Carol Hathaway returns to work after her suicide attempt. Doug Ross still feels guilty about what happened. An ER patient found walking the streets takes to singing, constantly. Susan Lewis has a run-in with the cardiologist on duty, Dr. Kayson, when he disagrees with her treatment of a heart attack victim. At a case review session, she gets very little support from her colleagues. She also treats a woman who is dying of leukemia and who has good advice for Hathaway. Greene treats a woman who has obviously been beaten by her husband but can't get to agree to get help.

Drs. Benton and Langworthy are unsuccessful in reviving a teen-aged boy involved in a traffic accident and it's left to Carter to determine the boy's identity and notify the parents. Unfortunately, he tells the wrong parents that their son is dead. Doug Ross tells a young patient that he will not be separated from his schizophrenic mother knowing that she will likely be hospitalized for a long time. Susan Lewis tells Mark that she is dating the psychiatric attending physician Div Cvetic. She also treats a salesman whose cell phone is having an odd effect on hospital equipment. Benton forgets that he was supposed to sit with his mother while his sister and brother-in-law were to go out for their tenth anniversary dinner.

The realities of the ER may be too much for a child, but circumstances force Greene to bring his daughter Rachel with him on a day when the outdoor temperature tops 100 degrees and the air-conditioning doesn't work. Benton and Langworthy try in vain to save a boy shot in self-defense. Meanwhile, Lewis's broke sister, Chloe, steals Lewis's TV and VCR. After Ross crosses the line with Hathaway and Taglieri, Hathaway slugs Ross.

Doug Ross' hopes of renewing his relationship with Carol Hathaway take a positive turn after the two of them kiss following a particularly stressful trauma, but his hopes are dashed when she decides to move in with boyfriend Tag. John Carter has a particularly good day when Dr. Green successfully walks him through a complex procedure. Haleh takes Dr. Benton to task when he refuses to act as a role model for a young gangbanger she has an interest in. Benton is also competing with Dr. Langworthy for a prestigious fellowship. It's Susan Lewis' birthday and her sister Chloe shows up at the ER drunk.

Susan Lewis' boyfriend Div Cvetic, a psychiatric resident at County General, seems to be under a great deal of stress regularly lashing out at everyone. Doug Ross takes over for Mark Greene who takes a day off to be with his wife. He has a hard time keeping up with all the paperwork. John Carter is increasingly frustrated with Peter Benton who never seems to invite him to participate in surgeries. Benton learns the result of the fellowship he applied for and his mother shows up in the ER with a sprained ankle. Carol Hathaway treats a patient who was raped. A new ER aide, Bob, start work.

Dr. Greene gets offered a new job by Morgenstern.

Kayson, a married man, tries to start a romance with Susan by asking her to dinner. Deb unknowingly eats LSD-laced chocolates. Carol takes an interest in a Russian girl abandoned in the ER.

It's a day of birthdays. Peter Benton's mother is celebrating a birthday and he tries desperately to find someone to cover his shift. He makes a choice however when Dr. Hicks suggests that he's been absent too often and may wish to consider a leave of absence until his mother's situation is resolved. Carter thinks it's Benton birthday and has a surprise for him. Mark Greene's daughter is also having a birthday but he misses that due to an emergency at the hospital. An elderly, solitary man in the final stages of cancer arrives in the ER on his birthday. Carol Hathaway suggests to her fiancé that they adopt little Tatiana, the AIDS patient abandoned in the ER. Ross has to deal with a young child who was kicked out of a window.

Carter gets his first official patient while Doug treats a four-year-old Asian boy who has AIDS.

The feud between Susan and Weaver gets to the point where Mark has to step in.

Doug gets the opportunity to stay at the ER thanks to the publicity surrounding his rescue of a drowning boy the week before.

Shep and Raul enter a house with about a dozen abandoned and ill-fed children and bring them to the ER.

Benton has to attend a banquet at Vucelich's home and asks Jeanie to go with him. Mark hesitates to tell Rachel about the divorce.

It's his day off, but Mark shows up for work anyway. After a patient dies and Morgenstern wants to speak to him, Mark soon regrets coming in after all.

Carter is very nervous because he's about to get his residency match. Mark changes his look.

Mark has to work for the fourth night in a row while a lot of the staff are absent and the number of patients is towering.

Benton dismisses a patient he hasn't seen who should have been admitted. Carter competes with Dale, a new surgical resident-in-training who once slept with Harper.

In order to avoid having to deal with her personal problems regarding little Susie, Susan wholly absorbs herself in her work.

Susan has therapy to get over losing little Susie and Jeanie's ex-husband is brought in.

Mark Greene strikes a deal with Kerry Weaver - he will support her application for an ER attending position if she in turn will support Susan Lewis for Chief Resident. When Susan doesn't get the job, Mark is told to go ask her why. Carter is finally going to graduate and wants Benton to attend the party his family is throwing for him. Unfortunately, Carter decides to sit with a young patient awaiting a liver transplant and misses his own graduation ceremony. With the news she has received about her former husband Al's health, Jeanie Boulet decides to have herself tested. Doug Ross' girlfriend Karen forges his prescription for percodan. Hathaway's boyfriend, Shep, is refusing to undergo his anger management treatment. Mark's ex-wife Jen tells him that she is going to re-marry. Loretta Sweet asks Greene if he would become guardian to her kids.