Simon persuades his parents to let him go to a party after they meet his friend, a senior who promises to look out after him. When he comes back home completely drunk, he puts his siblings in a terrible position on what do. Matt gets letters from two medical schools but he is hesitant to open them and they eventually end up with Ruthie. When Mary and Lucy take the same classes at an area college, they decide to go to a bar with Lucy's friends.

A startled Eric catches Mary and Lucy in the kitchen with Ben and Kevin in the middle of the night. The guys end up spending the night in the living room with Mary ad Lucy. Ben and Kevin's sister calls the house to inform Ben and Kevin that their mom is going out with a neighbor. Eric suspects that Ruthie knows a secret about Matt and Sarah and thinks they are married already. Meanwhile, an older couple seeks guidance from Eric when they can't seem to let go of their forty-four-year-old son, who has run away from home.

Annie is livid when her father brings along his girlfriend on a weeklong visit; Mary and Matt pursue new romantic interests; Lucy wants to find out if blondes really have more fun.

Against Eric's wishes, Simon asks Mrs. Kerjesz (guest-star real life survivor, Rita Zoharm) to tell her story about being in the Holocaust in his class presentation. To form a strong sisterly bond, Mary and Lucy decide to hate Matt's new girlfriend for no good reason and end up hurting her feelings and breaking up with Matt. Also, Annie suffers heartache when Ruthie tells her she ""hates"" her for making her clean the walls in her room after scribbling crayons on them.

Matt and Sarah grieve over Eric's decision not to attend the nuptials following his argument with Rabbi Glass over Matt's conversion to Judaism. Hoping to patch things up between their fathers, Matt and Sarah seek their mothers' help in persuading them to put aside their differences before it's too late. Ben and Kevin come to Glenoak to meet up with Mary and Lucy so that they can resolve their problems. Robbie tries to figure out why Ruthie wants him to move out of the Camden household.

Mary undergoes knee surgery, while Matt learns that Michael Towner was the hit-and-run driver; Wilson reveals the truth about Billy to Eric.

In order to get extra credit, Simon volunteers to paint a holiday mural with a few good guys in his school. The other volunteers don't like Simon because they are inhaling paint fumes and are afraid he will report them. When one of the boys winds up in the hospital, Simon is accused of providing the paint. After he confronts the boy, the boy decides to confess everything to his parents. Meanwhile, Mary is suddenly thrilled about her community service after she meets the man of her dreams: Robbie Palmer. Eric and Annie are hesitant to allow Mary to pursue a relationship because of her punishment, but do allow Robbie to call her. Matt is up in arms when he learns that Shana is transferring to NYU and that his father provided a reference without his knowledge, and Ruthie wins first prize in her art-school project: a sculpture of the Camden family noses.

Ruthie is nervous when she finds out that Eric and Annie are heading to Scotland. She reveals a very unattractive side of herself when she openly admits that she's not about to sacrifice her own freedom and happiness to come home and be with her sick father. Kevin has a difficult time helping Lucy come to grips with Eric's illness; Sandy accepts Martin's marriage proposal just to get rid of her clingy boyfriend; and Kevin finds out a secret about Jane.

Eric has to tell his parents that George may have to be given over to his birth father, who has resurfaced; Eric's alcoholic sister is released from rehab.

The kids receive some lessons about stealing: Matt and Mary carry on a high-school tradition by lifting a glass from a local diner and Lucy borrows liberally from a term paper Mary lent her.

Mary deals with harassment from a boy she turned down for a date; Lucy's new best friend seems to be hiding something; Simon prepares Ruthie for pre-kindergarten.

Mary tries to make Wilson say that he ""loves"" her, but Wilson thinks it's a big commitment and that they haven't known each other long enough to say those words to each other. Meanwhile, Simon and Ruthie are reading Matt's love letters to Heather and get caught. Matt tricks them by addressing one of the letters to ""Mrs. Matt Camden."" By this, Eric accidently finds the letter leading to think Matt and Heather got married over the summer, which worries himself, Annie and Heather's mom, Mrs. Cain. Lastly, Eric helps Lucy's friend, Laurie get closer to her mother.

Lucy gets an invitation to have pizza with two rebellious friends, then blames herself for the tragic car accident that claims her friend's life, and her sister in the hospital. After Lucy's friend is killed, the family rallies around her, noticing her unusually distant behavior. In addition, Mary does a favor for her ex-boyfriend Wilson and baby-sits his son Billy so he can go to his prom. Also, Simon gets his own room while Matt moves into the attic.

Eric and Annie must deal with the emotional fallout as they learn about their kids tumultuous love lives. Mary upsets her parents by announcing that not only has she decided to skip college in the fall, but she is getting back together with Robbie. Matt is forced to choose between his girlfriend Shana (who has moved back to Glenoak for the summer) or his ex-flame Heather, who confesses that she still loves him. Lucy dates Robbie's cute brother Ronald, disappointing Andrew Nayloss who still harbors feelings for her. Also, Simon gets dumped by Deena and Ruthie takes advantage of her new boyfriend.

As Annie plans a mysterious day of cleaning as Eric discovers the shocking news that Mary ran away from ""The Colonel""'s to come back home because of a devious scheme she had with Robbie and freaks out. Eric is convinced that more trouble is brewing and goes to insane lengths to find answers. In reality, Mary is heading home for a huge surprise birthday party for Eric, attended by all the people whose lives he's changed for the better in the past few years. Chores at home are interrupted, however, when Ruthie discovers Frankie and Johnny's baby, Mercy at the Camden front doorstep. Meanwhile, Lucy stays with her friend Mike's (guest-star Jeremy Lelliot) near catatonic mother for the day, and drops a proverbial bomb on Lucy. Also, Matt and Simon try to figure out why they delivered Mrs. Bink (guest-star Eileen Brennan) to the hospital.

As Annie begins teaching, she inadvertently gives a student some bad advice. At the same time, Eric and Annie painfully discover how much their constant arguing is affecting the family. Lucy and Robbie finally face up to their feelings after she intentionally sabotages one of his dates out of jealousy. Cheryl goes to Eric for some guidance in her relationship with Matt, but she misinterprets the reverend's input in the matter. Simon is attracted to a girl who is dating one of his friends. Mary is left to mull over Wilson's marriage proposal and it's even more confusing when she has a romantic encounter with a fellow firefighter trainee who shows an interest in her.

Matt's new girlfriend seems more interested in hanging out with his family than with him; Simon thinks he can make himself invisible; Lucy wants to join the cheerleading squad.

Annie volunteers as the church's treasurer pro tem but gets caught in the middle when Eric wants to hire an ex-con against the advice of the church vestry. Meanwhile, Mary agrees to tutor Jimmy Moon in science.

Annie's "boy-crazy" best friend from school, Rachel, is in town, but the boy she has her eye on is Matt; Lucy may have to say goodbye to her friend Suzanne.

Eric and Annie decide to renew their vows; a widow seeks Eric's help to confront the juvenile who murdered her husband; Mary is reluctant to put down her crutches.

One of the members of Eric's congregation, Mrs. Bink persuades him to investigate the real reason of why her best friend Mrs. Hinkle is moving into a retirement home. Meanwhile, Simon and Ruthie are performing an experiment and are trying to convince Matt that Simon is shrinking, but the tables suddenly turn for Simon. Also, Lucy tries to get to the bottom of one of her classmates, Shelby as she is rumored all over school of being bulimic.

Eric and Annie try not suspecting the worst when they discover money missing from the church treasury and all the evidence points to Lou, the church treasurer. Later, they all find out it is for his disabled son who was kicked out of his home and needs to find a new one. Believing that Coach Koper has more than basketball on his mind where Mary's concerned, Matt and Lucy risk alienating their sister to discover the truth. Also, Simon lets the game of golf overwhelm his life and ends up breaking a lot of things.

Strenuous events impact all the Camdens as Kevin and Lucy cope with an unexpected tragedy in their young lives. Matters worsen when Lucy convinces her father to let her deliver next Sunday's sermon while she is still in an emotionally unstable condition. Martin frustrates Sandy by suggesting that they get married and build a family for their infant son, then becomes angry when he realizes why Sandy is really holding back. Ruthie is studying in Scotland for the time being, and Annie can't shake the feeling that something is terribly wrong with Eric.

Matt helps out an elderly neighbor, but winds up getting in hot water for it; Eric searches for a way to aid a proud but homeless family; Lucy's 13th birthday approaches and she wants a party.

Simon becomes emotionally involved with his best friend's sister, Karen who's a gang member. Meanwhile, in a show of independence Lucy dons makeup and revealing wardrobe with her friend's to meet guys at the mall and gets caught by Annie and Ruthie. In addition, Ruthie questions the speed of light to everyone in the family.