Steph's life is on the line when she and two patients contract a rare disease. Luke is forced to question his abilities as a doctor when faced with an ungrateful patient. After getting trapped in a collapsed building, Ben shocks Bron by declaring he's falling in love with her. Von and Dr. Samantha O'Hara help an elderly doctor realise it's time to retire gracefully.

Terri struggles to deal with what has happened to her friends Sophie and Peter. Bron learns about the hierarchy in the ambulance organisation when she finds herself under the supervision of a strict training officer. Having been confined to desk work while recovering from his Post Traumatic Stress, Ben confronts his demons when he resuscitates a girl at a local shopping mall. Jared and Samantha's blossoming romance is tested when they disagree on a patient's diagnosis. Despite downplaying the honour publicly, Von is secretly thrilled to be chosen as Employee of the Month. Connor ignores pleas to seek treatment for his bad back — until he sets eyes on Lily, the gorgeous acupuncturist.

In an episode about dependence between friends, partners and workmates, dependence takes the form of teamwork, friendship and co-operation for some, while for others it is a reminder of a lack of independence. A street kid holds Mitch hostage in an attempt to abduct his junkie friend from Ward 17. Bron and Ben are faced with a complicated premature childbirth which tests Bron and brings up painful memories for Ben. Terri tries to help Peter cope with his trying day as a hospital out-patient. Connor suspects a budding romance between two patients. Von's Employeee of the Month honour garners her more unwanted attention.

Ward 17 is thrown into turmoil when Danny Bucknell is admitted as a patient to recover following a suicide attempt. It's a guilt-stricken time for Peter when his son goes missing and he comes to the realisation that it is time he focused on being a good father again. When Jaz's final attempts to make him admit to the rape fail, she makes an important life decision and announces her resignation with the intention of going back to school. Bron and Ben disagree about how best to handle the situation when they attend to a man who has been trapped under a fallen tree. Mitch picks up an interesting case from Emergency and Connor has the day from Hell when Joan Marden, the Assistant Director of Nursing, comes under his care.

Mitch is forced to confront his fears when a cancer patient refuses treatment. He embarks on a campaign to make his patient change his mind but ending up drunk and alone, he bangs on Terri's door. Steph gets starry-eyed about a possible promotion when Joan recommends Terri for a new position as her replacement. Bron gets the "relative from Hell" when she finds herself under constant scrutiny by a patient's daughter during her ward shift. Meanwhile, Jared blames Connor when Samantha's mother takes a fall and Ward 17 is finally sent a charming, polite and quick ward clerk… but for how long?

Luke has had enough… Bron has been avoiding him and he needs to know where he stands in her life. Confronting her, Luke demands to know why she insists on messing with his emotions. Despite attempts to avoid the real issue, Bron is faced with an insistent Luke — he wants her to let him know what she wants, needs, expects from him. Bron takes that ultimatum with her on her paramedic shift.

Things soon become clearer when she and Ben attend a motor vehicle accident and find an old couple injured in their campervan. When Donald refuses to leave the woman he has loved all his adult life, Bron is shown the meaning of true love. The elderly couple dies together as they would have wanted, and Bron realises that true love still exists in this messed-up world. But does it exist for her?

Von is not happy with the arrival of her next-door neighbour on the ward. Hazel lives alone, is an alcohol abuser, and Von does her best to keep away from the situation as the rest of the staff debate the rights and wrongs of treating someone who is so obviously her own worst enemy. Mitch, however, is not about to give up on Hazel and puts pressure on Luke to help him ignore hospital policy and operate on the woman. Someone has to reach out and help this woman… is Luke the man to do it?

Jard is smitten — in the professional sense — by the arrival of an unidentified man who does not seem to have a friend in the world. But the patient's arrival on the ward seems to coincide neatly with the outbreak of several minor fires, and Jared soon realises that his patient is a little too handy with a box of matches. Jared has to take the man with him to be constantly supervised while waiting for a psychiatric evaluation.

While everyone else is trying hard to reach out to their patients, Connor is doing his damnedest to shut his up. Ralph takes incessantly, about everything, but like so many people in the world is largely dismissed. Given everything else that is happening on the ward today, Connor is compelled to take some time to get to know Ralph and is surprised to find he has a lot to offer.

Ben and Bron are called to a suburban house and soon realise that the occupant, although a fully grown man, is severely developmentally delayed. It takes the police's arrival to gain entrance to the house, where the young man's grandmother lies dead at the kitchen table. During the laying-out process, Thomas panics, runs from the house and is hit by a car. Although he is not badly injured, Bron feels responsible, and stays with him during his admission to Ward 17. Thomas clings to Bron as a familiar face and is comforted when she is back the following day as an agency nurse. He bonds with her but she just cannot manage to explain to him that his nanna is not coming back. Meanwhile, the hospital social worker assesses Thomas and decides to recommend to Community Services that Thomas should be institutionalised. Somehow Bron can't bring herself to give up on the idea Thomas could have a brighter future than this.

Von is touched by the plight of one of her patients. Hilary is a middle-aged woman with terminal cancer who draws Von into her scheme to find a new companion for her husband, Owen. At first Von is helping with the 'interviews' but it soon becomes clear to Hilary that Von could be the perfect candidate. And maybe Von is allowing herself to think the same way — it helps that she and Owen get on like a house on fire and have bonded over their memories of serving in Vietnam during the war.

Jared is looking after a young diabetic man, Leo, who has gone on a bender. Mitch, although feeling sorry for the state the guy is in, has little time for people who refuse to take their treatment seriously. Jared suspects that something is amiss but then it is Mitch who finally gets the young man to tell the story of how he was raped.

Terri has moved from the community house into a modest flat and invited her workmates around for a low-key celebration. But All Saints staff work hard and play hard and the 'few drinks' look like turning into a full-on party — especially when Connor spikes the punch. And, after Mitch's jokes about booking a stripper as a housewarming present, Terri is suspicious when he arrives with a police escort.

Mary Ellison is brought into Emergency after having collapsed in the streets. Mitch tries to examine her, only to find the young girl is terrified of him. Mitch is forced to call Terri in to help when Mary's mother turns up and seems even more horrified that a man might think about touching her daughter. Terri and Mitch are forced to work very closely together to unravel the mystery. The situation is further complicated when it is discovered that, while she looks fourteen, Mary is twenty-one and has a blood pressure level a middle-aged man would be worried about. Terri finally uncovers the truth and finds herself caught between her compassion for the mother and her horror at the twisted interpretation the woman has put on religion. When it is discovered that she has been feeding her young daughter steroids and hormones to avert the start of menstruation, Terri has to walk away.

Bron and Ben have their hands full with a sad young man, Vince, who is desperate to prove his love to a woman called Tina. Refusing treatment the first time they are called out to him, Vince is soon in physical danger again. When it is discovered that the women is dead, killed in a car accident just the day before, Ben uses his own feelings for Steph to talk Vince out of hurting himself.

Steph, still trying to make sense of her life, is saddled with a family who cares just a little too much. While their mother recovers from surgery, the family gather in a bedside vigil, making Steph's life hell.

Connor, trying to cope with his continued wariness over the new gay ward clerk and run off his feet on a particularly busy day, is accused of stealing money from a patient's wallet. Despite his protestations to the contrary, Connor can't be sure if the money was there in the first place.

Jared's patient is unconscious, stable and has an unusually large penis. The news spreads like wildfire through the ward and everyone but Connor seems impressed. Finally, unable to deny his curiosity, Connor sneaks in to have a look… only to have the patient wake up and catch him.

Connor reckons Jared should stop sitting at home pining for Samantha and get out more. To this end, he hassles Jared into going to the gym with him. Jared is driving them both to the gym when he knocks over Roger, a very fit guy who trains for triathlons. Roger, who is a very full-on personality, leaps up and says he is fine. Jared wants the guy to have a check-up but Roger says he does not have time and cycles off. Jared sees Roger again at the gym and is amazed by his fanatical approach to training. At the gym, Jared also meets Mel, an attractive instructor. As Jared leaves for work he finds Roger collapsed on the side of the road. Jared calls the ambulance. At the hospital it takes a while for Mitch to diagnose Roger, who is going into body meltdown (Rhabdomyolysis). Roger admits to Mitch he has used training as a way to avoid confronting his feelings about a broken relationship. This admission and a subsequent conversation with Mitch propels Jared back to the gym to ask Mel out on a date.

Connor is delighted to find Cougars star Darren Rigg admitted to Ward 17 and under his care. Darren is a fervent and very public anti-drugs campaigner. He is faced with the treatment decision of whether or not to use a steroid medication to make the football injury heal faster. If he does not take the steroids, he will not heal in time to take the field for the Grand Final. But, if he does take them, he feels it could compromise his anti-drugs position. Darren's fiancee is none other than Simone Carlisle. She is a drug addict who has managed to clean herself up but has hepatitis C. She agrees to allow Mitch to perform a liver biopsy but does not want to tell Darren about her hep C or her past. Simone's presence in the hospital is the talk of the ward, particularly as she may have inadvertently passed the hep C on to Tony via his needlestick injury.

Luke falls into the trap of joining in laughter at Steph's expense over the incident (in the previous episode) where she was responsible for a patient losing confidence in a doctor. This week, however, it is Luke's turn. Olivia, a large diabetic woman, has a reaction to antibiotics and can't breathe. Luke mucks up his attempt to intubate her. Swelling around her throat forces him to do a tracheostomy. After he cuts her neck open, he cannot find the windpipe in all the blood and gore. Stan Ridgeway, who is on the ward looking for Steph's incident report, come to Luke's rescue and the patient is saved. But Luke is completely humiliated.

Terri is forced to come to work out of uniform because both her uniforms were stolen from the clothesline, along with some of her underwear. The main suspect is Neil Phillips.

Ben and Steph's romance heats up, with Ben sending flowers to the ward and Steph slipping a note under a windscreen wiper on the ambulance. The flowers are a source of confusion to Terri, who thinks they are from Luke as a means of apologising to Steph.

Bron is thrilled to hear her new partner is none other than Peter Maroney. Pete has a reputation as a hero in his country hometown for his rescue of two children from a collapsing and burning building. Bron is even more thrilled to learn that, unlike Ben, he does not hold much stock in rules and regulations and allows her to perform procedures Ben would never allow. But her pleasure is short-lived when it becomes obvious something is very wrong with Pete. He is not allowing her to undertake procedures because he thinks she is capable but, rather, because he knows he is incapable of performing them himself. When the situation is finally revealed to her, Bron finds herself being held captive by a man who can see his whole career going down the drain.

Judith, a new mother, is admitted suffering flu-like symptoms. Her 12-week-old baby rooms with her, causing a bit of clucky behaviour from the staff. But when Judith collapses, putting both herself and her child at risk, Mitch starts to suspect they are dealing with something far more sinister than the flu. It turns out Judith is suffering from polio, contracted from her daughter, who has recently been immunised against the disease. Von is forced to admit to Terri her SLE (Lupus) status so as to be taken off the case. It falls to Jared to se the woman through the frightening and painful disease.

Ward 17 is pleased to see Brian again after so long, but not so pleased to hear his wife Marjorie has died and he has seemingly lost his will to live. Obviously neglecting his health and welfare, Brian is finally forced to admit he is not harbouring a death wish at all but, rather, feels tremendous guilt over the fact he wants to live despite having lost the love of his life.

The Cougars have finally taken out a Grand Final and Connor's celebrations have lasted a few days, during which both he and Tony have been missing in action. Connor can't remember most of what went on over those days. So when a local newspaper carries a front page spread on the post-match celebrations, featuring Connor and Tony in a warm embrace, Connor starts to wonder just what he got up to. Tony strings him along, having fun at Connor's expense. The fun stops when Mitch tells Tony his test results are back.

The ward is abuzz with the news a female boxer is on the ward, suffering from concussion due to a knockout punch in training. Charlie and her trainer Jimmy are itching to get out of All Saints and back in the ring — she is not too keen on hanging around for a CT scan — even though Luke fears she may have a cerebral bleed. But Steph suspects there may be other factors behind Charlie's symptoms, and a urine test confirms she is pregnant. Terrified a pregnancy will mean the end of her boxing career, Charlie demands an abortion. There's only one hitch, Luke refuses to write a referral, claiming there is no medical reason for a termination.

While nursing Charlie, Steph realises the young boxers's views on pregnancy are not as clear cut as she initially made out — especially when Steph points out motherhood need not mean the end of her promising career. But even if Charlie is cleared of brain injuries, she still faces a terrible decision: abort the pregnancy or lose her big chance to crack the US professional circuit.

The best-laid plans of Terri and Regina start crumbling when an elderly patient dies only hours before her long-lost son arrives on a mercy dash from the UK. Flu-ridden Bryce Jones is devastated to discover his mother has just died, but a bigger shock awaits him when he views the body — it is not his mother. In his already weakened physical state the emotional upheaval is too much for Bryce, and he is admitted to Ward 17 suffering from pneumonia. When his condition worsens and Mitch eventually diagnoses advanced cancer, Regina decides it is time to bring some happiness into the unlucky man's life.

Ben faces a reunion of a different sort when his ambulance is hijacked by Jason Richards — a mixed up young man whose obsession with becoming an ambulance officer has developed into full-blown psychosis. Ben is stuck in the back of the ambulance with a critically ill patient, and needs all his wits to convince Jason to drive them to hospital before the patient dies. It is a race against time which Ben appears to be losing when the patient suffers a cardiac arrest. Ben knows the only way he can save the patient is by relying on Jason's assistance — but is it a risk he is prepared to take?

Connor and Bron are shocked to discover Jared has not yet had sex with his girlfriend Mel. Connor makes it his mission to get Jared laid, whether he wants it now or not.

Meanwhile, Steph's experiences with Charlie have forced her to re-evaluate her attitude to motherhood. It is the end of a long journey for Steph and she knows Ben will be overjoyed to hear she wants to start a family after all. What she did not bargain on is Ben dropping the biggest bombshell of their marriage.

While the staff truggle to find some time to decorate the ward and Connor laments having to participate in the Christmas pageant, Mitch is forced to face some of the demons of his past in order to treat a woman who has presented with sudden, unexplained paralysis. Carol Sherwood collapsed on the sidewalk but tests reveal no physical explanation for the paralysis. On learning Carol did a stint as an aid worker in Somalia, Mitch starts to suspect the problem might have a psychological basis. In helping the paralysed aid-worker come to terms with memories of war-torn Africa, Mitch re-evaluates his own future, asking Terri if there is any hope for them.

A couple in room one are desperately trying to have their baby without her parents finding out. Rachel is Jewish, her husband Joe is Catholic. They have eloped to avoid the arguments their relationship has caused but now Rachel starts thinking she wants to have her mum and dad with her at this very special time. It is Jared who helps Rachel celebrate Hanukkah while Terri tries to bridge the gap between parent and child. She hopes witnessing the love between his daughter and Joe and holding his grandchild will convince Rachel's father to accept a gentile in his family.

Ben and Bron are on a Santa-collecting expedition as store and street Santas fall victim to various mishaps. When they are called to the house of a young boy, Shane, who has broken his arm, they are saddened to learn the boy's friend has just told him Santa does not really exist. Treating the boy's injuries is one thing, rekindling the joy of Christmas proves to be quite another. Help arrives in the form of a mugged Santa who spent last Christmas on Ward 17 — it is amazing what having Santa knock on your door can do to a child's belief in Christmas.

Steph is on cloud nine as she gives Ben his Christmas present early by announcing that she is pregnant. Although she and Ben agree to keep the news to themselves, they have trouble containing their excitement.

Terri is pleasantly surprised to find her flat decorated when she returns from work. Assuming Mitch is responsible, she won't believe his protestations he has not broken into her flat and decorated the tree he delivered earlier. Once everyone has gone, a knock on the door has her convinced Mitch has returned to take credit for the decorating. But it is someone else who wants to wish Terri a Merry Christmas...

Terri's patience is tried to the limit by the demands of an aging and embittered TV star who has suffered terrible facial scarring from an acid attack. Pregnant and overtired, Steph's worst nightmare looms large when she starts to bleed and suffer severe stomach cramps. Cold-shouldered by Bron, Luke accepts a drinks invitation from a glamorous patient and is shocked by a proposal she has for him. Mitch is concerned Regina is becoming too fixated on her wedding plans.

Lucke's bro was brought from the jail on order to have an operation & bring out the gillette blades he had eaten to get outta the jail.they didn't seem to be friendly till lucke found out there's something wrong with his bro & finally decided to get some help about it.Terry's still depresed.Ben & his partner tried to get along.

A young man struggles with the news that to save his life, a large portion of his face will have to be removed. A young woman uses her anorexia to regain media notoriety. Kylie suspects a patient has tuberculosis and refuses to listen when Von questions her diagnosis. Ben and Bron are faced with an emergency when a boy, whose head is stuck between the metal bars of a security door, is stung by a bee.

The final day of Terri's trial begins. She is horrified as prosecution barrister Marion Lord continues to paint her as some fallen woman. The nosy neighbour Gilda gives the Jury the impression Terri was not only having an affair with Neil Phillips but also had another lover, namely Mitch.

Terri is finding counselling is doing nothing to help her anxiety and guilt over the death of Neil Phillips. Forced onto medication, she attempts to straighten herself out by working back on the ward in general nursing, handing the reins over to a delighted Steph.

Connor, Bron and Jared don't know what has hit them when they come up against Terri's replacement, Kate Larsen. They soon realise that this nursing unit manager has very different ideas about how Ward 17 should be run.

Scott attends his first domestic violence call-out with Ben to find that a girl has been stabbed in the neck by her boyfriend. Scott provokes a fight with him. When Bron is assigned to nurse the girlfriend, it is discovered all is not as it seems. Mitch diagnoses a young woman with a serious heart condition and tries to reassure her by suggesting they fly in a top surgeon to operate. Kate initially supports the idea, but does a back flip when Claudia goes on the warpath about the cost. Mitch is disgusted believing Kate has sold out.