Joe dies of gunshot wounds. Kelly is arrested and held overnight until the shooting is ruled a justifiable homicide. The police consider charging her with possession of an unlicensed firearm, but Matt appeals to the department's sense of decency. David asks Dylan to move out. Dylan takes up residence at a hotel, and Gina joins him after Donna boots her out for talking to reporters about Kelly. Wayne annoys Donna with his cavalier attitude, particularly when he fails to show sensitivity toward Kelly. She realizes that they do not have a future together. Noah ignores Donna and fools around with one of his employees. Janet's erratic behavior confuses Steve. She secretly applies for a job with another newspaper, and tells Steve that she isn't sure if their relationship will work out. Janet confesses to Kelly that she is four months pregnant.

Kelly and Donna invite Janet to move into the apartment. She tries to tell Steve that she is pregnant, but stops when he mistakenly assumes that she has gotten breast implants. When Janet finally reveals the truth, Steve becomes outraged that he had been kept in the dark for so long. He avoids Janet and whines about the situation to the other guys and Gina. Janet tells Steve that he can choose how much involvement he wants with the child; he is unsure of what to do. Kelly and the gang throw a surprise birthday party for David at the After Dark. The uninvited Gina foils their plans by slashing her own tire and calling David for help. After patching things up with David, Gina takes him to the club and drops him off without spoiling the surprise. A young woman whom Dylan knows from his years at the hotel gets busted for drug possession. He pays for her legal services, and encourages her to get clean and find some direction for her life. He agrees to return to college if she also enrolls.

Steve tells Janet that he wants to raise the baby with her. He later upsets her by expressing uncertainty. Kelly considers a career change. Matt pays Gina to help out with preparations for the boutique's re-opening. She tries to burn a prominent fashion critic's invitation, and accidentally starts a fire. She ruins Donna's new men's wear line with the fire extinguisher. Although Gina blames faulty lighting, Matt catches her with the burnt invitation. He forces her to bring the critic to the re-opening to make amends, while everyone chips in to help Donna put together new outfits. Cherise breaks up with Noah for postponing their weekend getaway and spending too much time with Donna. Steve suddenly proposes to Janet during the fashion show. She accepts, but then changes her mind because she fears they would be marrying for the wrong reasons. California University denies Dylan's application, citing his brazen essay. They refuse to give him a second chance. David pulls the revised essay ou

Steve buys an engagement ring and practices proposals, often with Noah assuming the role of Janet. Dylan harasses Janet about her decision. The gang's attempt to arrange a reconciliation backfires. Janet insists that she loves Steve, but believes that his chaotic lifestyle would be harmful to the child. Steve later breaks down in tears and argues that his spontaneity does not mean that he cannot be a responsible husband and father. He surprises Janet with a proposal during her ultrasound, and she accepts. Dylan grows tired of living with Gina and suggests that she find her own place. He offers to spring for a hotel suite, but Gina opts to establish her independence. David's radio show becomes popular due to his abrasive tactics, including talking about Dylan's personal life and asking a woman out while on the air. Dylan goads David into providing details of the date to his listeners, and the woman dumps him. Donna recommends a new act for the club, failing to disclose the fact that the

Steve and Janet announce the pregnancy and engagement to her parents, who respond by calling Janet a disgrace. Steve's father tries to convince the couple to put off marriage for a while. Janet collapses and has to be taken to the hospital. She is diagnosed with a panic attack and told to avoid unnecessary stress. Mr. and Mrs. Sosna ask Janet to leave Steve and move back into their house. At the couple's engagement party, Steve lies to Janet's parents about the identity of his mom's lover, Karen. He asks his father to play along, unaware that Rush is apparently the only person in Los Angeles who didn't know that Samantha is gay. Steve and Janet stand up to their families. Although they would appreciate some support, they will not tolerate any further efforts to break them up. Matt and Noah each offer to move out so that Steve can move Janet and the baby into the house. Matt asks Kelly to get an apartment with him, but she nixes this idea. Donna decides that she and Noah will live toget

Joe Patch's parents visit Kelly and ask for her forgiveness. Matt tries to save a convicted rapist and murderer from the death penalty. Kelly is initially supportive, but changes her mind after hearing a description of the man's crimes. A meeting with the client's brother prompts Kelly to realize the anguish experienced by the families of criminals; she forgives Mr. and Mrs. Patch. She strongly objects when Matt appeals the judge's ruling against his client, and decides to stop seeing him for the time being. Donna wanders into the After Dark late at night and discovers the strip club. Gina recognizes David's father as one of the customers. She sneaks him out the back door when the police raid the club. Noah and Donna are among those arrested, as the cops mistake Donna for a prostitute. Dylan realizes that Gina was involved. She promises to stop lying to him, then immediately blackmails Mel. Dylan and Donna question David's on-air antics when he costs a listener his girlfriend. David ev

Steve and Janet ask Kelly and Dylan to be their baby's godparents. The foursome heads to Ojai for the weekend to meet with the minister. The minister suspects that Dylan is afraid to commit to a woman because of guilt over Toni's death. Dylan and Kelly plan to watch the sunset together. They learn from the news that Matt saved his client, so Kelly decides to go home and congratulate him. Gina catches Dylan and Kelly hugging and accuses them of fooling around. Dylan goes to Kelly's apartment to share his feelings, but sees her with Matt. Steve backs out of plans to sell the Corvette to help pay for a minivan. An angry Janet lets David sell the car to a woman who seems interested in him. Janet has a change of heart, but David's friend destroys the car in a performance art show about chauvinism (for which she also tape recorded David). Mel pays off Gina. When she demands more money, he stops payment on the check. Gina calls Jackie to share her revelation. A homeless man dies outside of Do

Janet begins to panic about wedding preparations. Steve suggests that they organize a scavenger hunt for their friends, with clues providing the location of a party. Dylan and his friend Andrew are attacked by gay bashers. Andrew does not want to help put away their attackers because he has yet to come out. His boss finds out that he is gay and puts him on leave. Kelly snipes at Noah during the scavenger hunt, as she blames his strip club for Jackie and Mel's break-up. Gina freaks out when Dylan refuses to pull over and help a stray dog. David helps her find the animal and take it to the vet. The gang arrives at a park to discover that Steve and Janet are holding a surprise wedding ceremony. At the reception, Dylan baffles Kelly by commenting on how beautiful she had looked in her wedding dress. Gina leaves abruptly after Dylan admits that they will probably never get married. She sleeps with David. Kelly confronts Dylan about his remark. He confesses that he flew in for her wedding, o

Steve and Janet endure various calamaties on their honeymoon. Just as they are beginning to have a good time, Janet goes into labor. Although the birth is expected to be routine, the doctors are forced to perform an emergency C-section. Janet and the baby experience life-threatening complications. Jackie seeks full custody of Erin, and David and Kelly try to keep their sister's spirits up. Jackie tells Kelly that Gina blackmailed Mel. David refuses to believe this, and Gina denies the allegations. He learns the truth from his father, but decides to give Gina another chance. Dylan helps Andrew get his job back and fights the prejudice at the community center. Kelly complains about Noah's monopolization of the apartment. Donna buys genealogy software as a wedding gift for Steve and Janet. She accesses Gina's birth certificate and discovers that Donna's dad is listed as the father.

Gina considers leaving Los Angeles. Donna tells Gina the truth about her parentage. An outraged Gina lashes out at Donna. Whereas she had previously believed that her rough childhood was the result of circumstances beyond anyone's control, she now knows that she was rejected. Gina refuses David's help and turns to Dylan for comfort. A jealous David argues with Dylan and pushes him in front of a car. He sustains only a few bruises. David breaks up with Gina because he considers her a bad influence. He patches things up with Dylan. Donna assures Gina that her relationship with her stepfather was not a lie. Gina visits her childhood home, which stirs up happy memories. Matt gets jealous when Dylan buys a $16,000 painting for Kelly. Kelly confronts Dylan and demands that he make a lifetime commitment or leave her alone. He responds with a frightened grunt, so she stays with Matt. She claims that her offer was just a test, but admits to Donna that she doesn't know how she would have reacted

The Martins ask Gina to join them for Christmas. However, they refuse to allow her at their Christmas Eve party because they don't want to explain the situation to friends. Donna initially backs her parents, but skips the party to show Gina her support. Donna continually questions Noah about the car accident that killed his girlfriend. Noah finally breaks up with her, as he cannot bear to relive the tragedy. Donna bonds with Gina. Steve and Janet run into her parents at a tree lot. Janet invites them to dinner, where they behave coldly toward Steve and make a hasty exit. Steve warns the Sosnas to stay away from Madeline unless they are willing to accept her unconditionally. They show up at the house on Christmas night and give Steve and Janet their blessing. Dylan proves to be a bad influence on the children at the community center after he punches an angry neighbor. Matt asks Kelly to marry him. Dylan also expresses a desire to commit to her. Kelly doesn't choose herself this time; sh

Matt gets into hot water after a client decides to settle; he had already spent the man's retainer on Kelly's engagement ring. Gina tries to help by asking Dylan for $15,000, without telling him who would receive it. Matt turns down the money and has to pawn Kelly's ring. He is suspended from practicing law for 30 days, leaving his practice on the verge of bankruptcy. Dylan acts very aloof around Kelly, and loses interest in his god parenting duties because he doesn't want to spend time with her. A bitter Gina denounces the idea of god parenting, because Dr. Martin had served as her godfather as a means of easing his guilt. She changes her mind and tells Dylan that he could be a positive influence on Madeline. He shows up at Madeline's baptism at the last minute and impresses everyone with his speech. Donna has a disastrous date with the guy who runs the coffee stand next to her store. Noah spends all his time partying with a bunch of weird people. As he moves out, he and Donna act as

Matt violates his suspension by negotiating a settlement for a worker injured on the job, who would lose his right to file a complaint in two days. Matt sets up David on a date with an attorney friend who is on the ethics committee. David blabs about the case, and the woman warns Matt to cease his involvement or be reported to the bar association. Matt just laughs it off and continues his work, so Chrissy reports him. Matt's suspension is doubled, and David stops seeing Chrissy because he considers her a traitor. Kelly announces that she is quitting the store. Donna gets a date with a handsome man who turns out to be married. She and David decide to hang out together in their own ""losers' club."" Gina receives a spokesmodel offer after she and Dylan are pictured at a hot club in the society pages. Noah and his entourage leech off of Dylan and his money. Dylan objects when they do drugs in his limousine. Dylan and Gina get pulled over for speeding in the limo.

Matt's brother and sister-in-law come to town and reveal that they cannot conceive a child on their own. They ask Matt to be their surrogate father. Kelly objects and orders Matt to turn them down, then becomes angry upon learning that he told his brother that he had to bow to her wishes. She later realizes that not everything is about her and gives Matt her blessing. Gina, with Dylan's help, gets a shot at another television job. The man will not hire her unless she helps his teenage son lose weight before the school dance. Gina loses the job (as usual) after she encourages the boy to stand up to his overbearing father. She convinces the man to treat his son with respect by detailing the way that her pushy mother shaped her life. Gina escorts Michael to the dance, where Dylan surprises her by showing up to give her the prom she never had. Donna dates the clothing buyer for a chain of stores.

Shane demands a one-million-dollar ransom from Dylan. Noah points out that it may have been smarter to kidnap someone whom Dylan actually likes. Dylan agrees to pay the ransom; but Shane kidnaps him with help from Josie, who had claimed to be unaware of her brother's whereabouts. Shane plans to kill Dylan and Noah because it couldn't get him into any more trouble than he already is. They escape while the kidnappers are filling up their van, and scuffle with Shane and his friend. Josie hands over her gun to Dylan because she doesn't want anyone to be murdered. She drops a lit cigarette, which ignites the overflowing gasoline. Although Dylan tells him to forget it, Noah retrieves the ransom money before the van explodes. The kidnappers get arrested. Dr. Martin invites Gina to dinner while Felice is out of town. Gina tries to bond with him, but is angry because he had not called her since Christmas. Dr. Martin visits Gina's hotel room and expresses a willingness to work things out.

Dr. Martin dies of a stroke. Kelly suggests that Gina is to blame for his death, as does the grief-stricken Felice. David also seems to support this theory. Gina is upset when the obituary states that Dr. Martin has only one child; Felice calls her a mistake. Donna feels that Dr. Martin would still be alive if Gina hadn't discovered he was her father, even though Donna was the one who shared this information. Dylan grows tired of Kelly's whining and moralizing. He and Gina decide to leave town. Gina is not allowed to sit with immediate family at the funeral. However, she goes to the front of the church and finishes the eulogy when Donna is unable to continue. Felice embraces her and accepts her as part of the family. Dylan decides that he shouldn't leave Los Angeles because he has unfinished business with Kelly. Gina says goodbye to Donna and embarks on a cross-country road trip. David comforts Donna throughout her ordeal. Kelly takes a public relations job to ease the financial burden

During news coverage of an emergency landing at a Los Angeles airport, Dylan and Steve observe that one of the passengers looks exactly like Dylan's late father. Dylan, with some prompting from conspiracy theorist Steve, becomes convinced that his father is still alive. He grows even more suspicious after discovering that the storage locker with Jack's belongings has been ransacked. He goes to see Christine Pettit at the FBI and demands some answers. She agrees to investigate, but insists that the whole thing is just a coincidence. Although she urges Dylan to let it go, Kelly obtains a passenger list from the airline. Dylan notices that one of the passengers is named Eddie Waitkus. He explains to Steve that Waitkus was the real-life inspiration for ""The Natural,"" a story that was a favorite of baseball fanatics Dylan and Jack. Waitkus disappeared, only to suddenly resurface several years later. Dylan emphatically declares that Jack is alive.

Kelly and Matt help Dylan search for his father. They learn that Eddie Waitkus lives in Tolleson, Arizona; and Kelly obtains his address. Dylan sees that Jack has a happy life with a wife and young son, and decides not to approach him. Jack shows up at Dylan's hotel room. Donna insists on looking after Noah as he recovers from his injuries. Noah tries to rekindle their relationship, but Donna has moved on. Camille becomes jealous of the closeness between David and Donna. Although David and Donna try to establish some boundaries, neither seems very happy about it. Steve's brother Ryan comes to visit for spring break. He is a pre-med major at Amherst. Ryan goes drinking at clubs with Steve every night, lies around like a pig all day, and mouths off to Janet. Janet opines that Ryan is trying to live up to Steve's reputation. Ryan reveals that he wound up on academic probation because of his constant partying, and dropped out of school. Kelly starts her own public relations firm.

Dylan orders his father to leave. He is angry with Kelly for going against his wishes by contacting Jack. Dylan storms out of another meeting with his father after learning that Jack told his wife everything else about his past without mentioning Dylan's existence. Jack decides to leave the Witness Protection program and move his family to Los Angeles. They believe that his testimony is long forgotten and that private security can protect them. Christine warns Dylan that two of Jack's enemies have discovered that he is alive and are planning on revenge. Dylan convinces Jack to stay in the program, and cannot bring himself to leave with him. A New York radio station offers David a job. David turns down the offer because he doesn't want to leave Donna. Kelly suspects that Donna is jealous of Camille. Donna denies this, but later confesses to Kelly that she is still in love with David. Steve becomes concerned when Noah gives Ryan a job at the After Dark.

Dylan and Matt go dirt biking for the weekend. They find that their campground is the site of a rave. Matt unwittingly drinks fruit juice that contains liquid acid. He gets very wild and winds up sleeping with one of the partygoers. Dylan advises him to keep the encounter a secret. A lonely Donna grows more jealous of David's relationship with Camille. She accidentally walks in on them having sex on the floor of the store. She freaks out and starts disinfecting everything in sight. Camille suspects that Donna wants David back. David tries to broach the subject with Donna; they reminisce, but do not disclose their feelings. Noah recognizes a bar customer as a woman from his A.A. group. He stops her from drinking, and they quickly make a connection. She feels threatened by Donna until Noah helps her obtain a full-time job. Kelly recommends Maddy for a sausage commercial. Janet neglects her work and becomes caught up in the idea of being a show biz parent.

Kelly grows suspicious of Matt's distant behavior. She seeks answers from Dylan, who denies that anything unusual happened during their dirt biking weekend. Matt admits to drinking spiked punch. After witnessing Kelly's indignant reaction, he decides not to tell her about his one-night stand. Kelly insists that Matt is still hiding something from her. She later apologizes for failing to trust him. Camille tries to convince Donna to sell her clothing online. Although Donna doesn't support the idea, Camille seeks out Dylan as an investor. Even after Donna agrees to the proposal, David fumes at Camille for going behind her back. He also expresses discontent at the amount of time she is spending with Dylan. Donna agrees to a date with the web page designer. Steve and Janet fear that her parents' dog is to blame for the death of their snooty neighbors' pet rabbit. Steve concocts a scheme to keep the couple from discovering the truth.

Mitch annoys Donna by trying to plan their entire relationship via an electronic organizer. She suggests that they stop seeing each other outside of the business setting. Mitch responds by freezing her web site until she agrees to another date. Donna tells him off and makes it clear that she will not change her mind. Mitch opens the site, which quickly becomes a major success. David objects when Camille is asked to model for the web site. He admits to Donna that he is purposely trying to sabotage his romance with Camille. David finally breaks up with Camille, telling her that they simply weren't meant to be together. Janet nixes Steve's plans to invest in Donna's site because of their limited finances. Steve infuriates her by investing money left to him by his grandfather. Janet didn't know the account existed, and thinks that Steve kept it as a safety net so that he could leave her.

Donna is upset by her mother's decision to sell the house. David hangs out with her at the apartment, and they both fall asleep on the couch. Donna pulls away from a kiss because she doesn't want to risk their friendship by becoming romantically involved. Felice and the gang grant Donna's wish for one final Christmas at the house. Steve, Janet and Felice set up an unwitting Donna and David on a date. They finally decide to get back together, and share a passionate kiss. Kelly and Matt set an August wedding date. Dylan infuriates Kelly with his wedding gift, a trip around the world for two. Matt considers a job offer in Seattle, and Kelly agrees to go with him. Although he fails to get the job, Matt suggests that they move anyway. Dylan unsuccessfully pleads with Kelly for another chance at their relationship. A man offers to purchase the Beat for $750,000. Janet would continue to work at the paper, while Steve would stay home with Maddy.

Camille returns home from vacation carrying hopes of a reconciliation with David. After David breaks the news of his reunion with Donna, Donna offers to buy out Camille's share of their partnership. Although she is devastated by the news, Camille insists that she can handle working with Donna at the store. A drunken and blubbering Camille ruins David and Donna's plans by showing up at his house. Camille agrees that it would be best for her to leave the store, and she and Donna wish each other well. Donna fears that David is no longer attracted to her; she believes that he loves her like a sister. David shows Donna an old yearbook message where he had shared his desire to marry her one day. He stuns her with a marriage proposal. Donna asks for time to think things over. Kelly panics after a radio report announces a surfing fatality in an area where Dylan had planned to surf that day. She tries desperately to contact him for hours, and winds up going to the morgue (with Matt in tow).

David expresses his feelings for Donna by writing her a giant love note in the sand. Dylan graduates from California University. Matt considers moving to New York to help his sister-in-law raise her child.