Jake and Jo are forced to submit to AIDS tests after his ex-girlfriend Peri reveals that she is HIV positive. Unable to cope with their anxiety, Jake and Jo take off on his bike and spend the night in the desert. He apologizes for the situation, and they confess their love. They declare that they will appreciate their lives more, regardless of the test results. Their tests come back negative, and Jake offers his support to Peri. Billy uses an embellished résumé to win a job at Escapade Magazine. His boss, Nancy, develops a crush on him. Alison returns to D&D and begs for her old job. Unfortunately, Amanda is in charge of hiring for the position. She lets Alison work as a receptionist, until Lucy forces her to re-hire Alison. Amanda continues to treat Alison badly, but denies that it has anything to do with Billy.

Billy and Alison's new relationship is torn apart when Amanda discovers that she is pregnant with his child. She insists that he is not obligated to take care of her, but he feels that he must take responsibility for his child. Michael breaks off his affair with Kimberly, and enlists Alison's help to arrange a meeting with Jane. He begs Jane to give him another chance, and she agrees to attend couples' therapy. Jo's nights out partying with Karen come to an end after she makes passes at both Jake and Jo.

Billy and Alison cannot get Jake and Jo back together. Amanda forces Jake to work with Jo on a photo shoot, where they bicker. The Mancinis' divorce is finalized. Michael fears that Jane is stealing his friends, so he throws a party at the beach house. Jane goes drinking with Alison and Jo; then sleeps with her lawyer, Robert. Kimberly is irritated when a drunken Michael flirts with every woman at the party. Sydney passes out drunk and spends the night on Michael and Kimberly's couch. Jake tries to invite himself to Amanda's apartment, but she slaps him. Katya asks Matt to marry her so that she and her daughter Nikki won't be deported.

Alison has to miss Thanksgiving dinner when Amanda sends her to San Francisco to check on the details for a presentation on Steve's account. Billy, aware that Steve will try to romance her, threatens to break up with Alison if she makes the trip. She ignores his ultimatum. A suddenly sympathetic Amanda urges Billy not to give up on Alison. He calls her room, but hangs up when Steve answers the phone. The FBI orders Jake to assist them with a sting on Palmer. Jake skips Thanksgiving dinner (or in Jo's words, ""Amanda's Thanksgiving tribute to the men in her life"") to hang out on the stairs and talk with Jo. Lauren apologizes to Sydney for misinterpreting her interest in her ""business."" She assures her that she and her girls can be her new family. Syd offers to cook Thanksgiving dinner for Jane, but gets rejected. Jane later offers Sydney a holiday truce, but Syd decides to dine with the girls. Kimberly's mother has her daughter shipped home to Cleveland.

Amanda is furious when Jake skips work to hold a bedside vigil for Jo. Jo is not seriously injured, and learns that her baby was unharmed. Billy warns Alison to keep quiet about Amanda's rendezvous with Chas. Jake tracks down Hank at a pool hall and beats him up. He shows up late for dinner with Amanda, sporting a black eye, and storms out when she lambastes him for defending Jo. Michael throws Billy a bachelor party at a strip club, unaware that Sydney is the entertainment. When she sees Michael, she runs out of the club and is fired. A drunken Billy accidentally tells Jake about Amanda and Chas. Jake breaks up with Amanda, who fires Chas and vows to destroy Alison. Jake admits his feelings for Jo, and she agrees to take him back. Kimberly alters the chart of one of Michael's patients, prompting him to unwittingly commit an error that nearly kills the man. He is stripped of the chief resident position. Kimberly bullies Jane into turning over the $5000 in profits she had kept from Mich

Chris warns that his company will have to cancel his deal with Jane's firm if Michael does not sign off on it. Sydney calls Matt from the mental hospital and pleads with him to investigate Kimberly. Jane and Matt visit the beach house, where she bonds with Michael while Matt snoops. He discovers that Kimberly owns several wigs, then rips off her wig during a confrontation at the hospital. Sydney accepts a plea bargain after a scummy staff member propositions her, and is released into Jane's custody. Kimberly vows revenge against Matt. Palmer and Brittany continue their plot against Jake. Palmer turns up on Amanda's doorstep. Billy and Alison break up after she learns that he took a job at D&D without consulting her. Jo receives a surprise visit from Reed's parents. She reluctantly admits that Reed is the father of her child, and is shocked when the Carters sue her for custody.

Jo and Amanda argue over who is to blame for Jake's departure. Jake meets his biological father, Vince Connors. After they resolve some of their differences, Vince convinces Jake to return to Melrose. Jake apologizes for abandoning Jo, then learns from the FBI that he is to receive a large reward for assisting with the capture of Brittany. Chris continually makes unwanted advances toward Sydney, but Jane believes her sister is just trying to cause trouble. Alison gets her new secretary fired, and picks up a guy at Shooters. She seeks revenge after he leads her to believe he wants a relationship, when he was actually just looking for a one-night stand. Peter Burns, the hospital's new chief of staff, lays down the law to Michael and Kimberly.