The gang has trouble finding work after graduating from college. Steve accepts a position as alumni representative for his fraternity (for a dollar a year). Valerie runs through a series of odd jobs. She tries to convince David to let her manage the club; although the After Dark is in dire straits, he turns her down. David refuses to move in with Donna until she reveals the true nature of their relationship to her mother. Steve alienates Carly Reynolds, the single mother of one of Erin's soccer teammates. She gets fired from her waitress job after a run-in with Steve and his date. Brandon and Kelly struggle to adjust to their new living arrangement. They decide to relax by taking a Hawaiian vacation, although Kelly doesn't want to postpone her new job. Donna seeks work as a second assistant for a designer, and winds up as the woman's only assistant. She is asked to help with a photo shoot in Hawaii, so everyone decides to take a vacation. Kelly backs out of the trip after catching Bran

Kelly undergoes successful surgery and begins to recover from her injuries. Brandon picks the shooter out of a police lineup. Kelly suffers complications and must undergo surgery for a blood clot in her lungs. She wakes up with amnesia. Donna gets a job as a personal shopper for a designer. She tells her mother that David is going to move in with her. Naturally, Felice is not thrilled by the news. Noah and Valerie sleep together, but he has second thoughts the following morning. Carly reconsiders her opinion of Steve after he gets her a job at the Peach Pit. He declares himself to be a sports agent and tries to woo the star of the C.U. women's basketball team. Carly sees Steve with his client and gets the wrong idea.

Music: ""First Time I Met the Blues"" by Buddy Guy

Kelly moves back into the beach apartment. Noah advises her to concentrate on her relationship with Brandon. She follows his advice, but becomes frustrated when she still cannot remember her life with Brandon. Her memories finally return as she reads the first issue of Brandon and Steve's newspaper, The Beverly Beat. A designer offers to purchase Donna's work. As she walks out of the interview, she stumbles onto a sweatshop; a young girl has burned her arm while operating a steam press. Donna and Brandon decide to investigate the story. David manages a rock band and allows the lead singer to crash at the apartment. Donna is put off by the man's rude behavior, and overhears him making an anti-Semitic remark. Noah pushes Val away and admits that he is consumed by thoughts of another woman. Valerie follows him to a spot overlooking the city; he shares that his girlfriend died in a car accident at this location after Noah lost control of the vehicle. Wealthy client Cooper Hargrove shows an

Brandon and Donna discover that Rush owns the building that houses the sweatshop. Although Rush denies any knowledge of illegal activities, Brandon uncovers proof that he owns the clothing factory. Steve accuses Brandon of selling out his father to establish a reputation as an investigative reporter. The woman who spoke with Donna is fired, although she had not revealed anything. She decides to expose the miserable working conditions, prompting Steve to confront his father. Rush admits that he may have known what was going on, and promises to clean up his act. While conducting the investigation, Steve forgets a promise to take Zach to Magic Mountain. David and Donna are kept apart by their busy schedules. David's band, Cain Was Able, continues to behave unprofessionally and make prejudicial remarks. David's credit problems escalate. Kelly fails to identify the shooter from the police lineup. This infuriates Brandon, who is certain that he picked out the right guy. Valerie fills in for

Brandon becomes overly protective of Kelly and displays behavior that borders on the sociopathic. When a man accidentally bumps into Kelly at a movie theater, Brandon imagines gun shots and attacks him. Detective Woods tells Brandon that the guy who shot Kelly is in the hospital. Brandon arrives and learns that the shooter is the man that Kelly described; the guy Brandon identified is the driver, who has been arrested. Brandon makes menacing remarks to the shooter's dead body. David negotiates a record deal for Cain Was Able. Donna shows him the band's new song, which includes racial slurs and encourages white supremacy. The record company executive tells David to let it go, but he refuses to allow the band to perform a showcase at the After Dark. David fights with the band when it tries to take the stage anyway. Donna learns that Valerie stole all of her clients. She tries to get revenge by asking Noah to work at a party in the hopes that he will catch Val with Cooper. Valerie manages

An unenthusiastic Noah discusses his investment portfolio with a business manager. He covers by telling Valerie that the man was a boat owner. Val accepts an invitation to a ball from Cooper and tries to keep Noah away. He shows up to surprise her; both men get mad and dump Valerie. The building owner evicts David for failing to pay the club's rent. He steals a check from Donna and forges her name. Donna takes a job for a woman who she believes is the widow of a major fashion designer. The woman seeks her help in retaining a psychic to ask her dead husband about some hidden jewels. David angers Donna by skipping the ball. Steve escorts Carly to the event, although they have to leave early to tend to an ailing Zach. Kelly fears that she and Brandon are in a rut, so they do it at every conceivable opportunity.

Brandon and Kelly recognize a hooker on a downtown street as Dylan's sister Erica. They call Brenda and learn that Erica vanished after following a boyfriend from Hawaii to Los Angeles. Brandon pays a male prostitute to lead them to Erica, and he and Kelly move her into the house. After convincing Valerie that she can be trusted alone, Erica disappears with all of the gang's valuables. David turns to a loan shark for help with his money problems. Donna discovers that David forged her name on a check. Torn apart by David's deceitful actions, she dumps him and throws him out of the apartment. Steve feels uncomfortable when Zach tricks him into participating in a father-son soccer game. Steve apologizes to Carly for overreacting, and they spend the night together. A woman whom Steve dated over the summer shows up and claims that she is pregnant with his child. Noah refuses to accept Val's apology and resume their relationship. He gets very drunk and is arrested in a bar fight. Brandon bai

Erica is arrested for prostitution and released into Kelly and Brandon's custody. Brandon writes a story about her, but promises to leave her name out of it. The assistant district attorney needs the name of Brandon's source to build a case against Erica's abusive pimp. Despite Kelly's objections, Brandon insists on protecting Erica from possible retribution. Erica stands up to Riggs and helps a friend get off the streets. The assistant district attorney threatens to send Brandon to jail unless he cooperates. Jodi claims that Steve is the only man who could have possibly fathered her child. He tries to convince her to give the baby up for adoption. Carly persuades Steve to take a paternity test. Mel helps David file for bankruptcy and pay back Donna, but he still owes a large debt to the loan shark. Donna spends the day on her parents' boat with Noah while David moves out of the apartment. Valerie catches Donna and Noah kissing and shares the news with David. Sands' thug beats up David

Brandon is arrested for obstructing justice. Erica agrees to participate in a sting operation so that Riggs can be arrested on another charge without her testimony. Riggs gets busted for buying drugs from an undercover cop, and the police pretend to arrest Erica so that he will not suspect her involvement. Iris transfers custody of Erica over to Dylan so that she can live with her brother. A dedicated doctor impresses Kelly when she takes Erica to his hectic clinic. Kelly asks for a transfer to the clinic, where she will help with administrative duties. David moves into the office at the After Dark and accidentally starts a fire. He has lost his insurance and cannot pay for repairs, so the landlord terminates his lease. Donna takes pity on David and asks him to move back into the apartment. He takes her up on her offer, only to see her kissing Noah on the porch after a date. Valerie visits Sands and learns that Noah paid off David's debt. She lashes out at Noah for lying to her, and fo

Dr. Monahan's behavior unnerves Kelly as he checks out her injured shoulder. Brandon insists that Kelly simply felt strange about being examined by an acquaintance, but she later finds reason to believe that Monahan was hitting on her. Kelly suggests that Brandon seek out talented columnist Emma Bennett for the Beat. The woman immediately begins coming on to him. Valerie warns Noah that he may be in over his head trying to manage the After Dark. He comes to agree with her and offers her a job, despite Donna's objections. Felice expresses her disapproval of Donna's relationship with Noah. Hoping to correct Felice's misconceptions about him, Noah buys the Martins' boat for $325,000 in an auction. David takes a job at a clothing store, but quits after just a few days. Donna sees David and Valerie at the mall and becomes jealous. Val suggests that they pretend to date to drive a wedge between Donna and Noah. Steve and Carly have difficulty finding time alone. Carly's mother stuns her by an

Dr. Monahan makes inappropriate advances toward Kelly. When she confronts him, he claims that he has done nothing wrong and accuses her of immaturity. Brandon lies about his whereabouts to Kelly and spends the day with Emma. They kiss after he drives her home. After discovering Brandon's relationship with Kelly, Emma tries to get to him by writing columns about the situation. David begins working at a car wash and befriends a gay teenage co-worker. He tries to convince the boy's parents to take him back, as he is sleeping at the car wash. David and Valerie proceed with their plan to make their exes jealous. Donna becomes upset and throws David out of the apartment, forcing him to move into Valerie's bedroom. Steve performs at the After Dark's comedy showcase. He initially bombs, but quickly recovers. He confesses to Carly that he stole all of the well-received material from Richard Belzer, and shares his history of stupid behavior.

Kelly considers filing sexual harassment charges against Monahan, but does not want to interfere with a fundraiser for the clinic. Monahan makes a pass at her during the event; Kelly talks with a supervisor, who warns that reporting him could cause future employers to label her a troublemaker. Brandon goes to Emma's apartment to pick up a column, and has sex with her. Wracked with guilt, he goes overboard trying to prove himself to Kelly. After Ben's parents reject his Christmas peace offering, he tells David that he plans to move in with an aunt and uncle. David realizes that he is lying and returns to stop him from slashing his wrists. He takes Ben back to the Walsh house, where Valerie convinces him not to give up on life. Ben's parents ask him to come home, and his father vows to try his best to accept him. Val and David realize how much they mean to each other. Noah upsets Donna by pushing her away during the holidays. Steve and a Santa-suit clad Nat help restore Zach's Christmas

Emma is upset to see Kelly wearing a watch that she had given to Brandon. Dr. Monahan forces Kelly out of the clinic. Emma suggests that she expose him, so Kelly turns on the intercom as Monahan makes another pass at her. Brandon barges in, and the foundation immediately fires Monahan, who will be replaced by Donna's father. Brandon asks Emma to leave the newspaper. She records a phone conversation in which he admits to sleeping with her, and uses the tape to blackmail him. Brandon and Steve hire a new assistant, Janet Sosna; and bring David aboard as a music reviewer. Donna is relieved when David reveals that his relationship with Valerie is a sham. David and Val get back together that day, and Donna plans to sleep with Noah as revenge. Noah nixes this idea, but then uses a private concert by Brian McKnight to get her into bed. Valerie cuts a deal with a bookie operating at the After Dark. Carly and Zach move in with Donna while their house undergoes some renovations. Zach inadvertent

Brandon admits his affair to Steve. Steve suggests that they gauge Kelly's reaction by making her the advice columnist and having her respond to a letter about a similar situation. Steve intercepts a call from Emma; Kelly overhears and assumes that he is cheating on Carly. She lectures Steve and advises him to emulate Brandon. Kelly confronts Emma, who stuns her by playing the tape of Brandon's confession. A devastated Kelly breaks up with Brandon and orders him to leave her alone. A young singer accosts David for his scathing review, which resulted in her firing. David realizes that he misjudged her and helps her get a gig at the After Dark. Val buys David a new keyboard after he expresses a desire to return to music. Noah tries in vain to shut down Val's bookmaking operation. Duke sets her up with an undercover cop, and Valerie and Noah get arrested. Carly experiences a nightmarish day as she loses Zach at the mall. A kindly stranger drops off the boy at the security offices.

Music:

Kelly moves in with Donna and Carly. Brandon expects Kelly to immediately take him back and will not give her any space. He gets plastered, staggers over to the apartment, and yells at Kelly. He refuses to leave until she threatens to call the police. Donna gets upset with Noah when he defends Brandon and claims that Kelly should ""get over it."" Brandon chases a minivan that cut him off and tries to attack the driver, a woman who has two children in the car. Noah realizes that Brandon has lost it, and apologizes to Donna. Valerie must perform community service at the clinic as punishment for her bookmaking arrest. Kelly smugly orders her around, so Val tries to get revenge by interfering with her relationship with Brandon. She tears up Brandon's messages and plays matchmaker for Kelly and an intern. Brandon shows up at the apartment late at night, but Kelly is not prepared to give him another chance. Carly's father suffers a heart attack and undergoes quadruple bypass surgery.