A tug-of-war ensues between Eric and his cantankerous parents over who will adopt a young orphan found hiding in the church.

Eric has to tell his parents that George may have to be given over to his birth father, who has resurfaced; Eric's alcoholic sister is released from rehab.

The Colonel and Grandma Ruth return from being out of the country for six months. Simon surprises his grandparents with his new haircut. Matt decides to move out of the house and gets his own apartment with John Hamilton. Aunt Julie's new husband Hank gets Matt a job at his hospital working in the cafeteria. Eric begins to suffer a mild heart attack due to the stress from his job.

As Annie plans a mysterious day of cleaning as Eric discovers the shocking news that Mary ran away from ""The Colonel""'s to come back home because of a devious scheme she had with Robbie and freaks out. Eric is convinced that more trouble is brewing and goes to insane lengths to find answers. In reality, Mary is heading home for a huge surprise birthday party for Eric, attended by all the people whose lives he's changed for the better in the past few years. Chores at home are interrupted, however, when Ruthie discovers Frankie and Johnny's baby, Mercy at the Camden front doorstep. Meanwhile, Lucy stays with her friend Mike's (guest-star Jeremy Lelliot) near catatonic mother for the day, and drops a proverbial bomb on Lucy. Also, Matt and Simon try to figure out why they delivered Mrs. Bink (guest-star Eileen Brennan) to the hospital.

Eric tries to arrange a romantic evening with Annie, but Annie keeps turning down every attempt he throws at her. At the same time, Annie takes Eric by surprise with the news that she would like to quit college and to start teaching to help get her out of her depression. Meanwhile, Simon is at risk of being fired from his new job at the pizza parlor by his excessive tardiness and discovering that waiting tables takes more people skills than he's equipped to handle. Also, Robbie sets Lucy on a date with one of his friends while Matt is concerned about a woman who keeps showing up at the clinic a lot. Lastly, Mary performs terribly in fire fighting training distracted by her consuming relationship with Wilson.

Lucy and Robbie argue over who should tell Mary about their emerging relationship. Meanwhile, Matt worries that a young woman in his study group might be a victim of physical abuse at the hands of her belligerent boyfriend. Eric's sister Julie shows up at the Camden house with her toddler Erica and annoys Annie as she tries to prepare a lesson for her class. Simon meets up with Sasha and they both try to catch up on their personal lives.