In the 4th season-opener, we meet The Colonel and Grandma Ruth, while back in the Camdens lives as they just returned from being out of the country for six months. Simon now surprises his grandparents with his new haircut. Matt has decided to move out of the house and to get his own apartment with his friend John Hamilton. Aunt Julie's new husband Hank gets Matt a job at his hospital as a worker in the cafeteria. A big surprise happens in the family when Eric begins to suffer a mild heart attack due to the stress from his job. Eric spends a few days in the hospital with a lot of support from his family. Within the coming weeks he must take things slow awhile recovering.

Eric develops a child-like fascination with life when he takes a much-needed vacation after his heart attack episode, while Annie runs into...

Each of the Camdens are learning a lesson in equality as Annie and Lucy join together to protest the mistreatment of women in Afghanistan. Eric counsels a young couple about the importance of sexual equality in a marriage. Simon considers dropping out of a cooking class he enjoys because he is the only boy enrolled. Also, Mary helps Ruthie with her secret plans to defy convention and play on the school football team. Meanwhile, Shana confronts her long-lost father who abandoned her family 20 years ago.

With Annie and Lucy adding a new bathroom, and the need for a new car, Eric is depending on his built-in annual raise from the church board. However, when the church deacons gets the wrong impression about the Camden's financial situation, they reject his annual raise. It's up to Ruthie to save the day when she realizes what is going on and to convince them to change their minds about their plan. Meanwhile, a young hospital patient (Josh Evans, "Passions") offers Matt some career advice. Also, Simon attempts to entertain a classmate who has a crush on him.

Mary and her teammate Corey have been selected to receive a prestigious basketball award, but the honor is taken away from Corey when the school discovers that she has been hiding a 4-year-old daughter. Meanwhile, Eric and Annie learn that a friend of Simon's is in possession of marijuana. Matt faces disciplinary action after breaking the honor code during an exam, and a classmate wants Lucy--who works in the attendance office--to make some secret changes in the computer system.

Eric and Annie put on their counseling hats when a very pregnant Julie appears on their doorstep prepared to leave her new husband Hank. Eric decides to take Hank out to dinner to discuss their issues. While they are at dinner, a very pregnant Julie goes into early labor. Unable to transport her to the hospital because Simon and Mary are out to dinner and Lucy is on a date, Annie does her best to calm Julie down. Hank and Eric return to the house just in time for the birth. Julie delivers a baby girl. Grateful for Eric's effort, Julie names the baby after him: Erica. Meanwhile, Lucy is disappointed when her date expects her to be 'the man', and Simon attracts the attention of an older female admirer.

Mary's basketball coach has an unconventional way of handling the team's poor academic performance, leading to an intense controversy that involves the media and surrounding community. Later, Mary and her teammates make the grave mistake of rebelling against what is taking place. Elsewhere, Simon realizes the long-term consequences of a foolish mistake he made on school grounds; Matt considers moving back home; and tomboy Ruthie becomes obsessed with having "guy time" with her older brothers.

All the Camdens must rally together when Mary's recent arrest throws her entire future into question. Eric and Annie enlist the help of a family friend/lawyer who might be able to save Mary from a jail sentence. Elsewhere, Lucy--who is part of a student government team at school--is partially responsible for deciding whether or not her older sister and her teammates deserve to be expelled. Simon and Ruthie find their own way to cope when they start feeling responsible for what has happened, while Matt moves home to help out with their family crisis--then wonders if it was the right decision.

After Eric receives a mysterious check of $20,000, he learns that the gift was from one of his parishioners who was a World War II internment camp survivor. When he hears that the woman has never been able cope from her internment experience, Eric helps her come to terms with the pain. Meanwhile, Ruthie learns a valuable lesson about the meaning of friendship when bribing a classmate. Matt and Shana have a miscommunication about laundry that sends their relationship temporarily into a tailspin. Simon is woeful over the injustices of the world, and Mary adjusts to her lower social status at school.

In order to get extra credit, Simon volunteers to paint a holiday mural with a few good guys in his school. The other volunteers don’t like Simon because they are inhaling paint fumes and are afraid he will report them. When one of the boys winds up in the hospital, Simon is accused of providing the paint. After he confronts the boy, the boy decides to confess everything to his parents. Meanwhile, Mary is suddenly thrilled about her community service after she meets the man of her dreams: Robbie Palmer. Eric and Annie are hesitant to allow Mary to pursue a relationship because of her punishment, but do allow Robbie to call her. Matt is up in arms when he learns that Shana is transferring to NYU and that his father provided a reference without his knowledge, and Ruthie wins first prize in her art-school project: a sculpture of the Camden family noses.

When Ginger pays the Camden family a visit, she informs Eric and Annie that her father is in the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease. At first, Annie can't believe it, but after observing him in the backyard and not paying attention to a fire in the barbecue, Annie realizes the truth. Meanwhile, Mary and Eric can't see eye-to-eye on her relationship with Robbie, but they soon agree to compromise. When Mary informs Robbie of the plan, he tells her that it won't work between them. Fortunately for Mary, Robbie changes his mind after talking to Eric in the local grocery market.

Annie heads to the beach for a few days to relax and get away for a while. Once there, she encounters an unexpected new friend. Back at home, Eric is in charge of the kids, and the household is obviously much less orderly when Mom is gone. Matt says a painful goodbye to his girlfriend, who is leaving for college, and Mary waits impatiently for a call from Robbie. Lucy realizes she may be interested in the wrong guy, and Simon gets some tips from his sisters on how to treat a girl.

Eric and Annie reluctantly allow Mary to go out with Robbie, on the condition that they double date with his younger brother Rick (guest-star, Lance Bass, N’SYNC) with Lucy. Meanwhile, Simon and Nigel buy several packs of cigarettes for a class project to prove how easy it is for children to buy tobacco. Also, Ruthie works out her own secretive science project and John invites some female neighbors over for dinner to take Matt’s mind off of Shana.

Reverend Camden helps a new family in the congregation who has a son suffering from Tourette’s Syndrome. With the assistance of Simon, Simon sticks up for the boy at school when bullies pick on him. Meanwhile, Annie takes matters into her own hands when she horrifyingly learns from Lucy that Ruthie’s teacher has reportedly been calling her stupid. Simon unknowingly hurts Mary’s feelings with something he said to her earlier, and Matt puts his girlfriend Shana on the silent treatment when he contemplates calling things off.

It's Valentine's Day and the Camdens' are celebrating the day of love with a special party in honor of the twins first birthday. Eric and Annie fret over how to make the twins' first birthday a memorable one, while the rest of the family learn different ways of exchanging love on Valentine's Day. After finally gaining her parents' trust, Mary is allowed to spend a romantic dinner with Robbie, only to learn he has ulterior motives. Meanwhile, Simon and Deena confess to their parents' that they've given each other love bites. Also, Matt welcomes his ex-girlfriend, Heather, back into his life, threatening his relationship with Shana.

Reverend Camden encourages his congregation and his family to trust in prayer. Lucy gets upset when people in the public thought of her as a disgusting teen mother when she takes the twins for a walk. Mary is praying that she will be able to get back together with Robbie even after what he did. Simon prays that he can see Deena soon and be on her parent's good side again even after giving her a hickey. Eric tries to locate a child who wrote an inspiring letter to him, but was left anonymous.

Eric Camden finds himself on a hung jury of a case that he considers "open and shut," only to realize that he must help the other jurors regain their faith in the legal process in order to reach a fair verdict. Meanwhile, the other Camden's are suffering their own wrong doings as Annie and Ruthie ponder whether two wrongs make a right. Mary becomes in debt with Lucy after accidentally giving her a black eye. Also, Simon and Deena realize that saying "sorry" can't turn back time, and Matt learns how important one person's voice can be.

After Mary dreams about playing basketball with the Los Angeles Laker’s players, she receives an unexpected call from her coach. Mary gets her hopes up that she may be drafted by the WNBA after high school. Meanwhile, Eric and Annie get their feelings hurt after hearing Simon and Lucy, that they would’nt want to be a minister or a stay-at-home mom like they are. By this, Eric and Annie decide to spend more time with the kids to explain their roles that they’ve chosen in life.

Rev. Eric Camden counsels a sexually molested girl to help her express the rage and pain she's been hiding from her family. This dark secret that Mary knows about weighs in on her, which brings her to open up to Lucy. Meanwhile, Simon and Ruthie learn the power of communication with their friends and classmates. Also, Matt helps Hank reveal an important personal secret to Julie before his mother visits.

Eric and Annie are excited to learn that their family is being profiled in their local newspaper, until the reporter interviews the kids and gets more of an expose for the innocuous story than he was expecting. Meanwhile, a co-worker slanders Matt's reputation at work. Matt's roommate, John confronts a politician for misquoting an African American inspirational leader. Also, a classmate of Ruthie's plagiarizes one of her stories for a class competition. Inspirational gospel singer Sandi Patty ("Artist of My Soul") guest-stars in a cameo role.

Eric and Annie must deal with the emotional fallout as they learn about their kids tumultuous love lives. Mary upsets her parents by announcing that not only has she decided to skip college in the fall, but she is getting back together with Robbie. Matt is forced to choose between his girlfriend Shana (who has moved back to Glenoak for the summer) or his ex-flame Heather, who confesses that she still loves him. Lucy dates Robbie’s cute brother Ronald, disappointing Andrew Nayloss who still harbors feelings for her. Also, Simon gets dumped by Deena and Ruthie takes advantage of her new boyfriend.

In the fourth season finale, Simon finds out the real reason why Deena wants to break up with him. Also Ruthie does her best to get back together with her old boyfriend Burt, while Lucy also tries to go after an old flame: Andrew Nayloss. Mary decides to take things slow with her relationship with Robbie and her life. Matt and Shana break up their relationship, but reconciles with Heather. At the end of the show, it shows Matt and Heather may have gotten married- but didn’t.