Jack shows up at Mel's cabin for their dinner date. The screen door is open and baked lasagna wafts from the kitchen. He then hears crying coming from inside. Guttural sobbing, actually.

His instincts on high alert. "Mel?" He says fearfully. It wouldnt be the first time he'd found her in danger. He knows Mel considers him to be her safety net and only hopes he is here in time.

He comes inside and quickly assesses the situation… light jazz music playing, fireplace roaring, salad on the table, lasagna cooling on the stove… nothing out of order. No answer, but the crying is coming from the bathroom, he enters the room to see Mel sitting on the bathroom floor and sobbing into her hands. An open and empty pregnancy test box lies in the sink.

"Mel! It's okay…. we can…. try again next month…?" He says not quite sure what the right thing to say would be. His ignorance is enough for her to shove the test into his hand in which there is a very obvious "pregnant" digitizedin the results window. He's instantly exhilarated and relieved that Mel isn't hurt. But also confused "So these are tears of….joy?" Though her tears look more sorrowful than he'd hope after seeing the news.

"Joy. Frustration! Confusion. Foolishness! Elati-"

"Whoa whoa whoa city girl…. one emotion at a time! Explain!"

"Jack" she turns to him, " I have had every ultrasound, lab test, finger prick, uterurine biopsy, appointment after appointment to basically tell me that I would NEVER get pregnant on my own! I did shot upon shot to undergo surgery and have an egg retreival. They manually had to insert sperm into my eggs! I still have embryos frozen in a lab somewhere in LA that they eventually told me I could never be the one that carried them. They told me to find a surrogate! And now I come to virgin river, drink the water and sleep with the world's most fertile man and defy all the odds! If I had known it was that easy, I would have vacationed here a long time ago!" She rants while wiping tears.

Jack finds her cute when she is on a rampage so he cant help but tease her. "So is that the "joy part or….?" His ego momentarily inflated by thinking about how he got her pregnant when nothing else did.

Mel rolls her eyes slightly but turns to look at him. More calmly she continues "I'm a nurse practitioner and mid wife. I got pregnant by having sex without protection. What kind of example am I being?"

Jack is silent, as he has Ricky in his mind and a similar worry about the example he is leading as the father figure in his life.

Mel takes Jack's hand in hers "This baby solidifies us together for life. I dont even know how you feel about that. We didn't make this decision together."

Jack is quick to interupt her "you know I never thought I could love anyone like I love you. It's true. I know how much you've wanted to be a mother and I would be honored to be the father in that family."

"We aren't committed to each other. This isn't how this should go!"

"Well, I figured I would propose at some point but that it would be a bit more romantic than on your bathroom floor with a pee stick instead of a diamond" Jack smiles charmingly.

Mel laughs at this but adds more quietly "What if I dont stay in Virgin River-"

"Wait- is that a concern still?" Jack looks worried now. He didn't think Mel was still contemplating leaving.

"Well, I only have a year long contract. I'm not sure what will happen with Doc afterwards. Hope is the one paying my salary. And… I'm not sure I can live in such a small town forever." She feels bad admitting this in this moment. She has grown to love virgin river in so many ways but could she do away with shopping at Barneys or eating sushi regularly?

"I'll go with you wherever you want to move" Jack promises.

"You dont mean that!"

"Okay… I cant say I would love living in LA. So maybe…. Portland? Sacramento? Oh hell, I could probably live in LA if it meant being with you"

Mel smiles at the thought of Jack working in a brightly lit modern LA bar, EDM music thumping in the backgroundl, making that cosmo she once wanted from him.

Jack looks up at her, encouraging her to continue if there's anything else. Ever the listener, he quietly waits for her to add more.

"But the twins. You cant leave them either. Charmaine is 24 weeks along now. You dont even have things planned out with her about how you'll parent with her but date me. This is just another complication-"

"I dont want you to view our baby as a complication. We will all figure it out. Yes, it may be unconventional to have step siblings so close in age and my parenting may be chaotic for a few months, but eventually we will all settle into a rhythm. I promise. I am going to support Charmaine and the twins. But I'm also going to be the best father to our baby too. Not to mention the committment I will have to you too. I love you Mel, I want to be with you forever"

They kiss sweetly.

Mel pulls away and says "okay well now that I know why I've been so nauseous but also so hungry… let's go have dinner and we can talk more over food!"

Can you just give me an answer about one more emotion??" Jack pauses while Mel gives a nod, "are you glad?"

Mel gazes into his beautiful blue eyes and smiles deeply, "Yes I am very glad!"