Justin Walker

Justin is the youngest child of Nora and William Walker, and often feels over-protected by his parents and siblings. When Justin was in his early teens, a family friend named Tucker Booth introduced him to drugs. After September 11, when Kitty returned from New York to stay with her family, she confides to Justin her experiences and fears stemming from that catastrophic event. It was for these reasons that he was compelled to join the Army. When he returned from Afghanistan, he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, leading to his drug addiction. Nora blamed Kitty for encouraging Justin to join the army, leading to their estrangement.

Justin spent much of his time getting high up north with his buddies and spending little time doing anything else in his youth. His closest thing to a relationship was a fellow aimless drug addict named Fawn. William, his father, wanted to get him a job at Ojai Foods (the family business) and during this time Justin saw his father talking to a mysterious woman at the company. After his father's death, Justin saw her again making a brief appearance at the funeral. He tracked her down and asked her how she knew his father; she told him they'd been lovers for years. To make matters worse, his father's will stipulated that any money for Justin would go into an allowance, with Kitty in charge of the allowance. Justin was humiliated, didn't show up for his job at a restaurant, and wasn't heard from until the next day when Nora got a call that he'd been picked up by the police. Nora, Kevin, and Kitty got him out of jail, but he bristled at Nora telling him how disappointed William would be in him.

He was not, and is still not, a bad person though. In fact, he is a very compassionate person. Justin is helpful to his family where appropriate. But he had his own serious issues. He continued taking prescription painkillers, like oxycodone and vicodine, for his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, nearly costing him another job (as a bell boy). His boss was a young woman named Tyler, whom he knew casually in high school. They began dating.

Also, when Justin's brother Tommy found out he was sterile and asked Kevin to be a sperm donor, for his wife Julia, Kevin initially refused, so Justin said he'd be a donor. Tommy said he didn't want Justin to be a donor, since he wasn't reliable and used drugs. Justin was hurt but eventually Tommy changed his mind. Both Kevin and Justin were donors, and agreed they would never find out who the father was.

At this point, things were looking up for Justin. Unfortunately, he got orders to go to Iraq. He was so devastated by the news that he relapsed, badly, and overdosed. He also ruined his relationship with Tyler, as she had seen him with Fawn on a drug high and told him she didn't want to deal with his behavior (she didn't know about his learning he had to go to Iraq). With Kevin's help, Justin was given a reprieve for six months, as long as he went to rehab.

Eventually, though, the time came for Justin to return to active duty. Justin wanted to ship out to Iraq without letting his family know, so he slipped away from his sister, Kitty's, engagement party informing only Rebecca. Rebecca told Kitty and Nora and they rushed to the airport for a tearful goodbye.

Several months later, Justin returned from Iraq with a leg injury. He suffered from tremendous pain, but refused to take meds because of his history as an addict. Eventually, after strong pressure, Nora convinced him to start taking pain medication, to which he became addicted once more.

His former boss and girlfriend, Tyler, returned after Justin cleaned up his drug habit. He ran into her when she was with her new boyfriend for a Valentine's Day dinner. He apologized to her for his past behaviour, and she decided to give their relationship another go. They were happy together briefly, but soon he decided that until he dealt with all his problems, he shouldn't put another person through what he was dealing with.

Justin found out that he had a half-sister, Rebecca Harper, the product of William and Holly. Most of the Walkers were hesitant about how to deal with this new relation, but Justin went to visit her as soon as he learned of her existence. He helped her steer clear of drugs and ardently defended her when she said Sarah's husband made a pass at her.

Justin later had an inkling that Rebecca may not, in fact, be his sister. She took a paternity test and told him that she was his sister, to his relief. This relief was short-lived however, as he began to develop what could only be called "inappropriate" feelings for her - of a romantic nature. He told his brother Kevin about it and Kevin told him to stay away from her, which he did. But eventually, he told her his feelings and she "freaked out". The day after, he apologized to her. She then revealed to him that she was not actually his half-sister, but the daughter of David Caplan. He became very angry at her about this and immediately told his mother, and as a result, the rest of the Walker family. In the season 2 season finale, they made amends and he asked if they could start over. Later, they met at a hill and she told him she believed all the craziness was supposed to lead her to him and they shared their first kiss. Rebecca and Justin are now engaged.

Justin, after the Robert's heart situation, told Rebecca that he wanted to become a doctor. In the next episodes we see him applying for a series of universities, and he even got a recommendation letter from Robert. Later we see that he was accepted.