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Episode 9 - My Day Off
November 20, 2001

It's Thanksgiving and J.D. (Zach Braff) and Turk (Donald Faison) are letting off a little steam at the local bar, The Free Clinic. A sharp pain in J.D.'s side sends him back to the hospital. Elliot (Sarah Chalke) performs a rather rough exam on J.D. but can't determine the cause of his pain. He is later diagnosed with appendicitis.Concerned about her bedside manner, Elliot polls another patient, Mike to find out if she really is that rough. She is. With help from Carla (Judy Reyes), she takes steps to project a softer, kinder, gentler manner. J.D. has his own fears to deal with when he learns that Turk will be performing his appendectomy, and Turk is hurt that J.D. would doubt his surgical abilities. The surgery goes well. To celebrate what is left of Thanksgiving, Turk loads J.D. into a wheelchair and heads back to The Free Clinic. Dr. Cox, Elliot and Carla join them a little later for a holiday toast.

Episode 10 - My Nickname
November 27, 2001

After working at the hospital for a few months J.D. (Zach Braff), Turk (Donald Faison), Carla (Judy Reyes) and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) have bonded and even start sticking up for each other. J.D. and Carla attempt to take their relationship beyond their professions and actually try to become friends. Carla even sticks up for J.D. after Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) rips him a new one. But when J.D. finds out, he gets angry at Carla in front of everyone and seriously damages their burgeoning friendship. The two of them still attend the photo exhibit outing that J.D. planned, but the pain from their earlier exchange is too great to overcome. Ever since J.D. arrived at the hospital Carla has felt insecure about being just a nurse. After talking things out, they slowly make their way back to being friends.

Episode 11 - My Own Personal Jesus
December 11, 2001

It's Christmas Eve and the holiday season produces mixed feelings in everyone. J.D. (Zach Braff) is feeling a little down about having to spend the holidays in the hospital and then Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) asks him to videotape the birth of his friend's, The Wheelers, baby. Elliot (Sarah Chalke) is spending her holiday in the free clinic dealing with Meredith, a pregnant young woman. Turk (Donald Faison) is very spiritual, even quoting Bible verses, but eventually he is overwhelmed by all of the sick and injured patients coming into the hospital. With his faith in question, Turk loses all joy for the holiday. Carla (Judy Reyes) tries to cheer him up, but has little success. Dr. Cox is definitely not in the holiday spirit when his ex-wife Jordan Sullivan (Christa Miller) returns to torture him. And his mood gets worse when he finds out that J.D. messed up the videotaping of the Wheelers baby's birth. Further adding to the situation, J.D. later finds out that Dr. Cox and Jordan once had a child of their own that later died. J.D. even makes the janitor (Neil Flynn) angry because he somehow manages to wreck or destroy every Christmas display the janitor had put up.

Episode 12 - My Blind Date
January 8, 2002

It's an unusually hectic night at the hospital, with the doctors busy juggling patients and Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) barking orders at them. Cox is more gruff than usual because he is trying to have the equivalent of a pitcher's no hitter - having no patients die during his twelve-hour shift. Meanwhile, hospital social worker Alex Hayden, (Elizabeth Bogush), slipped in the hospital, knocking herself unconscious. Hoping to prevent a lawsuit, Dr. Kelso (Ken Jenkins) has J.D. (Zach Braff) meet with her as she is getting an M.R.I. to see if she sustained any head injuries. Alex quickly perks up when she meets J.D. His wit and good looks are definitely vibing with her, but since her face is obscured by the machine, he can't see her (but she can see him). During the procedure, the machine jams, trapping Alex in the M.R.I machine. J.D. runs to get help, but quickly returns to keep her company. But soon, J.D. is paged again by Dr. Cox for the hundreth time. But because he is tied up with Alex, J.D. suggests that Elliot be given the chance to help Dr. Cox. Now that she is given a chance to shine, Elliot rises to the occasion and demonstrates a new calmness and assuredness that wasn't there before.

Episode 13 - My Balancing Act
January 15, 2002

Continuing from the last episode, Alex (Elizabeth Bogush) is about to emerge from the M.R.I. machine. J.D. (Zach Braff) is waiting in anticipation because he just asked her out but he doesn't know what she looks like. She's hot. The two of them have a romantic dinner at a restaurant one night and are enjoying a second date the next night when they are interrupted by a page from Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley). Later in the week, J.D. and Alex arrange to get together at the same restaurants. Their plans are messed up again when J.D. gets caught up with a patient while Alex waits patiently for him at the restaurant. He tries to make it up to her the next day, but because of his busy and unpredictable schedule, she decides to break it off. He makes one more attempt to get back together, but she turns him down. After thinking about it overnight, Alex reconsiders her decision. She surprises J.D. with a picnic basket dinner that they share in an empty hospital room. Meanwhile, Carla (Judy Reyes) and Turk (Donald Faison) are enjoying their newly announced love for one another. But their usually wonderful lovemaking session isn't so wonderful when Turk becomes impotent. Since J.D. is a little preoccupied, Turk turns to his fellow surgical intern Todd (Robert Maschio) for solace. And after much begging and pleading, Carla confides in Elliot (Sarah Chalke). A day later, Turk and Carla discuss their relationship and decide that even though they've said "I love you" to each other, it doesn't mean that they have to plan the wedding tomorrow.

Episode 14 - My Drug Buddy
January 22, 2002

The relationships between the interns, doctors and the nurse are developing into some unlikely combinations. J.D. (Zach Braff) has a crush on Alex, one of the social workers in charge of his drug addict patient, Mr. Barnes. Fortunately for J.D., she feels the same about him. This new relationship strains J.D. and Elliot's (Sarah Chalke) friendship. Carla (Judy Reyes) and Dr. Kelso (Ken Jenkins) bond after she rides with him to work after missing her bus. And at Carla's urging, Turk (Donald Faison) and Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) try to become better acquainted. So far their attempts to get to know each other have resulted in running into each other in the bathroom. But neither man can pee with the other one in the room. Things become even stranger when both Turk and Dr. Cox realize that Dr. Cox has a crush on Carla. They call a truce?for the time being. And J.D.'s dream of finally getting to sleep with Alex comes true. But the evening and the friendship quickly comes to an end. While looking for a mint in Alex's purse, J.D. instead discovers the missing hospital drugs.

Episode 15 - My Bed Banter and Beyond
February 5, 2002

J.D. (Zach Braff) and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) decide to take their relationship into a different direction - so they end up spending a whole day in bed together. After the initial awkwardness passes, they realize that the two of them are very compatible. But later, Elliot is reluctant to share their relationship with their friends. Because of her reluctance J.D. encourages Todd (Robert Maschio) to ask her out - which he does without hesitation. Elliot of course turns him down flat. After another sex marathon she and J.D. have the "relationship talk" - they are now officially boyfriend and girlfriend.

Episode 16 - My Heavy Meddle
February 26, 2002

Since J.D. (Zach Braff) and Elliot's (Sarah Chalke) short-lived romance ended badly, they can barely be in the same room together. It has definitely changed their friendship forever. Making things worse, Turk (Donald Faison) is co-writing a medical study with Elliot, so she is at the apartment all of the time. Elliot later finds out that Turk only picked her because she's a geek and he knew that she would do most of the work. They patch up their differences after Turk apologizes. Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) is going through his own personal crisis. For reasons known only to him, his way of relieving stress (each year) is to trash one of the lab rooms. Later, he shows up at J.D.'s apartment at 2 a.m. and drags him to a seedy bar. Instead of talking about the stresses of life, Dr. Cox just keeps drinking shots.

Episode 17 - My Student
March 5, 2002

Now that they know a little more than they did three months ago, the interns are given the chance to supervise their own medical students. Elliot's (Sarah Chalke) student is Philip Chambers (Adrian Wenner), who starts out being rude and annoying. Better still, he's the son of the CEO of the corporation that owns the hospital. Josh (D.J. Qualls) is J.D.'s (Zach Braff) student and he is eerily very similar to J.D. He's nervous, clumsy and not quite sure of himself. Turk gets Kristin Murphy (Kelli Williams), who, at 32-years-old, is a little older than most medical students. Her other unique quality is that she's attracted to Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley), and the feelings are mutual. Amazingly, when they are formally introduced, Dr. Cox is almost speechless. After making his umpteenth mistake Josh gets a lecture from J.D. that causes him to quit the program. After realizing that he was a little too harsh on Josh, J.D. adopts a Dr. Cox-esque persona and tries to encourage him through negative reinforcement. Philip and Elliot decide to call a truce. Meanwhile, Dr. Cox and Kristin manage to get a little closer.