...and Found is the third episode of the first season of Virgin River and the third episode of the series overall.
Summary []
Mel considers being a temporary foster parent to Chloe while grappling with her own grief. Jack works to convince her to stay in Virgin River.
Plot Summary[]
After discovering Lilly breastfeeding Chloe, Mel confronts her about being the mother, which she confirms before running out of Vernon's surgery. At that moment, Vernon enters and believes that Mel has upset Lilly. Mel corrects him, revealing that Lilly is the mother of the baby. Despite this, Vernon is reluctant to believe the revelation, remarking that they do not jump to conclusions in Virgin River. Mel is surprised by this statement as he judged her from the beginning before getting to know her. He remarks that it was merely his intuition. Mel argues that Lilly just confessed, meaning his intuition is clearly not as good as he believes it is.
Having spent the night with the woman, Jack tries to leave quietly without waking her, but is unsuccessful. She tries to convince Jack to stay, offering to cook him breakfast, but Jack is reluctant, remarking that he must get back to work. She asks if they can arrange something for their two year anniversary, but Jack is persistent that they are nothing more than casual partners.
Hope argues with Vernon about firing Mel, arguing that it was an overreaction. Mel arrives and reminds Doc of his duty as a physician, which leads to an angry reaction from the latter. Hope redirects the conversation to figuring out what to do about Lilly and Chloe. All three agree that this should stay between them. Vernon says that Lilly has shut herself away and will not talk to anyone, and he is worried that Social Services will arrive before they can talk with Lilly. Mel suggests that Lilly could be suffering from postpartum depression, but Hope argues that Lilly has never been depressed. Mel asks if she has a spouse to which Hope replies that her husband died six months prior. Mel remarks that postpartum depression can appear suddenly and unexpectedly. Hope proposes that one of Lilly’s grown children could help with the baby and Mel replies that that could work. Doc, however, mentions that Lilly does not wish to involve her family. Hope herself offers to foster the baby but Doc replies that as she is not a blood relation, she needs to be vetted, which could take months. The only people licensed to foster in this situation automatically are healthcare professionals and Doc says he is uneducated on this. Hope proposes that Mel be the one to be a temporary guardian to Chloe and she offers to step in and do so to prevent Social Services taking her into their custody. Doc blankly refuses to go forward with the idea.
Meanwhile, at the cabin, Ricky and Jack are making repairs. Jack is adamant that the cabin be finished as soon as possible in order to convince Mel to stay. Ricky questions why Jack is so determined to get her to stay but unsurprisingly agrees that Mel is attractive and that is the reason. Jack tells him to be respectful and get on with the work.
At the bar, Jack encounters Mel and they talk about the situation between her and Doc. Jack reassures Mel that she did the right thing annd even offers to talk to Doc for her. Mel thanks him but declines, stating it is her problem to solve. He invites her and Chloe to have a picnic with him next to the river, which she agrees to.
At the B&B, Mel is taking care of Chloe when she has a flashback of her in labor with her and Mark’s baby. She is interrupted by a phone call from Joey. Mel tells her about her plans to foster Chloe to which Joey replies that it is a terrible idea as she has her own grief to deal with. Mel states she is the only one who can keep her but Joey is unrelenting in that it is not her responsibility. She reminds Mel of how much she supported her, which annoys the latter as she is constantly being reminded of the fact. This leads to Mel annoyingly ending the call.
Jack begins preparing lunch for him and Mel, when he is interrupted by Hope, who asks about the current situation. Hope pleads with Jack to do everything he can to keep Mel in Virgin River, especially with her becoming Chloe's temporary caregiver. She then offers to help Jack with the lunch. Meanwhile, tensions between Preacher and Brady, with the latter trying to change how things work around the bar. Nonetheless, Preacher is attempting to switch to a more traceable way to pay vendors, but has trouble with Paige, who remarks that she, nor the bakery, have a bank account. She suggests he write the checks to the bar and then hand them to her, which he remarks is not very legitimate. They are approached by Connie, who makes an order, and with whom they discuss the abandoned baby situation. Paige and Preacher both show sympathy to whoever the mother is and her predicament.
Connie approaches Hope, with whom she discusses her suspicions that the missing baby is connected to the pot farms. She is unaware that Hope knows the mother to be Lilly. At the bar, Hope continues her previous conversation on Mel fostering Chloe with Doc, who still refuses. He also mentions that he tried to talk to Lilly again but the attempt failed.
Jack takes Mel to the river in a further attempt to convince her of the novelties Virgin River has to offer. Mel is still reluctant to accept that one day she may call Virgin River home. He reveals his knowledge of Lilly being Chloe’s mother, which annoys Mel as Hope breached confidentiality. Mel is plagued by another flashback, which reveals that she suffered a stillbirth during labor as a result of a placental abruption. Mel finally succeeds in getting Chloe to take the bottle.
Jack and Mel return to Hope and Vernon, where Vernon tries to apologise for his behaviour and to ask for Mel's help and expertise as a midwife. Vernon has trouble apologising, however, and ends up blaming Mel more for calling Social Services. Nonetheless, Mel agrees to assist Doc in helping Lilly. Hope, annoyed at Vernon for his behaviour, tells him to wait for Social Services whilst she, Mel, and Jack try and talk to Lilly.
Arriving at Lilly's farm, Mel talks with Lilly, who is reluctant to take the baby back due to struggling herself with the farm. Mel explains that she may have postpartum depression which can alter perceptions of reality but is treatable. She is able to convince Lilly to talk with Hope and spend some time with Chloe whilst she and Jack explore the farm.
At the bakery truck, Preacher comes to further discuss handling the payments between the bakery and bar. Paige says she will figure out a way to handle the payments through check as opposed to cash through a third party vendor. Preacher agrees to keep the payment method the way it is, seeing that it matters a lot to Paige and understanding, what he presumes, is a distrust for banks. Paige thanks him and when Christopher appears, Preacher puts forward that they cook together and takes him to the bar.
Jack and Mel explore the farm and get to know each other more, with Mel explaining more about her childhood and her sister. Jack tells her more about Lilly and her family, managing the farm after Buck’s death and the departure of her children and refusal to accept charity. Jack and Mel return to the house, but find that Hope has had little success convincing Lilly to keep the baby. Mel decides to give it one more go. As she walks into the house, she has a flashback of herself experiencing postpartum depression and grief after the loss of her daughter. Mel talks to Lilly, explaining her own history with postpartum depression and losing a child. Mel explains that she is can care for Chloe prevent her from becoming a ward of the state until Lilly is ready to take over again. She once again encourages Lilly to seek help. Lilly is doubtful that she will get better, but Mel is convinced otherwise, reminding her that she has a whole town willing to help her and Chloe.
Mel's efforts are successful, and Lilly talks with the Social Services worker and comes to an agreement: Lilly will get help with her depression and Lilly's daughter, Tara, will take care of Chloe in the meantime. The social worker approves this and sets a date in the future for Lilly to be assessed for reunification. Mel agrees to help Lilly set up a meeting with a specialist. Everybody is happy with the outcome. Lilly has a private moment with Mel where she thanks her for giving her the courage to get help and asks if she can keep the name Chloe for her daughter. She plans to tell Chloe of Mel’s gracious offer when she is older.
Hope is still furious with Vernon and trying to fight for Mel. She is eventually able to convince Vernon to hire Mel back at the surgery, but as she is leaving, Hope collapses in the driveway. Vernon witnesses this and is able to come to her aid.
Mel and Jack arrive back at the bar, exhausted but overjoyed from the outcome of the situation. They have a drink and talk. Jack tries to convince Mel to stay in Virgin River, and she jokes about her purpose. He asks her about her ring but she replies that it is not something she is ready to talk about yet, which Jack respects and does not press further. The two are interrupted by the woman who Jack was with earlier, who introduces herself as Charmaine, Jack’s girlfriend.
Cast []
Main Cast[]
- Alexandra Breckenridge as Melinda Monroe
- Martin Henderson as Jack Sheridan
- Colin Lawrence as John Middleton
- Jenny Cooper as Joey Barnes
- Lauren Hammersley as Charmaine Roberts
- Annette O'Toole as Hope McCrea
- Tim Matheson as Vernon Mullins
- Benjamin Hollingsworth as Dan Brady
- Daniel Gillies as Mark Monroe
- Grayson Maxwell Gurnsey as Ricky
Guest Cast[]
- Lynda Boyd as Lilly Anderson
- Nicola Cavendish as Connie
- Lexa Doig as Paige Lassiter
- Chase Petriw as Christopher Lassiter
- Malcolm Stewart as Dr. Grewe
- Lossen Chambers as Terry
Co-Starring[]
Trivia[]
- It is revealed that Lilly is the mother of the abandoned baby.
- Mel draws on her own experience of losing a child and experiencing Postpartum Depression.
- Mel is both fired and rehired at Doc's surgery in this episode.