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.

Prejudices come to the fore when the staff of Ward 17 discover they will be looking after a smuggler who is to be admitted with a bellyful of cocaine-filled condoms. The 'bloke' turns out to be a slip of a girl, who was once a junkie. The tragedy of her tale unfolds as she is monitored and guarded; she is desperately in love with her new husband, who is the only good thing to ever happen to her, and she wanted to help him realise his dream of a place in the country by smuggling coke — just this once. Her husband, Paul, has no intention of letting his wife go to jail, and puts a gun to Steph's head, he's getting his wife out of here! But Lisa needs surgery urgently. Paul will not let his wife out of his sight and when Luke points out that is not possible, Paul, at gunpoint, insists it is and that Luke must perform the surgery. Steph is roped in, and, Mitch volunteers himself as anaesthetist, rather then putting some other sucker at risk. The team heads off to surgery leaving Terri almost paralysed with fear. The last time there was a gun on the ward, two people died, and she eventually lost a man she cared deeply about. Von is the only one who realises what she is going through, and helps Terri cope as the ward is besieged with patients from the wing the theatre is in, evacuations having been necessary in case the gun goes off, exploding oxygen tanks.

In theatre, surgery goes ahead at gunpoint; Luke and Steph working on the patient as Mitch works hard to win Paul's trust and hopefully to get him to put away the gun. Just as it looks as if he has made a breakthrough, Luke nicks one of the condoms causing the cocaine to leak out and arrests lisa. The teams work to avert the crisis and once it seems clear Lisa will be all right, Paul insists they hand over the cocaine. There is shock for a moment as Mitch, Steph and Luke think this 'act of love' has in fact been about retrieving the drugs; but Paul slashes the condoms, tipping out the poison that has ruined his and Lisa's lives. He says a tearful goodbye to Lisa, hands Mitch the gun and walks out to face his fate. Leaving the surgical team to finish with Lisa and return to the arms of their waiting partners. As Steph and Ben embrace and Luke and Bron do likewise, Terri gives Mitch a stern lecture about the stupidity of putting his life at risk. Then Rose arrives and whisks Mitch away, leaving Terri alone.

Bron and Ben are called to an emergency in a local park, which turns out to be a pair of very embarrassed teenage sweethearts. Emily has called for help because Tim's penis is caught in his fly. Ben finally manages to release it and the young lovers head off hand in hand. The situation leads to Bron discovering more about the depth of Ben and Steph's feelings for each other.

It's Sunday on the ward. The atmosphere is more relaxed than it is on a weekday — less staff, fewer interruptions, radios are playing, no one is in a hurry to do anything. Steph is running the ward, glad of the opportunity to be in charge without Terri looking over her shoulder. There is an air of everyone pitching in, covering for each other as there are no administrative minders; nurses do their own housekeeping, take phone calls, write bed tags and collect x-rays.

Eddie Furlong is brought in suffering from hypothermia, having been fished out of the river following a late night boating accident. Eddie obsessed by the whereabouts of his two crewmates, especially his young brother Marty, whom he learns has been declared brain dead following a serious head injury. Seemingly depressed by his brother's death, Eddie attempts suicide via a paracetamol overdose. But the true reasons behind his suicide attempt — guilt and remorse — are revealed when the other member of the party, Rob, who has just been discharged from St Angela's arrives on the ward to accuse Eddie of cowardice and murder. He claims Eddie was so obsessed with saving his own skin, he left his companions for dead. Despite prompt action from the Ward 17 staff, Eddie's overdose looks set to cause major liver damage and probably death. His only chance of leading a healthy life, or indeed surviving the overdose, is to have a liver transplant. And his brother's liver is the obvious candidate. But Eddie has misgivings about accepting an organ from the brother he neglected to save.

Ben and Mick's day begins innocuously when they revive a wealthy yuppie who has taken a narcotics overdose. The ungrateful patient gives a false name and refuses to accompany them to hospital, leaving a bad taste in Ben and Mick's mouths. Later, Ben and Mick spot the man's sports car in the doctors' car park at All Saints. Ben and Steph are certain the person who has OD'd is in fact Tom Snowdon — an up and coming anaesthetics registrar and mate of Luke's. Luke initially dismisses the allegations against his colleague, but a mixture of self-interest and ethics finally force him to confront Tom about the overdose. In doing so, Luke realises there is more to being a successful doctor than having a huge trust account and a privileged background — Tom's background.

Terri is excited to be hosting brunch for her parents' 35th wedding anniversary. But things quickly sour when her intoxicated father slaps Eileen for some alleged past indiscretion. When Ryan attempts to do so again, Terri steps in to save her mother and causes her father to fall and break his hip. Caught between feelings of guilt over her actions and disgust over her father's, Terri arranges for her father to be admitted to Ward 17. Luke advises he will need a pin and plate inserted in his femur. Meanwhile, acting on a hunch, Mitch has secretively arranged a CT scan which reveals Ryan has life threatening cancer. Terri's abused mother rushes immediately to her husband's side, and Terri realises there is now no chance of her mother freeing herself from Ryan's controlling influence.

Meanwhile, Jared has a challenging day dealing with an erratic drunk suffering from Korsakoff's syndrome. And Mitch psyches up for his big dinner date with Rose's parents.

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...

All Saints is thrown into emergency status when an explosion creates chaos and carnage. The disaster becomes personal when the staff realise that Von is missing. Steph has to put aside her fears about her own pregnancy while Ben and Bron fight to save the life of a pregnant woman and her unborn child.

Alex Richards is free from the rubble. She is unconscious, suffering head injuries and in urgent need of surgery. Luke and John Madsen perform a craniotomy to remove a haematoma, and although Alex survives the operation she suffers a respiratory arrest on the Ward. Steph manages to stabilise her but she goes into a coma. Her prognosis is not good and her mother, Di, is distraught.

Luke and Madsen are operating on Rob when the word comes through he is the one responsible for setting the bombs. Luke has just heard of Alex's decline and is so angry he does not care whether Rob lives or dies. But he learns a lesson in professionalism from Madsen.

Unknown to all of them, Rob left a ticking bomb on the Ward when he went into surgery. He is prepared to lose his life for the sake of his vendetta.

Jared is nursing Mrs Price who is frantic about her two missing children, Caitlin and Rowen. When news comes through the kids have been located, Jared suggest Bosco might go over to the site to entertain and distract the kids while the rescue workers try to free them. Bosco laughs in Jared's face and says he has no intention of putting his life in danger and says he is going home.

Over at the Medical Centre, Bron and Ben are just at about their wit's end trying to calm Rowen and Caitlin, when out of nowhere (it seems) a clown appears. Bosco calms the kids and he finally has an audience who appreciates his jokes.

In the middle of the chaos, Mitch proposes to Rose. It never occurred to him she might want time to consider his proposal. In fact, there are a few delicate matters concerning his past that she wants to discuss before she will give him a genuine answer.

Tension levels on the Ward rise even higher when it is learnt Rob is being sent back to Ward 17 after surgery. When Alex's distraught mother Di discovers the man responsible for the bomb is on the Ward after she loses control. She barges into Robs room and starts to attack him. AS far as she is concerned, it is totally unfair for him to live through when it looks like her daughter is dying. Terri has to throw herself in front of Rob to defend him. It is then he tells Terri there is one more bomb...

There is an atmosphere of excitement on the Ward as everyone prepares for the Hospital Fundraiser Ball. Both Mitch and Von deny having bought Terri's ball dress. Nervous and excited, Terri leaves work early to get ready for the ball.

Terri leaves the Community House and returns to Ward 17. She has healed somewhat since the death of Neil Phillips a week ago, but Terri knows a return to her usual world will be a trying time. Von gives her all the support she can, but so far Terri's ordeal is not general knowledge and Mitch has decided to make himself scarce. Terri gets stuck into office work, avoiding contact with the patients and awkwardly deflecting the friendly inquiries of her colleagues. Meanwhile, rumours are circulating about a rape and fatal stabbing.

Mitch goes to great personal and professional lengths to diagnose the illness of an aspiring Olympic athlete who accuses him of molesting her. Bron learns an important lesson about herself while dealing with a difficult situation. Von wants a dying patient to divorce her loving husband — but for whose benefit? A hungry street kid pays a visit to Ward 17 and brings some joy to a lonely, old man. Ben and Bron are called out to the site of a fatal motorcycle accident where Bron finds herself searching for the victim's decapitated head.

As Luke faces the internal investigation into his supposed negligence, he is forced to defend himself, putting his career and relationship with Bron on the line. Ben attends the attempted suicide of a mysterious young man. Will the truth of his haunted psyche be revealed before it's too late? Mitch goes into battle against the hospital authorities when patient's relatives are forced to sleep in the car park due to lack of funds.

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.

Nursing Unit Manager Cynthia Murdoch has devoted the past 25 years of her life to the Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Unit attached to All Saints. But, despite her superhuman efforts, the place is rundown, understaffed, last on the queue for funds and generally under continual pressure from the administration.

Steph steps into Terri's shoes as Nursing Unit Manager but alienates her colleagues with her demanding behaviour. Bron uncovers the shocking family secret that drove sisters apart 23 years ago when the sister of a brain-damaged patient insists her sister be allowed to die so she can receive an insurance payout. Luke is convinced his good relationship with Madsen is over for good when he risks a patient's safety by operating with an injured hand. Mitch and Kylie deal with a hypochondriac while Connor learns a lesson of the heart.

When Ben and Bron answer a cry for help they find a woman, Lynette Newman, living in a sealed flat, under rigidly sterile conditions. A fall has given Lynette head injuries and she is transferred to All Saints and ultimately to Ward 17. She displays a paranoid fear of being there, and what appears to be a obsessive/compulsive disorder. Connor, currently Acting NUM, wants Lynette transferred to the Psych unit. Mitch suspects there is more to it and insists Lynette remain on the ward.

The big day has finally arrived for Mitch and Rose but despite the best efforts of the Ward 17 staff, Mitch becomes involved with a patient suffering chronic pain as a result of the condition Ankylosing Spondylitis. The young man, Scott, has just about given up but Mitch has a radical idea on how to break the pain cycle. Connor is less than impressed to learn Mitch intends to bring dope onto the ward, particularly when he has worked so hard to be a good NUM. Mitch finds an unlikely ally in treating Scott, when Rose takes time out of her wedding day preparations to lend a hand.

Bron is worried about Ben. He has slumped into a depression since Steph's death and she is concerned he is not taking adequate care of himself. So concerned, in fact she has temporarily moved into his flat to keep an eye on him. Which is where Ben drops his bombshell; he has decided to transfer from active paramedic duties to a desk job at HQ. Bron is aghast. She knows this is an ill-considered decision borne of his depression, but Ben won't hear reason. He is quitting just as soon as he finishes the paperwork.

Von's past is highlighted when a patient, Will Harrington, she nursed in a London pediatric unit is admitted to Ward 17. His memories of Von result in a lot of stirring from the rest of the staff and consequently a furious Von confronts Will, telling him she is not the person he thinks she is. Will comes to realise she may be right — he doesn't recognise this new Von at all. Besides, he does not need handholding any more — he is an adult. But, on learning he has cancer, all Will's childhood fears re-surface and Von is forced to re-enact the magic that got him through his childhood illness to help get him through this one.

Mitch discovers Rose has been keeping a huge secret from him. She suffers from Bipolar disorder, a manic depressive condition which she has been managing with a Lithium dosage. However since discovering her pregnancy, she has discontinued the medication, leaving herself vulnerable to manic mood swings. The fact Rose kept this from Mitch underlines her insecurity in the relationship. Even Mitch does not realise how much this insecurity is focussed on his friendship with Terri.