Love Child

It's the eve of 1970, the dawn of a new decade, and Joan Millar (Jessica Marais) is now a qualified doctor at Kings Cross Hospital. She's working hard to prove herself, but the appearance of a mysterious pregnant girl and the return of Dr. Patrick McNaughton (Jonathan LaPaglia) threaten to throw her career off track.

After the death of the mystery girl (Gail) in Episode 1, Joan (Jessica Marais) is doubting her abilities as a doctor. This doubt is compounded when Viv (Sophie Hensser), who is already frightened and wary of her mother, goes into labour and rejects Joan, asking for another doctor to attend her baby's birth. Viv finds an unlikely source of support in Matron (Mandy McElhinney) as her labour drags on through the night. Shirley (Ella Scott Lynch) refuses to allow herself a moment to mourn when she receives some shattering news.

Driven by the guilt she feels over Gail's death, Joan (Jessica Marais) gets a step closer to finding a family for Gail's orphaned baby. On the cusp of giving birth, Patty (Harriet Dyer) receives some heartbreaking news. Matron (Mandy McElhinney) welcomes back someone from her past while Shirley (Ella Scott Lynch) struggles with a goodbye.

The time has finally come for Patty (Harriet Dyer) and Viv (Sophie Hensser) to leave Stanton House, but their futures could hardly appear more different. Shirley (Ella Scott Lynch) is tempted by an offer from McNaughton (Jonathan LaPaglia) and Joan (Jessica Marais) finds herself suddenly negotiating with both the father and grandfather of baby James.

When baby Deanna goes missing, Annie’s (Gracie Gilbert) suitability as a single mother is called into question. Shirley (Ella Scott Lynch) begins to wonder whether the support on offer from McNaughton (Jonathan LaPaglia) is what she needs. Desperate to take home his son, Jim (Matt Le Nevez) comes to Joan (Jessica Marais) with a very surprising proposal.

Joan (Jessica Marais) puts the welfare of baby James ahead of her career and agrees to marry Jim (Matt Le Nevez) in an effort to keep the infant from his violent grandfather. Viv (Sophie Hensser) is tempted by the idea of a fresh start, and Matron (Mandy McElhinney) makes a deal in an attempt to stop the closure of Stanton House.

Martha's (Miranda Tapsell) reunion with her birth mother doesn't go the way she always dreamt it would. Joan (Jessica Marais) and Jim (Matt Le Nevez) are driven apart by Gregory's (Marshall Napier) attempt to gain custody of his grandson and Annie (Gracie Gilbert) discovers she's pregnant to Chris (Lincoln Younes), making Matron (Mandy McElhinney) the grandmother of her unborn child.

Joan (Jessica Marais) is forced to find a way to save Jim (Matt Le Nevez) after Gregory's (Marshall Napier) efforts to gain custody of his grandson become more extreme. Annie (Gracie Gilbert) decides she can't give birth to a baby which would forever bind her to Matron (Mandy McElhinney) and takes matters into her own hands. Matron has to choose between saving Stanton House and the life of her unborn grandson, and the former Stanton House girls rally around Patty and help her as she starts her own business.