Once and Again

Lily Manning, separated from her husband, and Rick Sammler, divorced for 3 years, meet by chance when her daughter, Grace, injures her ankle in a soccer game. They go out on a date, and are instantly attracted to each other.

Rick and Lilys families gather at the school carnival. Lily and Karen, who dont know of each other at this point, are paired to work together in a booth there.

Rick introduces Lily to his kids under awkward circumstances.

Being divorced means Karen and Rick must both go to Elis weekend basketball tournament, creating some awkward moments for them.

While Lily is at a convention, Judy allows Grace (and Rick and Karen allow Eli), to go to a party that ends up with bad consequences.

Jake gets into trouble with his business. A small fire at Lilys house causes a lot of worry. Karen struggles with Elis moving into the basement.

Jake and Lily begin mediating their divorce, and the future of the house hangs in the balance. Meanwhile, Rick struggles with a demanding client, complicating his partnership with David. At Jennifers insistence, Grace fills in as an English tutor for Eli, and the two discuss Lily and Ricks recent breakup. Rick arrives at a decision regarding his future with Lily.

Rick and Lily begin to mend their relationship. Judy meets a man who might fulfill her dreams.

Lily and her family cope with a life-altering accident.

Karen pushes herself far beyond her comfort zone when her involvement with Leo becomes more serious. Eli plays his parents against each other in order to get into a bar to see his friends band play. He gets in trouble when he sees his mother, and she sees him, there. Rick finds out that Karen said no and Eli didnt tell him that, getting Eli in trouble with Rick as well.

When Judys continuing affair with Sam is discovered, she takes steps to prevent any more pain from entering her life. Lily realizes just how much shes taken Rick for granted when hes sick in the hospital. Grace continues to have difficulty with accepting her fathers past infidelity.

Lily and Rick try to blend their families together, but it doesnt go smoothly. Jesse has trouble adjusting to high school.

Parental pressure bears down on Eli to get his act together for college. However, Eli wants to form a music group.

Changes in the design of Miles building that Ricks firm are designing means a dinner meeting for Rick - and a reluctant Lily -- with Miles and important clients. When Lily puts her two cents worth in at the dinner, it makes for an awkward evening for Rick.

Grace gets her learners permit. She has a crush on Pace, a boy from her drivers education class, who seems oblivious to her feelings. So she goes out with Paces annoying friend, Spencer, in an attempt to maybe make Pace jealous enough and have him ask her out. The date is a disaster. Tiffany breaks up with Jake when it becomes clear to her that their relationship wasnt going to go beyond the physical attraction.

Layoffs at her workplace make Lily even uneasier there. But the new management consultant reverses those firings, putting Christie on edge and making Lily look foolish for speaking up at a staff meeting. Christie fires Lily for meeting with Graham behind her back. Judy accuses Lily of taking her BookLovers idea and using it for the magazine at work. Zoe feels abandoned because Grace doesnt want to baby-sit and stay home all of the time. In the end, the investors liked Grahams presentation, and Grace and Zoe (and Lily and Judy) make peace with each other.

Jessies glitter is missing, and Grace and Carla are the prime suspects. Rick discovers some unsettling news about both sides of his project with Miles. Evidence is discovered concerning Jessies progress in therapy.

Rick and David are served with a notice to get an injunction to stop the Atlantor project - and the hearing is on Valentines Day. Grace is troubled by the fact that a building that is helping those who need help is being torn down to build Miles (and therefore Ricks) project. David is frustrated that no one but him thinks that they have a serious problem with the project and the injunction to stop its construction. Rick sees Grace protesting and they have an argument. David quits the firm because of his opposition to the project. The courts decision makes no one happy, with the possible exception on Miles. Rick proposes to Lily, but she feels its not the right time.

Rick and Lily celebrate their engagement. Tiffany reveals to Grace that shes pregnant, but Grace pretty much had that figured out when she heard Tiffany throwing up in the bathroom. Lily and Rick tell their kids about the engagement, and Rick and his kids moving into Lilys house. Lily finds out Tiffany is pregnant. When Rick tells Karen about his engagement and move, she seems less than thrilled. When the rooming arrangements are discussed, not everyone is happy with the decisions. Disagreements about where to put things come up also. Rick and Jake put a hole in the wall for a possible bay window, Lily gets upset at Rick for ""making all of the decisions,"" assuming shell just go along with them. A family meeting at the end of the episode resolves a few issues.

Will returns to repair ice damage to Lilys house, making for awkward moments for Judy. Judy runs into Paul (the guy who went off on her when she broke it off with him), creating more awkwardness for Judy. Lily grows agitated with Grahams constant flirting with the office women. Judy tells Karen that she thinks that Paul is the one calling her late at night. When Jake finds out that part of the repair might include a workspace for Rick in the attic, he says that he wont pay for the repairs. Judy hears noises outside her store and calls Jake. Jake confronts Paul and tells him to stay away from Judy and assaults him in the restaurants kitchen. Lily angrily tells Graham that he has a real problem when dealing with women. Lily was going to give Tiffany Grace and Zoes old baby clothes, but decides to save them for Judys (future?) kids. Will reveals to Judy that it was he who was doing the calling and the noises. He angrily tells her she was wrong to dump him, among other things, which

Karen finds out that a grand jury is being impaneled to investigate the Atlantor project. The District Attorney wants Karen to help them, but she is reluctant. She acts nervously around Rick and refuses to discuss the investigation with him. Rick is subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury investigation of Atlantor. Allegations of bribery and arrests are floated about. Lily forces Christie not to print an unsubstantiated story concerning the grand jury. Rick fills his kids in on the situation. He finally talks to Miles, but Miles doesnt give him any assurances or definite answers. However, he does reveal that he has cancer, and its advancing throughout his body rapidly, so he might not be around if the case goes to trial. Rick undergoes five hours of questioning by the grand jury. The episode ends with the Cook County sheriff arriving with a search warrant to search Ricks apartment...

Rick and his kids start to move their stuff to Lilys and Lily gets a call to sign the divorce papers. Carla tells Eli that shes not going back home because shes convinced that her parents hate her. So Eli asks Grace to ask Lily about staying at Lilys house. Eli gets his reply from the University of Illinois about admittance, and its not good. Lilys hesitant about Carla staying with them. Eil tells his dad about the letter, at the dinner table, and neither one of them is happy now. Carla is worried that her plans to travel in Europe in the summer might not happen. Lily discovers medicine missing from her cabinet. Suspecting Carla, she goes to Carlas bag and finds them. Carla confesses to Rick about the pills. Lily goes to visit with Carlas stepmother and finds out some reasons for her problems. Carla tells Eli, in the middle of school, that she is leaving town immediately for Portland, Oregon. Eli says he wants to go with her. They plan to meet at the bus station that night. Ric

As the two families merge into one house, disagreements over Jesse and Zoes room decorations dominate the breakfast discussion. Lilys employer, Pages Alive, shuts down, so shes out of a job. Elis busted for marijuana possession following a car accident. The officer finds Coops marijuana in the car. This renews Karens demands that Eli get a job and give up music. Lily, however, has a different opinion. Karen also talks with Rick about Eli living with her for a while. Predictably, Rick gets caught in the middle. Rick finally stands up to Karen and says that Eli will be okay. In the end, Eli ignores his mothers wishes and gets a job in a recording studio and continues to live with Rick and Lily.

Sam returns to town, further complicating the lives of Judy, Lily, and Rick. Sam wants to hire Rick to be the architect for a project he has. Judy, however, wants to hire Rick to redo her bookstore. Colin is agitated over Sams inability to produce any sketches. Jake grows increasingly worried with the impending arrival of his and Tiffanys baby. Fearing hes having an anxiety attack, Judy tells him to go see her doctor. Colin gives Rick an ultimatum: Sam better produce some sketches, or else Rick and Sam will be fired. So Rick lets Sam know how serious the situation is. Jakes test results are clean and Sam comes through. Sam and Judy agree that now isnt the right time for them to be together.

A boy in the play school play asks Jesse out. Grace is less than happy with the news, because she thought that the boy was flirting with her during rehearsal. Karen is upset that Rick didnt left her out of the loop on this. Les takes over a talk show after the host leaves following an argument between the two. He asks for Lilys opinion on a call (while on the air), which leads to her taking over the show that night, and a once-a-week gig after that. Rick and Lily argue about her discussing Jesses ""date"" when it hasnt been decided if hell let her go. Grace thinks about quitting the play (over her sorta-feelings for Tad and the whole Tad-Jesse thing), but thats not what she tells Mr. Dmitri. He convinces her to stay. Grace is irate that Lily offered to loan Jesse Lilys pearl necklace when she wouldnt let Grace borrow it earlier. Grace is starting to think that Lily likes her stepdaughter Jesse more than her. Karen accuses Lily of using Jesses personal life for radio ""mat

Lily and Karen both have unrealistic expectations for Thanksgiving celebrations. So naturally, nothing goes as planned. The lighting board at the theater goes out, so rehearsal is postponed. Lily does all the cooking herself after the kids are all busy. The pipes underneath the sink rust out, so that messes things up further. Judy doesnt want to be at dinner if Sam is coming (via Ricks invitation). Disagreement over building plans leads to Rick and Sam working on Thanksgiving, which upsets Lily even more. Karen is depressed about not having anyone to celebrate Thanksgiving with. She cancels her dinner plans with friends and stays at home in her nightgown all day. In a moment of reflection, she wonders if shes ever been happy, or just making sure everyone else is happy. The theater janitor kicks them out, so the play rehearsal is moved to Lilys house. She even fills in for one of the students. Jesse ends up walking home from the theater. Not realizing his mom was still ho

When Eli loses his job and Graces teacher questions her acting, they both learn the hard way that real self-confidence can be one of lifes toughest accomplishments. Both learn that tough love can be a powerful motivator.

Flashbacks in the series interview style recall a telling incident in the lives of Rick, Karen, Sam Blues estranged wife Jeannine, and Sam himself, who rues another dalliance. Also, when Sam and Judys relationship becomes the talk of the whole family, Sam finally realizes he wants Judy to be more than just a friend. Meanwhile Karens loneliness and discomfort is compounded when Jessie cancels plans with her mom to stay at Lilys house.

Jessies anxiety and guilt about her moms slow recovery causes tension with every member of the family, especially Lily. Meanwhile, Eli is in denial about the seriousness of his mothers condition.

Sam places his dream of committing to Judy and having a family squarely on the shoulders of his ten-year-old son. Meanwhile, Jake finally realizes his feelings for Tiffany and his new baby daughter.

The prospect that Grace may be romantically involved with her creative-writing teacher troubles Lily, infuriates Jake, and imperils the career of the instructor.

Rick and Lily face more life-altering decisions when he is offered a major architectural position in Australia and she is offered a chance to take her Chicago-based radio show into national syndication. The Series Finale Episode concludes with this shows traditionaly black and white breaking of the fourth wall but this time, its the actors and not the characters as they speak about the realtionships formed amid the cast and what the show has meant to them.