Becker deals with an HIV-positive child, and the fact that Reggie has inherited his favorite diner from her father.

Becker must make a house call after a patient has an adverse reaction to his brutal bedside manner. He remains hellbent on convincing his patient, Mr. Marino, to acknowledge the fact that his diabetes has just triggered a minor heart attack and his condition needs to be monitored. Unfortunately, Mr. Marino is convinced that Becker is just trying to get away with a medical scam. Meanwhile, Jake takes a sculpting class in order to meet women.

Despite his best efforts, Becker can't escape the sexual overtones that follow him throughout the day. He starts his morning at the cafe where Reggie and Jake are discussing the various things they do to release sexual tension. When Reggie suggests jogging, Becker quickly dismisses the idea, declaring that he doesn't have any such issues. As his day progresses, a bemused Becker is faced with various circumstances that make him all too aware of his sex life -- or, rather, lack thereof.

Becker and Jake notice that Reggie is upset about something, but she refuses to tell them why. Becker presses Reggie for details, but she responds with a series of lies before finally revealing the truth.

Becker's attempt at friendship is short lived; with Margaret at home with the flu, the flaky Linda is left in charge of the office; Reggie receives an unwelcome visit from a former high-school classmate.

Becker is crabbier than ever when a flickering street light keeps him from getting any sleep. When the city refuses to make the broken street light a priority assignment, Becker takes matters into his own hands to ensure that he gets a proper night's rest. Meanwhile, Margaret agrees to let Linda bring one personal item into the office, unaware that Linda's item is breathing.

When Reggie announces that she has an extra ticket to a Rangers-Flyers hockey game, Jake and Becker each makes it his primary goal to be chosen as the lucky recipient.

Becker agrees to write an article for a fellow doctor's medical journal, but has trouble finishing the project. With the article's deadline quickly approaching, Becker tries desperately to find a place to sit and hash out the piece. Unfortunately, he can't seem to acquire five minutes of quiet time before something or someone finds a way to interrupt his concentration.

Becker, not convinced of the wonders of love after witnessing a woman stab her husband with a fork, is forced to consult a teenager who wants a vasectomy, treat a woman with a severe allergic reaction to roses and watch Linda begin and end a relationship within hours. Even so, a late night hospital visit abruptly softens his perspective as he begins to understand why this holiday can be so important to others.

Becker is less than thrilled when his estranged father, Fred, makes an unannounced visit. Although Becker is unhappy to see his father, the others are instantly charmed by Fred's easygoing, jovial manner. Despite Becker's chilly welcome, Fred refuses to give up on resuming contact with his polar opposite son.

Becker copes with a patient who believes he can talk directly to God; Linda decides to keep a jacket mistakenly returned to her by her dry cleaner.

When Becker learns that his ex-wife Sandra is in town for a book signing tour, he feigns disinterest until he learns that chapters of her new self-help publication denounces "Angry Man," a pseudonym for Becker. When Becker confronts Sarah at her hotel, it becomes abundantly clear that their explosive chemistry remains fiercely intact.

Much to Becker's dismay, an alley cat finds its way into his office and refuses to leave. When they realize that the cat is sick, Becker's guilted into taking care of it -- to the tune of $1,500. Meantime, Margaret attempts to help Becker plan a trip she knows he'll never take.

Becker reluctantly agrees to shuttle Reggie, Margaret, Jake and Linda to various engagements in Queens when they learn that he's heading that way in his car. It quickly becomes a "what-was-I-thinking" scenario for the gang when Becker's terroristic skills behind the wheel cause an accident. Even More Shameless Crossover Monday winds up when Dr. Becker returns to his office waiting room to find Hilton Lucas, Doug Heffernan and Ray Barone -- side-by-side -- waiting.

A prime parking space, an unexpected tax refund and a flawless trip to the post office are just a few of the lucky breaks bestowed upon Becker. Unable to accept the idea that he might just be having a good day, he remains wary of each new stroke of luck and convinces himself that payback is on its way.

Becker fears that Reggie may get the wrong idea if he asks her to be his date at a medical fundraiser. Fearing that Reggie will misread his invitation, Becker struggles to find someone else to take to the event. Despite his resistance, his friends insist that he should just ask Reggie. The ongoing pressure causes Becker to recall the first time he was rejected by the opposite sex, as Prequel Monday concludes with a flashback sequence of a 10-year-old Becker asking a little girl to a school dance.

Becker performs his doctorly duties at the diner when a woman begins to choke on her food. After regaining her composure, the woman intensely expresses her gratitude to Becker, which takes him more than a little off-guard. As the days go by, Becker's fears are compounded when she begins to drop by the office and his apartment bearing gifts and well-wishes. Soon enough, Becker is outright panicked, and convinced that she's a certifiable lunatic who's become a danger to his well-being.

Becker is grumpier than usual after he decides to quit smoking, but he gets a lift from Reggie's friend (Marjorie Monaghan), an ex-smoker who tells him the only substitute that worked for her was sex.

Reggie begins dating Jordan, the most popular guy from her high school, who is building a hospital in the area, but quickly learns his dark side. Meanwhile, John fumes over his former research partner's patent for anti-wrinkle cream, and Linda adopts the bum who hangs out in the office doorway.

Before leaving for a medical conference in Chicago, at which he is scheduled to speak, Becker discovers that he has an extra airline ticket, which Reggie ends up using. Once aboard the plane, Reggie is immediately annoyed by the flight attendant and fellow passengers while Becker is uncharacteristically taking it all in stride. When Reggie discovers that Becker is high on Valium, she's alone in her misery until bad weather causes a delay and finds them stuck for hours on a tarmac in Buffalo. As the Valium wears off, Becker's temper and tongue-lashings return and the situation becomes a pressure-cooker about to explode.

While going to rescue the just-robbed Jake, Becker finds himself caught in the crossfire between two motorists who are arguing over a parking space. A struggle between the two ensues and one of them pulls out a gun. But it's Becker who takes a bullet to the shoulder. Despite his weakened state, he still manages to annoy everyone at the hospital and refuses to take the advice of his agitated doctor.

Confined to his apartment during the recuperation period, Becker is subjected to the intruding lifestyles of those who live in his building, which has him seeing red. His mood brightens -- temporarily -- when his doctor from the hospital, Elizabeth Carson, makes a house call. Meanwhile, "good help is hard to find" takes on a new meaning when Margaret and Linda try to find a doctor to fill in for Becker.

Jake's old friend, who was responsible for the car accident in which Jake lost his sight, pays him a surprise visit. Meanwhile, Margaret tries to get out of an annual road trip with some nursing school friends; and Becker experiences screen envy when Jake wins a huge television at his grandmother's church raffle.

Becker is his usual bitter self as Christmas rolls around, until a department store Santa drops dead in his waiting room. Meanwhile, Reggie prepares for her Christmas party.

John's waiting room turns into a maze of boxes when Linda orders too many supplies; Reggie becomes attracted to a much younger student and Margaret learns that a former patient died and has included her in her will.

A rumor starts that John is dying when he suddenly begins eating healthy food and tries to control his temper.

Annoyed that they never hang out with other people, Becker's girlfriend, Liz, makes him throw a dinner party. Becker invites the gang, although only Reggie and her date attend -- a college boy she worries is too young for her -- unless you count the complete stranger with whom Becker seems to have the most in common.

When a long-distance call to Chico, California shows up on Becker's phone bill, he decides to dispute the charge. He even disputes the existence of the town, claiming that it's just a code word that the phone company uses for bogus charges. Margaret warns Becker not to fight the phone company, after all, "they're like God with computers," but Becker persists. Meanwhile, Reggie is upset when she isn't invited to a friend's wedding, and Bob listens to motivational tapes in order to land a job.

After John agrees to take on a vacationing doctor's patients and one of them dies, he inadvertently leaves a phone message, then desperately tries to retrieve it. Meanwhile, Linda tries to comfort her friend Lynda, who won't leave the office; and Reggie and Jake trade barbs during a slow time in the diner.

John fumes when he can't get out of jury duty and then can't get picked to actually serve on a jury; Jake gets a dog.

John gets into an argument with a priest over whose hands a patient is really in -- God's or the doctor's; Reggie, Jake and Bob take a gamble on the stock market.

Reggie's celebration after earning an A in her psychology class turns to panic when she considers her uncertain future; and John entertains one of his neighbors, who turns out to be a hooker.

Becker tries in vain to see a movie without the experience being ruined for him, while Margaret has trouble coping with her marital problems.

Challenged to do so by his friends, Becker changes his routine with disastrous results. When he eats at a new Chinese restaurant, Linda gets a stalker, Margaret gets food poisoning, Bob gets punched in the nose, and Reggie and Jake lose $80 to a scam artist.

"The one who got away" comes back into Becker's life looking to rekindle the flame -- even though she's married. He entertains an invitation up to her hotel room, but after he hallucinates his friends mirroring his own guilt, he makes the hard decision to leave shortly after getting there. Meanwhile, Margaret struggles desperately to get Linda and Becker to sit still long enough to have a staff meeting.

Becker decides to quit smoking -- unfortunately, on a day when nothing goes right; Margaret is worried that her marriage is falling apart when her husband plans a trip to Atlantic City without her; when Linda keeps screwing up an X-ray, she convinces an old woman that she's crazy to get the woman to keep coming in for new X-rays; Bob, instead of fixing Becker's broken radiator, sleeps in Becker's bed and breaks his clock radio; and Reggie makes Becker do a memory test for a school project.

Dr. Becker's back goes out on Christmas Eve, stranding him in a holiday nightmare. Trying to cut through a crowded department store on Christmas Eve, Becker stumbles into a Christmas display and knocks his back out, leaving him immobilized in Santa's Village. While the same grating Christmas tune plays over and over again, Becker waits for the paramedics and lives out his worst nightmare as he is assaulted by toy trains, cheerful pandas and really irritating kids. Meanwhile, Reggie decides to one-up an annoying woman who collects presents for orphans by organizing an unusual toy drive at the diner.

John's former flame, Megan (Jaclyn Smith), appears unexpectedly at his door and announces that she has left her husband and wants to move in with John.

Jake's grandmother (Adrian Ricard), who insists she has a heart murmur, gets angry at John when he declares her to be in good health; Reggie goes through an old high-school yearbook and gets more depressed by the minute; Margaret becomes concerned about Linda's relationship with a young boy.

Reggie secretly conducts a psychology experiment on John to see if he treats attractive patients the same as unattractive ones. Also, Jake gets into a jam when he's accidentally sent a driver's license.

John doesn't know what to do when he accidentally learns that Linda and Reggie are dating the same guy; Bob tries in vain to figure out who the hooker is in his building.

John is excited when he learns that his favorite college professor from Harvard is coming to town. But when John meets him, he's shocked to discover that the man doesn't remember him.

John takes an out-of-shape patient (Alan Blumenfeld) to a gym to work out, but the man has a heart attack there and then sues John; Linda dyes her hair blonde and suspects that's the reason people think she's dumb.

John refuses to settle Vinny's lawsuit against him, despite the advice of his lawyer, Ruth, because he feels like it would imply guilt. Ruth impresses upon him that he could lose, and would then more or less have to shut down his practice. He finally decides to settle when he realizes how many people, both patients and employees, depend on him. Unfortunately, his decision doesn't sit well and he goes and tells Vinny that he will absolutely not settle. Jake and Bob try to think of the worst way to die. Linda pretends to like an ugly sweater/vest that Margaret's unemployed husband knits for her, and Margaret catches Linda in her lie by giving her one of her own to wear.

As the series' third season comes to a close, John Becker is being taken to court by a patient who claims the doctor almost killed him. The patient, Vinny, is suing John for allegedly causing him to have a heart attack by taking him to a gym for a workout. John maintains that Vinny would have had the heart attack anyway and that going to the gym had nothing to do with it. Defending John from his insurance company is a pretty attorney, and, of course, John finds fault with her, too. She refuses to let the hot-tempered doctor take the stand, fearing that he won't be able to keep a lid on his anger.

At the end of last season, John was thrown in jail for contempt of court during a malpractice case. Tonight, he's released after reluctantly apologizing to a judge, who orders him to see a therapist and work on his problem with authority. However, the therapist, Katherine Simmons, is dealing with her own authority issues, which John winds up "helping" her work out. Becker is shocked one night when she shows up at his apartment a changed woman. Elsewhere, Jake grows weary of his new girlfriend's annoying habit of describing for him every little thing she's doing; and Linda lobbies for a raise.

John is more irritable than usual when he tries to quit smoking; Reggie believes a friendly customer stole all of her good luck and left her with his bad fortune.

A tuxedo-clad John is on his way to his ex-wife's wedding in Connecticut when he stops in a bar because, in all honesty, he doesn't want to attend the event. Instead, the grumpy doc would prefer to have a few drinks, bend the ear of Frank the bartender for a while and get home in time to see the Knicks game on TV. And in the end, that's what he does, but not until he recalls (via flashbacks) his miserable Valentine's Day to Frank. While John complains about being all alone, the wise barkeep helps him realize how truly lucky he is.

John worries that women no longer find him attractive after Jake's girlfriend makes a disparaging remark to him; Linda fears that a pretty temp is going to replace her.

Dr. John Becker's laundry, apartment and mail have all been tampered with and he is sure the culprit is one of his pesky neighbors. Determined to solve the mystery, he decides to confront all the tenants and barges into his building's weekly board meeting. Meanwhile Chris, the new girl in Becker's apartment building, is a hit with the gang at the diner, but her perky behavior only serves to darken his already miserable day.

When John receives eight expensive steaks from a patient, his new neighbor Chris compels him to throw a party.

The fourth season concludes with a romantic cliffhanger as Reggie and a new neighbor (guest star Nancy Travis) each vie for John's affection. Also, Linda takes Margaret out for a night on the town, which Margaret lives to regret.

Becker spends the night with Reggie, but whilst trying to sneak out of the diner, Jake discovers him and finds out everything. Becker decides to dump Chris, and when she comes to the diner he tells her that he slept with Reggie and can't be with her. Later Becker has second thoughts and after a conversation with Linda about following your heart, decides to dump Reggie and be with Chris. He goes to the diner but Reggie is nowhere to be seen. The phone rings. It's Reggie. She's realized she hit rock bottom when she slept with Becker and has decided to leave town. Becker goes to Chris and tells her he changed his mind, and she's ready to be with him too until she finds out that Reggie left town and she assumes she's some sort of consolation prize. Meanwhile Linda argues with Margaret over what the term "next Thursday" means.

John tries desperately to persuade Chris that he chose to be with her before he learned that Reggie was leaving town, but Chris doesn't believe him. Also, Jake and Bob decide to follow in Reggie's footsteps and get out of town, and Margaret and Linda try to find out the identity of a man who claims he is a former patient.

Becker's old college roommate Rick Cooper, a recovering alcoholic, comes to town to make amends; but John was unaware until now that Rick was the one behind the misdeeds he confesses, which include stealing and sleeping with his wife. Meanwhile, Margaret spends time with Cliff, the medical supply salesman, until Linda accuses her of having an affair with him; and Bob becomes obsessed with his supposedly imminent death.