Beverly Hills, 90210 (season 9)

After learning that the clinic may lose funding, Kelly asks Brandon to write a story to generate publicity. They try to collaborate on the article, but find that working together is too painful. Kelly organizes an auction to raise money for the clinic. She models her wedding gown in the fashion show portion of the event, and Brandon outbids everyone for a date with her. Brandon and Kelly take a walk on the beach and decide that they are through. The clinic must still cut back its staff (even after the fundraiser), so Kelly resigns. Although David believes that Valerie killed her father in self-defense and should move on, she insists on bringing her mother to town to discuss the situation. When Val tries to confess, she learns that Abby knew of the abuse prior to her husband's death. She did not take any action because she believed that Victor would seek help. Valerie finds a connection with Abby's fiancé, an ex-policeman. He killed an acquaintance in the line of duty, but has come to realize that he was not to blame. Noah offers his support to his father and enjoys an afternoon with him. When Mr. Hunter rejects his assistance, Noah snaps that his father has no one but himself to blame for his problems. Mr. Hunter commits suicide moments after the argument. Sophie cashes in her student loan and sneaks around with David. David's work as emcee at the auction gets him a try-out with a local radio station.

Abby announces that she and Carl are planning to elope in Las Vegas, and asks Val to be her maid of honor. Valerie bonds with Carl during an evening at the casino, and sleeps with him the night before the wedding. A depressed Kelly begs Val to let her tag along on the trip because she believes that Brandon is seeing someone else. She has a good time gambling and hanging out with a stranger, until the sight of a woman in a wedding dress brings her back to reality. Noah develops an obsession with his father's gun after the police return it to him. He drinks heavily and causes an embarrassing scene at the Martins' 25th wedding anniversary party. While working on Mr. Hunter's obituary, Brandon begins to fear that he will never have any meaningful accomplishments. He meets with a reporter from a New York paper, who sets up a job interview. A woman helping Donna pursue an account poses as her business partner, then steals her designs to get an in-house position with the client. Steve catches Sophie and David at a coffeehouse, but she lies her way out of the situation. David has a successful audition and receives a full-time job as a disc jockey.

Carl decides to annul his marriage to Abby because he believes that he has a future with Valerie. Valerie comes clean with her mother about her night with Carl, and confesses to killing her father. Despite Val's claims of self-defense, Abby plans to turn her in. Kelly stops at a newsstand to ogle a handsome man at a nearby table. Kelly notices that a store is for lease and decides that she and Donna should open a boutique. While looking over the space, she meets attorney Matt Durning (the guy she was checking out). Noah cannot bring himself to deliver his father's eulogy. He is arrested for drunk driving that night, and Kelly suggests that Matt represent him. Noah receives a fine and probation and is ordered to attend alcohol counseling. Kelly learns that Matt is building a child custody case for a wife beater whose spouse she once helped at the clinic. Matt insists that everyone has the right to representation, but Kelly blows him off. Steve gives Sophie a column for the Beat. The paper starts a web site, complete with a digital camera that records everyone's actions. David and Sophie have sex in the office, unaware that they are being transmitted onto the Internet. Steve blows up at David and throws Sophie out of his house. David blames Sophie for everything because he had warned her not to hurt Steve.

Brandon announces that he has accepted a job with the Washington bureau of the New York Chronicle. Kelly and Donna prepare to open their store, Now Wear This. Brandon becomes unnerved by the realization that Kelly is getting on with her life, and feels threatened by Matt's presence. Kelly meets with Leah, who explains that she returned to Lenny after learning that she was pregnant, but left again when he threatened her life. Although Kelly insists that she doesn't need his help, Brandon writes a story about the custody case. Brandon decides that he wants to stay in Los Angeles, but Kelly urges him to take the job and pursue his dreams. The gang throws a surprise going-away party for Brandon. Before departing, he convinces his parents to let Steve, Val and Noah stay in the house. Donna turns to Matt for comfort as she and Noah drift further apart. Valerie seeks legal advice from Matt. She explains that the killing was an accident, but Matt warns that a jury may not agree. Abby tells Val that she will not turn her in—not because she forgives her, but because she cannot deal with the shame of having everyone know her family's horrible secrets. Sophie finds it difficult to break into show business. She attracts attention to herself by renting a billboard with her picture, phone number and the message "Where's Sophie?"

As Kelly and Valerie pack Brandon's belongings for shipment, Kelly discovers a letter in which Val advised Brandon not to marry her. She turns everyone against Val and gets them to boycott her Thanksgiving gathering. Hoping to help Kelly understand Valerie's behavior, David details her troubled childhood. Although Val is not interested in her pity, Kelly insists on helping with Thanksgiving dinner. Kelly and Valerie establish another truce, but Valerie suddenly announces that she is moving back to Buffalo. She apologizes for all the trouble she caused, and thanks everyone for their friendship before leaving. David has a one-night stand with an apparent groupie, unaware that she is 17 years old. He faces statutory rape charges after the girl confesses to her parents. Noah blacks out while driving drunk and crashes his car. He fears that he may have been involved with a hit-and-run, and turns himself in. Donna's cousin Gina comes to town with an ice show. She loses her job and agent, but tries to hide the truth from Donna, who has always had a more privileged lifestyle than Gina. Noah goes on a bender following the death of the hit-and-run victim; Gina offers to watch over him. She kisses him in a photography booth at the amusement park. Noah is relieved to learn that he did not hit anyone with his car, and vows to stop drinking. Donna asks Gina to move into the beach apartment. Janet agrees to continue sleeping with Steve, but wants to see other people. She later admits that she isn't seeing anyone; she fears that Steve would hurt her if they dated. Matt and Kelly grow closer and share a kiss. Dylan surprises everyone by showing up at the house on Thanksgiving night.

David is arrested for statutory rape and gets suspended from his radio show. Dylan bails him out of jail, then learns from Mrs. Teasley that Denise is a troubled girl who receives little attention from her parents. Dylan confronts Denise's parents and—speaking from his own experience as a neglected teen—explains that their daughter's actions are a cry for help. Denise drops the charges. David thanks Dylan by offering him a place to stay with him, as Dylan recently sold his house. Steve bristles at the news that his mother is dating her much younger co-star. Steve sees the man kissing another woman at the After Dark and starts a fight. Samantha reveals that she is not seeing the man; she is actually gay. Matt experiences a lull in his business and cannot pay his rent. Steve offers to let him move into the house in exchange for legal services for the Beat. Kelly's grandfather, who suffers from emphysema, refuses to undergo an operation that could prolong his life. After Kelly tells him that Jackie will not abide by the terms of his living will (by removing him from life support), he gives Kelly power of attorney. Kelly's reaction to Dylan's return worries Matt. Dylan behaves mysteriously, but finally explains the reasons for his reappearance. He tells Kelly that he simply missed his hometown and wanted to come back to his friends, especially her. Gina tries to interfere in Donna's relationship with Noah.

Dylan whisks Kelly away to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for the day. He buys her a hollow statue so that he can smuggle drugs back into the U.S. Kelly rejects Dylan and decides to focus on her relationship with Matt. Dylan promptly takes Gina to Mexico, and again smuggles heroin in a statue. When the statue ends up locked inside the boutique after hours, Dylan seduces Gina to get it back. Sonia and her boyfriend spend the night at Donna's store. One of Sonia's friends pulls a knife on her and warns her to stay away from her man. The store is robbed, and everyone believes that Sonia committed the crime to acquire enough money to escape the gang. She later reveals that she endured a beating to keep her friends from robbing the store, and a security guard actually committed the crime. Sonia thanks Donna for helping her get out of the gang. Steve mistakenly pledges $1,000 per hour for an AIDS dance-a-thon at the club; he wanted to donate a total of one thousand dollars. He tries to keep his costs down by sponsoring Muntz and his wife, only to find that they have been working with a personal trainer. The couple wins the contest, but The Beat ends up making money when Steve's generosity attracts new advertisers. Noah accosts Gina for getting Donna the wrong birthday cake. Gina explodes in anger and reveals her bitterness about living in Donna's shadow.

Although he loves Lauren and feels obligated to help her readjust to society, Matt expresses a desire to stay with Kelly. Kelly tries to maintain her relationship with Matt, but realizes she must bow out following a plea from Lauren. Donna becomes furious upon discovering old photos of Gina kissing Noah at the amusement park. She agrees to pose as David's girlfriend at a business function, where they keep up appearances by kissing for a photograph. They later kiss in David's truck. Donna feels guilty and forgives Noah; Gina drops hints suggesting that she slept with him. Steve discovers an irregular mole and fears that he may have skin cancer. He vows to turn his life around and apologizes for taking Janet for granted. She sleeps with him, but he returns to his old ways after tests come back negative. Dylan tries to keep his mind off drugs by having sex with Gina in public places. Gina lashes out at Dylan, as she feels that he is using her.

Kelly and Matt babysit Erin, and have sex in the living room after she goes to sleep. They do not realize that Mel and Jackie have set up a video camera to observe prospective nannies with Erin. Erin switches the tape with a copy of "There's Something About Mary," and the illicit video ends up in Dylan and Gina's hands. Dylan becomes furious, prompting Gina to suspect that he still has feelings for Kelly. She believes that Dylan is trying to overcompensate by arranging a private concert by Monica, and tricks him into admitting that he slept with Kelly in Mexico. Matt breaks up with Kelly, who reminds him that he was married at the time. He forgives her after she insists that she never revealed the truth because she did not want to add to his woes. Donna asks Wayne, a good-looking pro beach volleyball player, to model her new line of men's wear. Matt files a lawsuit on behalf of cancer victims against a number of companies that polluted the environment—including Hunter Oil. Noah refuses to cooperate, and suggests that he and Donna live together so that he can move away from Matt. Donna hesitates because of her attraction to Wayne, whom she kisses in a restaurant. Steve panics about the possibility of massive computer failure on New Year's 2000, and becomes obsessed with stockpiling supplies. Janet believes that he is just trying to avoid the romantic vacation they had planned for New Year's. Steve explains that he is gun-shy about relationships because Celeste, Carly and Clare all dumped him; Janet promises not to leave. Katie sleeps with David, then has difficulty dealing with it and says she must abstain for at least a year. David admits that he cannot handle this, and breaks up with her.

Kelly tells Matt about the rape. Dylan puts up a $100,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the rapist. Some men try to ambush him and take the money, but Matt helps chase them away. Joe asks Matt to help him file a lawsuit charging police brutality. He goes to Now Wear This and finds Kelly working alone. When she recognizes him, he locks the door and brandishes a knife. She pulls her gun out of her purse and fires off a round of shots. Noah breaks up with Donna because he does not trust her. Believing that Donna's behavior stemmed from concern for Kelly, he comes over to apologize. He finds that she has slept with Wayne, and refuses to give her another chance. Wayne leaves for the summer to play in a series of tournaments. However, he then takes a job in Los Angeles and tells Donna that he wants to be with her. Gina confides in David about her bulimia and seeks refuge at his house. David erupts after finding Gina in bed with Dylan. Steve and Janet throw a party to celebrate the fact that The Beat is finally showing a profit. Janet still feels uneasy about the paper's sleazy material. Steve expresses remorse about their objectionable treatment of women; he allows a support group for victims of sexual abuse to meet in the offices.