if there was something he could read her. With Pilar growing more mentally fragile, she began calling him Simon. She poured her heart out to her "son," apologizing for not being honest with him. Travis played the part the woman needed, calling her "mom," giving the woman forgiveness. Travis said a prayer as Pilar went silent as the sun was rising outside. When she no longer responded to him, Travis ended the call and cried.
This led to another flashback with Travis and Michael listening as Travis' mother recited her poem that Travis had asked her to read at their wedding. While Michael embraced her, telling her how beautiful it was, Travis had no reaction. Michael told him that his mother was trying. Travis, however, could not let go of his anger and said that it wasn't enough after what his parents did. He said it was too late and he walked way.
With the sun having risen, Rose found Travis in the office still sitting on the floor, as the phone rang. She tried to talk to him, but he remained silent. Rose told him that he was a hero and that meant he had to answer the phone. Knocked from his state, Travis answered the phone, taking the next distressed caller. Later that morning, he was back on the phone, this time with his mother. Having learned that time isn't guaranteed, he reached out to Nari, saying that he might be in the mood for her soup after all.
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