Donna is still shaken after being held hostage, and Clare and David struggle to bring her out of her funk. She instantly perks up when Cliff makes a surprise visit. She tells him that she has a boyfriend, but David still feels betrayed. Luther Vandross performs at the After Dark for Valentine's Day. David reacts angrily when Donna decides to leave after the concert instead of going out with Luther, Chloe and him. Donna runs into Cliff at the Peach Pit and agrees to a date. Valerie's mother comes to town and asks her to approve a second mortgage for the family home, as Val is part-owner. Valerie wants nothing to do with the house and orders her mother to sell it, leaving Abby confused. Val is hurt to see Tom with Kelly. Kelly finds her crying in the bathroom. Val admits that she needs Tom and pleads for Kelly to set him free if she doesn't really care for him. The guilt-ridden Kelly breaks up with Tom, who later shares a romantic slow dance with Valerie. Tracy finds the engagement ring

Brandon has to take care of Kelly and Valerie, who are both laid up with the flu. The girls discuss the reasons for their feud, which supposedly dates back to a time when Kelly interrupted a make-out session between Valerie and Brandon. Val blames Kelly for costing her the love of her life, while Kelly insists that she gave Brandon her blessing to date Valerie. Valerie is contacted by Derek Driscoll, a representative from Mr. Taylor's firm. Val tells Brandon that Kelly is hiding the fact that she was accepted to Columbia's graduate school. Kelly declares that she is not leaving town, and decides that Brandon should throw Val out of the house. David convinces Donna to join him at his business meeting in New Orleans, even though she has a class presentation the next day. David thinks that he will score, but gets no further than usual. They oversleep, causing Donna to miss her presentation. Samantha ignores Chancellor Arnold during an evening honoring her sitcom, and eventually dumps him.