Mel and Jack are finally husband and wife, and now they’re hoping to add yet another emotional title to their names: parents.
In the first trailer for season 7 of Virgin River, which premieres March 12 on Netflix, Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) is emotional as she tells Jack (Martin Henderson) that one of her patients “wants us to be the parents of her baby,” and they begin to prepare to start their family.
“It’s the end of one chapter, and the beginning of another,” Mel declares, but things get complicated when her patient, Marley (Rachel Drance), tells them she needs “a little time.”
“What are we supposed to do? We’re just supposed to sit here and wait?” Jack asks anxiously after the unexpected setback.
“What else can we do? It’s not our baby — not yet,” Mel tells him.
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The newlyweds are also looking to celebrate their recent wedding and go on their honeymoon.
“Wherever my finger lands, that’s where we’re gonna go on our honeymoon,” Mel tells Jack, spinning a globe as the trailer ends.
Mel and Jack aren’t the only ones with some new challenges to face in season 7. In the trailer, Brady (Benjamin Hollingsworth) offers an olive branch to Brie (Zibby Allen), who he says looks like she needs a friend, and Doc (Tim Matheson) tries to win back the town’s trust.
“Some of you had lost faith in me, but being your doctor is personal to me — knowing that there’s someone in your corner, someone you can trust,” Doc says in the trailer.
There are some bumps in the road, too, as Hope (Annette O’Toole) and Doc deal with Hope working closely with her ex-husband, Kaia (Kandyse McClure) questions her relationship with Preacher (Colin Lawrence) and Lizzie (Sarah Dugdale) and Denny (Kai Bradbury) try to adjust to becoming first-time parents.
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Showrunner Patrick Sean Smith told Netflix’s Tudum that season 7 will “explore the honeymoon phase for [Mel and Jack] as they’re building their lives on the farm, which can come with its own obstacles.”
He assured fans, though, that he “can’t imagine creating a scenario where you think Mel and Jack are going to break up.”
“It forces you to dig a little bit deeper into, well, what other issues can they have in their relationship? Especially when you want to keep it through the romance lens … It’s just resting on emotional stakes as opposed to will they, won’t they.”
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As for Brady’s love triangle with Brie and Lark (Elise Gatien), who skipped town with all of his money at the end of season 6, Hollingsworth, 41, told PEOPLE: “I won’t say that the love triangle necessarily continues, but I will say that it’s a season-long journey that I think will have its ups and downs and moments where fans can really feel happy and moments where fans can feel frustrated.”