White returns to work to face a hostile staff; Axelrod accidentally destroys Fiscus' beloved Boston Red Sox baseball cap; Cavanero has to tell a college student he has testicular cancer; Chandler questions himself about why Amanda remains distant from him; and Martin decides to come forward against her rapist.

Dr. Caldwell performs plastic surgery on Manny while Jerry fights off cabin fever; Dr. Auschlander hires Joan Halloran as his new assistant; Axelrod becomes a hypochondriac; White reunites with his family; and a disturbed Daniels decides to do something about White.

Mrs. Wegener returns to find both her ex-husband and her daughter near death; Clancy moves in with Morrison after a burglary; Martin gives Fiscus a letter concerning Daniels; and Lizzie returns from Vassar with a boyfriend.

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.

The Craigs face a tremendous loss as their first grandchild is born; a newly inspired Dr. Westphall returns to work full of ideas; and Fiscus invites himself up to Dr. Caldwell's Cape Cod retreat, where he sees a different side to the surgeon. Elliot and Marcy discover a common interest in food.

Mr. Galecki brings Barbara back to the Craigs; Dr. Turner leaves unexpectedly for her sleepy hometown down South; Rosenthal slaps Lucy; Jack takes his remedial exam and Colonel Cochrane reconciles himself with God.

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.

St. Eligius' 50th anniversary spurs memories, including: it's opening in 1935 under the leadership of Father Joseph McCabe, the arrival of recently emigrated Helen Rosenthal and Mark's return as chief of surgery, Mark's bypass on Patrick O'Casey and the death of Maureen Westphall. Morrison struggles to diagnose a difficult patient and cope with the loss of Pete to a kidnapper.

St. Eligius' 50th anniversary spurs memories, including: the growing up of Donald Westphall, the arrival of young Daniel Auschlander and his first meeting with Katharine, a drunken and embittered Father McCabe's departure, and the residency of Mark Craig under Dr. David Domedion. The O'Casey family's long history with St. Eligius leads Morrison to a diagnosis. Pete is returned.

Dr. Turner returns to St. Eligius in time to deliver the baby of an old patient; Chandler has very bad luck as he searches for her all day; and Dr. Auschlander is trapped in a crack house that has been bequeathed to the hospital.

Rosenthal's first husband and youngest son both return to her life; Chandler comes under fire for his activism against apartheid; Dr. Turner finds it hard to let go of the Ettings' baby; The Valeres' wish is finally granted, and everyone wants to date Novino.