Brian returns from the hospital but leads everyone to believe he'd been in Ibiza. Justin discovers the truth when he overhears a message for Brian from the hospital's oncology department. He asks Michael if he knows anything about it, but Michael is just as shocked as Justin. Knowing that if Brian wanted anyone to know he would've told them, they decide to keep Brian's secret to themselves. Michael, however, later admits to Brian that he knows about his testicular cancer and that Justin is the one who told him. Michael and Justin meet with Brett Keller, a Hollywood producer who wants to make Rage into a feature film. Michael and Justin are pleased to learn that Brett has no intention of compromising Rage's sexuality. Later at Babylon, Ben meets Brett, who he tells he's not a fan of the ""mindless entertainment"" Brett produces. Michael is furious at Ben for insulting Brett. When Ben tells Michael he thinks Brett is a sell-out, Michael accuses him of being jealous.

The episode was rated 7.53 from 34 votes.

Debbie tries hard to sign up new gay voters on Liberty Avenue to defeat antigay Police Chief Stockwell, who's running for mayor. Brian wins the chief's campaign as an advertising account, telling the candidate that he needs to find an issue to make the second-place contender "pop" in the minds of the voters. Stockwell agrees to introduce Brian to some of his rich and powerful friends if the chief triumphs. After some teenage Babylon patrons die from bad drugs, Stockwell tells Brian he's found his issue. Ethan loses the Heifetz competition, but a talent agent offers to represent him—if he leaves Justin and his gay identity behind. Ethan refuses at first, but Brian tells him that there's nothing noble about being poor and suggests Ethan find a way to make the situation work. Ted and Emmett cannot agree on a house to purchase. Ted likes a new, modern house, while Emmett falls in love with a charming older house that needs many repairs. They argue back and forth until a frustrated Emmett tells Ted to make the decision. Ted surprises Emmett by buying the fixer-upper. After suffering much anxiety and guilt over his failure to produce sperm to father Melanie and Lindsay's second child, Michael finally succeeds. Meanwhile, steroids are making Ben extremely short-tempered, and Michael finally catches him injecting steroids.

The episode was rated 7.53 from 36 votes.

At Woody's bar, Debbie emcees a charity strip contest during which one of the contestants goes too far and exposes himself to the crowd. A plainclothes policeman in the audience orders the patrons to leave, and the bar is closed. Debbie organizes a protest and publicly condemns Stockwell as a homophobe, putting her beau, Detective Horvath, in an awkward situation. Stockwell maintains that illegal activity at Woody's caused its closing and mentions Brian as proof that he is not a homophobe. Michael arranges a job interview for Ted with Tracy, now the manager of the Q Mart. Overqualified for the position of assistant bookkeeper, Ted is stunned and angry when the regional manager hires another "more qualified" applicant. Later, bartending for party planner boyfriend Emmett, Ted experiences further humiliation after overhearing Garth Racine refer to him as "nobody." Out shopping for wine for a get-together with all their friends at his and Emmett's apartment, Ted returns extremely drunk and ruins the evening when he inadvertently shoves Emmett in the kitchen. Melanie wants to work on the appeal of a woman who lost child custody rights to her abusive, drunken spouse due to her lesbianism. Knowing a career-making, landmark decision will be rendered in the case, Melanie tries to renege on an earlier promise to Lindsay to lighten her workload in preparation for motherhood.

The episode was rated 7.49 from 39 votes.

While Justin and Brian try to figure out a better way to get hard evidence from dumpster-boy's killer, Hunter presents them with a condom filled with sperm. Emmet and Ted drift further apart when Ted wants to keep using drugs when having sex. Brian brings the hard evidence to the police, but Horvach tells it's still not enough. Justin gets word he has to apologize to the board for his actions during his internship. Brian tells him he should apologize, but Justin doesn't really want to. After a big fight about Hunter going after the killer, he overhears Ben saying to Michael that he wants to give up trying to help him, since he obviously doesn't listen. The next day, hunter changes his behaviour and makes an appointment with a new school.They then find out Hunter's birthday was only a week ago and throw him a surprise party. During that party Emmet walks in, upset, telling Michael that Ted kicked him out. Mel and Lindsay offer him to stay with them.

The episode was rated 7.49 from 35 votes.

Justin finds Cody becoming too violent; Brian hires Ted at his new agency; Mel struggles with an important case; Hunter's social worker arrives unannounced.

The episode was rated 7.47 from 34 votes.

Now out of rehab, Ted and Blake discuss what Ted will do with his life now. When Ted confesses that he'd always dreamed of being an opera singer, Blake offers encourgement, motivating Ted to get a job as a singing waiter at an Italian restaurant. Michael, in an attempt to reconnect with Ted and show his support, gets the gang together for a surprise visit to the restaurant. Upset with the fact that everyone has been offering support for Ted and not him, Emmett refuses to go. As he's about to sing, Ted spots the gang at the restaurant and freezes. He becomes angry and upset that they came to see him unannounced and uninvited. Jennifer shows Brian a few upscale spaces for his new company, Kinnetik, but Brian wants a space that reflects his abstract way of thinking. When she shows him a former bathhouse space, Brian agrees that's it's perfect for Kinnetik's new headquarters.

The episode was rated 7.39 from 36 votes.

Without Brian, Justin has no way of paying his college tuition and faces dropping out of school. Justin's mother recommends he ask his father for the money, but his dad refuses. After imploring a financial aid officer to defer tuition until after he graduates, Justin learns that it has already been paid. Ethan thinks Justin's dad changed his mind, but Justin knows the truth. He stops by the loft to thank Brian, who again urges him to work with Michael on the comic book. Meanwhile, Brian interrupts a quiet evening at home for Ben and Michael, who end up accompanying him to Babylon. Brian's continuing need for Michael's companionship since Justin left puts a strain on Michael's relationship with Ben, who suggests that he find his own apartment. Ted and Emmett's first sexual experience proves extremely satisfying for both. But Emmett's sexual rendezvous with a flight attendant, with whom he had made a date prior to becoming involved with Ted, severely tests Ted and Emmett's newfound romance. Meanwhile, Melanie and Lindsay argue about having a second child. Lindsay does not want to be pregnant again and tells Melanie to bear the child herself, if she wants it so desperately. Melanie confides her fears about motherhood to Debbie, who offers reassurance.

The episode was rated 7.38 from 42 votes.

Brian tells Lindsay that he will help with the Gay and Lesbian Center's "Carnivale" fund-raiser—for 20 percent of the take. After the center's board members learn that Brian has lined up corporate sponsors to match the proceeds up to $100,000, they agree to his price. For $500, Brian hires Justin to create a poster, and Ethan expresses concern about Brian's motive to Justin. Brian's "Carnivale," an exotic, erotic assortment of outrageous sideshow performances and games, scandalizes Melanie and Lindsay, as well as the rest of the board, but is a huge financial success. Brian buys a Corvette with his earnings. Meanwhile, Debbie joins the boys' gym, much to Michael's consternation, and starts to diet in order to make herself desirable to her beau, Detective Carl Horvath. She confides to Ted and Emmett that, being out of practice, she fears she will disappoint him in bed. To guarantee Horvath's satisfaction, Ted and Emmett proceed to teach her how to perform oral sex. Debbie succeeds so well that Horvath makes an offhand comment about how much practice she must have had in the past to be so accomplished, making Debbie feel like a whore. She angrily tells him to leave. Ted and Emmett try to repair the damage by telling Horvath the truth. He is so touched that Debbie has made such an effort to please him that he goes to Debbie to apologize—but not before getting some pointers on pleasing a woman from two lesbian cops. Her endometriosis cured with a simple outpatient procedure, Melanie can now bear a child. She and Lindsay ask Brian to donate sperm again so that Gus and their second child will be related by blood. After first refusing, Brian later relents, but Melanie changes her mind about having Brian father her child. Ben's ex-lover Paul, who infected him with HIV, dies in an AIDS hospice. A panicked Ben becomes obsessed with his gym workouts, finally turning to steroids to pack on muscle as a hedge against the potential wasting effects of the disease.

The episode was rated 7.32 from 38 votes.

Stockwell's crackdown on Liberty Avenue's sex-related businesses continues with the closing of all bathhouses and the back room at Babylon. Justin responds by defacing Stockwell campaign posters, painting a Hitler moustache on the mayoral candidate's face and adding the slogan "Heil to the Chief." As Justin prepares his own poster with Stockwell sporting a clown nose and labeled "Laughing Stock," Brian tells him to stop, but Justin refuses. Later Brian capitulates and helps Justin paste the posters up on Liberty Avenue. Ben receives a call from Allegheny General Hospital regarding Hunter, the teenage hustler whom Ben previously tried to help and who has named Ben as his legal guardian on the hospital's admissions form. Hunter had been admitted for a kidney infection, but tests reveal that he also has HIV. Having ordered Ben to avoid further involvement with the youth, Michael softens his hard-line stance with the revelation of Hunter's HIV status. Exhausted from work, Melanie collapses and is taken to the hospital by Michael, who has been keeping a watchful eye on her wherever she goes. Although Melanie is fine, the incident scares her into making her pregnancy her highest priority. And Ted takes a dangerous detour on his way to a weekend getaway at a country inn and instead rents a room at the sleazy Paradise Motel, where he snorts cocaine and participates in an orgy.

The episode was rated 7.26 from 38 votes.

Michael sees Ben injecting steroids again and finally confronts him. Citing his HIV-positive status, Ben defends his drug use, telling Michael that, as an HIV-negative man, he simply cannot understand the constant anxiety about remaining healthy. Brian witnesses Ben purchasing drugs at the gym and tells him that he's harming not only himself but also his relationship with Michael. Ben slams Brian against a row of lockers, leaving Brian with a nasty gash. In choosing the décor for their new house, Ted and Emmett weigh the pros and cons of remaining true to their gay selves versus fitting in with their straight suburban neighbors. Ted and Emmett attend a "welcome to the neighborhood" dinner hosted by the couple next door, but during the event, Ted is arrested for employing an underage person at his pornographic Web site. Ted's arrest is part of Police Chief Jim Stockwell's crackdown on gay businesses that pander to prurient interests. The chief, a candidate for mayor, vows to clean up Liberty Avenue and make it family-friendly. Brian creates a sexy television commercial for Stockwell's mayoral campaign, boosting the chief's rating in the polls. Justin brings Daphne to the apartment he shares with Ethan, who is being interviewed there by a journalist. Ethan introduces Justin as his cousin and Daphne as Justin's girlfriend. After an awkward moment, Justin and Daphne leave. Daphne tells Justin that, despite his problems with Brian, he never denied his relationship with Justin. When Ethan substitutes for an ill soloist with the Harrisburg Symphony, Justin secretly attends the concert. After the performance, Justin is about to surprise Ethan with his presence when he spies Ethan talking to and leaving with a pretty young man.

The episode was rated 7.23 from 39 votes.