The rapist returns to St. Eligius; Daniels stays on the job as Rosenthal leads most of the other nurses out on strike; Ellen persuades Dr. Craig to go to a therapist about their marital problems; Luther learns one of the firefighters is fighting his pain in his own way; and Lizzie Westphall leaves for college.

Dr. Westphall suffers sleepless nights; a young man from the Philippines is apparently frightened to death by his dreams; Luther dreams of sweet revenge with the help of some `ZZ Top' impersonators; Ehrlich dreams of being washed up on an island of Amazon women; and Morrison suffers from nightmares of Peter White when he and some other residents take part in a dream research project.

Fiscus pressures Martin into taking a step outside the psychiatric ward; Judge Farnham questions Dr. Auschlander about the ethics of Mr. Wegener's role in his daughter's treatment while Mrs. Wegener decides to take the child back to Chicago; Tommy's school asks Dr. Westphall to withdraw him; an angry Mitzi confronts Rosenthal about the affair; and Ehrlich tries to help the nymphomaniac wife of a patient.

Luther loses his hearing in an explosion; Morrison finds an explanation for his poorer than usual performance; and Axelrod learns that he is Mrs. Hufnagle's beneficiary and meets her son.

The Craigs meet their pregnant daughter-in-law, Yvonne; the Valeres continue to explore ways of having a child; Westphall's new policies irritate the residents and Auschlander; and Luther rides with a paramedic team preoccupied with their personal grievances.

Dr. Westphall tries to deal with his critical sister-in-law and a reluctant hospital board; Luther becomes Axelrod's personal trainer; Roxanne asks Chandler to her recital; Rosenthal worries over the threats of an assaulted teenager; Dr. Caldwell's questionable behavior continues at the hospital; and Dr. Craig proves to be of little help to his grieving wife.

Dr. Westphall drives himself too hard and is hospitalized; Yvonne's parents arrive to see their daughter and to claim their grandchild; Terri has in-vitro fertilization; Fiscus makes a donation; and Dr. Caldwell picks up the wrong woman. Helen goes back to work on the floor. Dr. Westphall's insightful moving man checks into the hospital.

Dr. Westphall learns that his new housekeeper is an illegal immigrant who was tortured by the death squads in El Salvador; a nervous Ehrlich tries to get out of his OB-GYN rotation, and later delivers a baby; crackdowns on the homeless unearth a sarcophagus and an old acquaintance of Wayne's; Dr. Caldwell is chastised for letting his joking comments to Papandrao go too far in front of a patient.

Axelrod tries to keep Santa Claus alive after he collapses at a children's party; Ehrlich tries to brighten the holiday for his only obstetrical patient; Lizzie's boy friend finds the Westphalls' Christmas depressing; and Dr. Craig overindulges at his Christmas party.

Chandler does his outreach work at a crisis hotline, where he draws a suicide on his first night; Ehrlich earns Dr. Craig's approval after he performs well during an emergency; and Carol Novino renews her friendship with Dr. Westphall and his family. Ellen Craig kicks Mark out of their home.

Dr. Westphall helps a terminally ill teenager reach his parents; Griffin plays Birch and Novino off against each other to escape blame in a patient's death; Morrison calls Chandler on it when Dr. Turner gets involved in a dispute involving a sick child; and Dr. Craig tries to start his memoirs.