Air date: 9/23/03

Bridget finds her popularity waning because of her exclusive, long distance relationship with Donny, while Kerry's social status skyrockets because of her relationship with Kyle. But Bridget's eyes begin to stray when she meets Damian – a sexy new boy at school. Meanwhile, as she waits for the results of her pregnancy test, Cate is stunned when Paul, Bridget, Kerry and Rory seem more concerned about how the baby could disrupt their lives than the blessed event itself. In fact, the only support Cate seems to be getting is from her nosy neighbors, the Doyles, who share a well-kept secret about their own family - namely, all their children are adopted.

Sex Ed

Air date: 9/30/03

Cate teaches sex education at Bridget's school and gets suspicious when she reads a submission where a girl's older boyfriend was coming from Maryland and she felt pressured to have sex. Bridget says that this was a girl from Maryland, Lara O'Neal (which turned out to be made-up, so she was the one who wrote the question). Meanwhile, Paul is worried about Kerry after they saw a French movie with a sex scene in it.

Donny Goes AWOL

Air date: 10/7/03

The Doyles are sending a video postcard to Donny, which they let Bridget have a part in. However, Bridget breaks up with Donny on the video, which leads to a feud between the Hennessys and the Doyles. Upset, Donny hitchhikes all the way to the Hennessys in the back of a pig truck to win Bridget back. Once there, Bridget gets back together with Donny, and he decides to drop out of Navy College. However, Bridget has still not broken up with her other boyfriend, Damien. Paul tells Bridget that Donny didn't deserve this treatment, so Bridget breaks up with him. Meanwhile, there are reports of eggings and toilet-paperings all over the neighborhood. Paul tries to come up with names for this menace, unaware that the criminal is Rory.

Goodbye

Air date: 11/4/03

Cate gets a phone call in the morning and runs out of the house while the kids are wondering what is going on. Later on, it's revealed that Paul had collapsed and died in the grocery store. Everyone is heartbroken and Cate's parents arrive to help them through their grief. Bridget feels guilty about the last words she ever said to her dad (I hate you) and Kerry talks to her to ease her guilt. Cate is afraid of sleeping alone in her bed and sleeps on the couch. After Paul's funeral, his editor asks Cate that she find the last article he wrote so they can publish it in his memory. When Kerry asks Rory why his hand is bandaged, he says he burnt it on a casserole dish while taking it out of the oven, but it's later revealed he had punched a hole in his wall out of anger towards his dad for dying. Jim finds Paul's last article and gives it to Cate. That night, Cate is finally ready to sleep in her own bed again, and the kids accompany her and beg her to read Paul's article. She does, and it's an article about how no matter how much his kids may resent him from time to time, Paul knows that deep down, they love him, even when they say "I hate you". Cate and the kids rely on the message Paul is sending them: no matter what happens, family bonds are never broken.

No Right Way

Air date: 11/11/03

Cate worries about how Kerry and Bridget will fare in school after Paul's death. Kerry can't cope with everyone being sweet and sympathetic, while Bridget puts on a positive front. Kyle says "I love you" to Kerry.

What Dad Would Want

Air date: 11/18/03

Cate sees that Rory is now hesitant to try out for the basketball team because Paul had been helping him practice. Cate tells him that his father wouldn't have wanted him to quit. The newspaper Paul worked at his sponsoring a scholarship dinner in his name for students majoring in journalism, and Bridget gets distracted while watching television, and accidentally wrecks a collage that Kerry had made of Paul for the dinner. When it's announced at the party that Rory made the team, Rory angrily storms out. Cate later finds out that Rory didn't make the team and when Rory comes home, he says he only said it because he was embarrassed that he let down his dad. But he's happy when Cate tells him because the coach was impressed at his request to work out with the team, he's now officially on it.

The First Thanksgiving

Air date: 11/25/03

It's the first Thanksgiving without Paul. Cate's mother visits, and manages to get along well with Jim. Bridget and Kerry plan to sneak out to a party instead of staying with the family. Rory feels that now he's the man of the house it's his job to assume Paul's role of being against every guy his sisters date, not to mention the carver of the turkey, which he does with clumsiness, inexperience and a lot of humor, which in the end helps the family to deal with the recent tragedy in a much lighter way, with needed laughter at such a sad time, adding much humor, compassion and healing when it was needed more than ever, helping the other members of the Hennessy family to survive the tragedy of Paul's unexpected death.