Much to my surprise, Scrubs just keeps getting better and better.

This week, relationships are growing stronger. In the beginning scene, Cole tells Lucy how he can read all of her little idiosyncrasies, something which will soon come back to haunt her.

Meanwhile, Drew and Denise are even closer, not to mention incredibly precious. I’m starting to really like Drew. He’s incredibly cute and obviously smart.

However, Drew and Denise’s harmony is rudely interrupted when Drew says to Denise, “I love you.” Always the touchy-feely one, Denise is disgusted and demands he take it back, which he refuses.

At the same time, the main students in the study group are struggling to get by in medical school, which has proven to be far harder than they originally thought. All of them feel pressure from their families to be doctors.

This becomes apparent when Dr. Cox discovers a cheat sheet in the bathroom during a test and demands that everyone who left during the test remain in the room until someone steps forward to confess that they were cheating. Unless one comes forward, they will all be forced to retake a much harder version of the test the next day…outside…in the rain. There are only 6 people left in the room—every member of the study group, plus Denise, whom Dr. Cox forces to stay with them.

While in the lecture hall, Drew is forced to reveal his alibi—he was in the bathroom making a call to his divorce lawyer—just as Denise walks up to him, about to say “I love you too.” His marriage, apparently a drunken mistake, comes as a total shock to her, and she feels betrayed and resolves never to be vulnerable and trust him again.

Naturally, everyone assumes that Cole is the cheater. However, when Drew asks Lucy if she was the one who cheated, she puts her hair in her mouth, something that Cole knows she only does when she’s lying. He is shocked, but is willing to take the blame for her, knowing that he is untouchable since his father is so influential in the hospital.

But just as Cole is walking out in a dramatic slow motion, Lucy apologizes to the whole group. She leaves the room to go find Dr. Cox, but when she comes back, everyone tells Dr. Cox that they’re willing to retake the exam and say nothing about Lucy. It turns out that they’ve all decided to cut her some slack since they’re all having trouble (Well, Drew isn’t. He’s just had a lot of second chances and wants to give someone else one). Aww. How sweet. It looks like the med students are really bonding.

Speaking of bonding, after a life lesson from Turk (who seems to be providing a lot of those this season), Denise finally tells Drew she loves him. Still, repulsed by her strong emotions, she tells him not to speak to her for a few days. The overjoyed look on Drew’s face and makes him even more loveable.

Back with the “old” cast, Dr. Kelso gives Turk and Dr. Cox advice about the good old days, saying that doctors used to get to know their patients rather than just using machines. Of course, in typical “Scrubs” fashion, Turk and Dr. Cox will eventually learn this lesson with one of their patients.

Turk is incredibly uncomfortable around his lesbian patient, Nicole, and her partner Beth. He runs some tests to try to solve her stomach pain. However, when Turk recommends steroids instead of surgery to help her, Nicole refuses to take them and doesn’t provide a reason.

But, after Turk and Dr. Cox take the time to find out something about her, they realize that Nicole used to be very overweight. She doesn’t want to take the steroids because Beth has never seen her large and steroids have a risk of weight gain. Soon, the two of them convince her that Beth will love her no matter what, and she shouldn’t be afraid of her seeing her past.

I’m really starting to get into this season of Scrubs. The characters, while they were difficult to adjust to at first, now are pretty charismatic. Almost as much as J.D.  Almost.

Charlotte Hagerman can be reached for comment at [email protected]