The Best Episodes Written By Meredith Stiehm

Emily flies back from Paris to attend a seminar at La Jolla. She asks Brandon to meet her at the airport, claiming to have just a four-hour layover. She actually has a week until the beginning of her seminar, but Brandon breaks her heart by revealing that he is dating Kelly. When he sees her back to her hotel room, they share a passionate kiss. Steve and Griffin organize a holiday rave at an abandoned house. Valerie helps them out in the hopes of getting back in Steve's good graces. David and Clare accidentally post the notice about the event on a computer bulletin board for lesbians, who constitute most of the guests. The house has very poor wiring and continually blows fuses. Griffin uses too much electricity, and the house catches on fire. Ray rescues Steve and Valerie, who were fooling around in one of the bedrooms. Kelly and a girl named Allison are trapped in a downstairs bathroom with no means of escape. The fire fighters try to reach them as they are engulfed by flames. Music:

Kelly alienates her friends as she becomes more deeply involved with Finley's cause. Brandon writes an editorial supporting Finley in the hopes of getting back into Kelly's good graces. The university elects to oust Finley, who vows to continue his teachings elsewhere. He urges Kelly to break it off with Brandon, as he feels that Brandon distracts her from the ""evolution."" A record company pursues Ray, and Ariel is the A&R representative who must seal the deal. Donna and David warn Ray to stay away from Ariel, but he insists that their relationship will remain strictly business. Ray rejects the contract because it would require him to surrender his publishing rights. After a visit to Hawaii to ensure that the two get along, Dylan decides to leave Erica with Iris. Valerie demands compensation for her role in retrieving Erica and the money, and finds Dylan's $10,000 offer unsatisfactory. Jonesy agrees to a much larger payoff if she promises to work with him again.

Kelly becomes depressed after making the cover of Seventeen, as she fears that she will never regain her past looks. Steve and Jackie try to convince her to continue her modeling career. Kelly has a chance meeting with Allison's girlfriend Dana, who gives her the brush-off. Kelly tries to visit Allison at the burn center, but she refuses to see her. Kelly talks to Dana's new girlfriend, who reveals that Allison dumped Dana because she is in love with Kelly. Allison calls Kelly and asks to see her after she is released from the hospital. Ray returns to town, and LuAnn gets drunk before his first performance. David and Clare take her home, and she babbles about Ray's affair with Valerie. David and Clare confront them, but decide not to tell Donna. Charley grows tired of seeing Dylan moon over Kelly; he encourages him to make a move. Jesse is offered a clerkship in Boise. Andrea offers her support, although she is less than thrilled by the move. Jesse turns down the offer because he doesn

On the eve of the 60-year reunion of women who worked in a weapons factory during World War II, Lilly is asked to re-investigate the death of Alice Miller, one of the worker girls. The death was deemed accidental at the time, but her friend pleads to Lilly to look closer into the case.

Benton commits perjury on the witness stand in order to gain custody of Reese. When Romano refuses to give him a more even schedule, Peter resigns and seeks a job at the clinic where Cleo is newly employed. Benton is granted custody of Reese and he and Cleo decide to move to the suburbs together. Meanwhile, Carter's father visits for Christmas with the news that he's getting divorced, Weaver and Sandy Lopez finally go on a date, and Abby catches Nicole in the maternity ward, recovering from an abortion.

Carrie is faced with a pivotal decision, while Brody meets with Faber to contemplate the future of the family. Meanwhile, Saul undertakes a secret assignment; and Quinn has a decision to make that may prove to be a game-changer.

Valerie gets herself invited on a road trip with Kelly, Donna and Clare. David thanks Val for helping him through his hard times, and gives her a kiss. During the trip, Donna goads Val into admitting that she slept with Ray. The roommates resolve to stop talking to Valerie. The car breaks down, and the girls spend the night at a convent while awaiting repairs. They cannot speak after sundown. Donna forgives Valerie, who urges her not to forget about Ray's abusive behavior. Donna dumps Ray. Steve convinces Brandon to let a director film a movie at the Walsh house, without revealing that it is a porno. Susan is offended by the fiasco, but sleeps with Brandon anyway. Marchette doesn't show for a dinner engagement with Toni and Dylan. He arrives after Toni leaves the table and warns Dylan to stay away. Dylan and Marchette's bodyguard pull guns on each other. Marchette tells Toni that Dylan is using her. She refuses to believe Dylan's claim that her father killed Jack. Kelly meets Colin's a

Valerie accepts her marketing professor's invitation to a seminar. They have a drink afterwards, and the man tries to come on to her. He gives her a D on a midterm essay that he had seemed to like earlier, and Val suspects that he is punishing her. David and Susan encourage Valerie to file a complaint. Val backs down because she fears that the investigation will expose embarrassing information about her personal life. Meanwhile, Susan works on an exposé for the Condor. Several of Professor Haywood's past victims come forward, and he is forced to resign. Bruno delivers a letter from Dylan to Toni, and the couple eventually reunites. Marchette sees Toni and Dylan on campus together and becomes furious. Toni ignores her father's ultimatum and decides to move in with Dylan. Kelly cuts Colin loose after learning that he acts as Claudia's concubine in exchange for financial backing.

Rush dumps Ryan and Austin off on Steve on the same day that he is hosting a fraternity party. He doesn't keep a close eye on the boys, and they drink everything in sight. Ryan becomes very ill and Greg (Kelly's med student date) diagnoses him with alcohol poisoning. He has to be rushed to the hospital, and his father blames Steve. Kelly invites Tara to stay with her after she finishes her stint in rehab. Tara becomes enraged when Kelly dates Greg, as she wants all of Kelly's attention. Colin's lawyer recommends that he plead guilty in exchange for a short sentence at a minimum security facility. Valerie persuades him to take the deal. Val goads Colin into attending Steve's party, but bristles when he shares a tender moment with Kelly. Donna and David videotape the party for a late-night campus program called C.U. Later.

Ferdinand Quintero, the president of Selanesia and a close friend of Clare's family, visits the campus to receive treatment for cancer. A student human rights group objects to his presence, and tells Brandon that Quintero has ordered the murders of thousands of citizens. After meeting a gardener who was tortured by the regime, Brandon agrees to serve Quintero with a subpeona. Steve, Kelly, Donna, Valerie, Griffin and Muntz plan to steal the mascot of rival Southern California University before the homecoming game. Donna does not show up, as she instead spends the day with Ray at his family pumpkin patch. Dylan fears that he and Valerie are becoming too close, so he cheats on her. Andrea meets a UCLA medical student at the laundromat. He believes that she is babysitting Hannah, and she doesn't tell him that she is married. Music: ""I Want Candy"" by the Strangeloves (#11, 1965); ""My Light"" by Big Mountain (from the 90210: The College Years soundtrack)

The relationship between Carrie and Brody becomes more complicated when they head into the countryside for the weekend, while Mike and Jessica face the fallout of the truth about their relationship, and Saul catches Aileen on the run to Mexico.

In the wake of the explosion, Saul finds Carrie hospitalized and manic, but realizes her chaotic theories have merit; before his congressional campaign begins, Brody takes his family on a weekend trip to Gettysburg, where he retrieves an important item.

The 1958 death of an unknown 6-year-old boy found in a field inside a cardboard box is reinvestigated after a small suitcase with the child's picture and his old cowboy hat is left in front of a church. The new probe reveals that the rowdy boy lived at a Catholic-run orphanage and was adopted two days before his suspicious demise.

Kelly is very excited by a visit from her father, who claims to be planning a permanent move to Los Angeles. Jackie and David warn Kelly not to get her hopes up. Bill urges Kelly to give Colin another chance; they stop by Colin's loft, only to find that he is high. Kelly breaks up with him. Bill fails to show for a meeting with Kelly and a realtor, and leaves town without saying goodbye. He leaves Kelly some flowers and a check. Kelly rolls the check and uses it to snort the cocaine stash that Val had confiscated from Colin. Joe has the team doctor check out his injured ankle. The doctor notices something strange in Joe's breathing and recommends that he see a cardiologist. Dr. Martin diagnoses Joe with a congenital heart defect, but the athletic department arranges for a second opinion. The team-sanctioned doctor insists that he is fine, and Joe chooses to believe him. Steve organizes a Roger Corman film festival at the After Dark. The gang finds out that Nat appeared in one of Corman

Colin tries to remain strong as he prepares to turn himself in and begin his prison term. He panics after catching a glimpse of some fellow inmates, and drives away in Val's car. Valerie must track him down or forfeit her $100,000 bond, which she acquired by cashing in the club's equity. Colin stops by Kelly's apartment in search of help, but she turns him away. When Valerie asks Kelly for information about Colin, Kelly acts really bitchy and denies having seen him. Brandon and Susan lose a five-thousand-dollar lottery ticket, leading to a major argument. They find the ticket, but give the money to charity because they feel guilty about fighting over money. Joe expresses disappointment at his slow progress as he returns to training. He realizes that he has lost his passion for football. Clare feels uneasy about Steve's friendship with Carl. Steve falls down the stairs and suffers a broken jaw. Music: ""Be My Lover"" by La Bouche (#6

A woman, who was romantically involved with Nick Vera in high school, claims that members of a fraternity might have been involved in her alcoholic sister's death in 1995. The victim's estranged husband and a bar owner are also viewed as potential suspects.

When a young girl is contacted by a man claiming to be her father, Det. Rush and her team reopen a 1988 case of a teenaged boy, killed on the same night the girl was born.

Four close high school friends each went their separate ways in 1980. Eight years later, in 1988, one of them was murdered. The homicide team receives a tip about the murder, prompting a re-investigation of the case and an examination of the friends' lives, hopes and dreams after high school.

Lilly and Valens travel to Nashville and Knoxville to investigate the 2000 murder of a country-music singer who was gunned down outside of a Philadelphia bar where he and his band had recently played. The unsolved case is reopened when the gun used in the homicide turns up.

Weaver becomes concerned about Greene's cognitive skills and surreptitiously calls for an official evaluation of his competency. Corday plans her wedding to Greene. Bishop Stewart returns, and Kovacs realizes the man has a terrible disease. Dateless for a charity function, Carter invites Abby to attend with him.

Abby and Carter travel to Oklahoma to rescue Abby's mentally ill mother and bring her back to Chicago. In Chicago, Maggie suffers from a sleeping pills overdose. At County General, Kovac frantically revives her. Benton treats a college student injured in a fraternity prank.

Drs. Corday and Greene are awkward when working together in the ER. Dr. Weaver treats victims of an intense fire that may take the life of a dear friend.

Medavoy gets a call from Abby, saying her girlfriend has been killed. He, Martinez and Kirkendall hunt the killer. Simone, Sipowicz and Russell are called to a burnt out car which has a body inside.

When a body is found on the bridge connecting El Paso and Juarez, two detectives, one from the United States and one from Mexico, must work together to hunt down a serial killer operating on both sides of the border.

Corday's ordeal, caused by the recent infection-related deaths of several of her patients, worsens when she is closely observed by a stern taskmaster. Corday is outraged when a county investigator accuses her of deliberately euthanizing the patients, who all happened to be elderly.