Great and Precious Things

Willow watches as town members discuss their concerns with the Alba Historical Society Council. It’s composed of nine members—the five eldest members of the town’s founding families (of which her father and Xander are a part) and four others who are elected each year.

Cam comes in and sits next to Willow. They watch as several townspeople bring forth complaints or requests for the upcoming season. Before they close the session to public comment, Dorothy steps up to the microphone and tells the council that Cam would like to propose a “summer plan.”

Dorothy’s request immediately starts an uproar among the council. Judge Bradley immediately objects, insisting that Cam owns no historical property that would qualify him to be a member of the Historical Society, so he can’t propose a plan. However, Dorothy produces Cal’s will, showing that Cam owns the mine building on main street. The council calls forward their lawyer, Milton Sanders, to check over the will. Milton agrees that Cal owns the property.

The council’s next objection is that Cam hasn’t lived in Alba for two years. However, Milton points out that he’s allowed to claim exemption since he’s returning from the military. Willow is shocked when Xander objects, stating that the building is uninhabitable; however, according to the bylaws, Cam has two years to renovate it if he has a society-approved renovator.

The entire Historical Society responds in agreement, and Willow can see that they’re all against Cam joining them. A few make comments about the bunkhouse—a property that they believe Cam burned to the ground when he was younger—and how Cam likely wants to “destroy” the town. Angered, Willow steps forward, telling the society that she’ll help him renovate. Her father immediately argues, but she points out that she has a dual degree, having majored in both graphic design and art restoration and conservation.

With no other objections, the town relents, allowing Cam to join the Historical Society. However, they refuse to hear his plan since a member of the council would have to sponsor it. After a long pause, Julie Hall—Gid’s wife—announces that she’ll sponsor it.

Dorothy then explains Cam’s plan. He wants to open the mine for tours. The townspeople are shocked, but Willow can see that they’re excited about the idea. To her annoyance, Xander objects again, insisting that it will be unsafe for tourists—especially this year. Cam tells the council that he’s an engineer, having gotten his degree and worked on much more difficult structures during his time in the military. Satisfied, the town becomes excited about reopening the mine.

The next day, Cam goes to the Rose Rowan building to see about renovating it, and Xander accompanies him. Xander confronts Cam, asking why he didn’t tell him about his plan to renovate the mine before going to the council. Cam admits that it was a mistake and apologizes but also insists that he didn’t think Xander would agree with him. Xander acknowledges that he probably would have tried to talk Cam out of it because he still thinks it could lead to serious injuries; however, he promises to publicly support Cam moving forward.

Cam partially lies to Xander, hiding the fact that he plans to challenge Xander’s legal claims to their father’s health. Instead, he tells him that he hopes to use the money from the reopening of the mine to pay for their father’s in-home care. He knows that Arthur has enough money to pay for it, but Xander opposes draining their father’s accounts since he could live for decades needing care. The idea of using the money from the mine pacifies Xander.

Willow comes and looks over the house with Cam. He’s glad to see a “fire” within her as she gets excited about the remodeling. He repeatedly forces down his attraction to her, insisting to himself that he won’t betray Sullivan.

A few days later, Willow goes to her parents’ house for dinner with Charity and Rose. The dinner is tense, and her father confronts her about her decision to support Cam at the meeting. Willow insists that Cam is a good person despite the trouble he got into as a kid. Her father angrily points out that Cam once broke her nose and got her trapped in the bunkhouse after he set it on fire. However, Willow is adamant that the injury and the fire at the bunkhouse were both accidents; in fact, Cam saved her from the fire.

Willow then explains that Cam went into the military, had a good career, and got a good education. Her father argues that he chose a “violent” life to match his violent nature. When Willow points out that her father was proud of Sullivan’s choice to join the military, Charity defends her point, causing their father to angrily leave the dinner table.

After dinner, Willow thanks Charity for her support and apologizes for never having said anything to defend her when she got pregnant with Rose and moved out. Charity is adamant that Willow’s choice to stay silent was respectable, especially since it kept the door open for Charity and Rose to be part of their father’s life years later.

Willow drives home, but it’s snowing heavily. She swerves to avoid a group of deer and ends up in a ditch. She calls Cam for help.

Cam goes and finds Willow in the storm. They briefly argue about where they should go to get out of the storm. Since the power is out, they settle on Cam’s house since Cal always used solar panels.

Once they’re out of the storm, Willow showers and changes, and then they sit in the living room and talk. Willow thanks Cam for saving her, pointing out that he has already done so many times in their lives, like at the bunkhouse. Cam tries to say that the bunkhouse fire was his fault, but Willow is adamant that the torch falling over was an accident. If not for Cam, she would have died in the fire.

Their conversation leads to Sullivan’s death. Cam is surprised that Willow has “forgiven” him for what happened, but she insists that there’s nothing to forgive since she doesn’t blame him for Sullivan’s death. Cam tries to argue that he gave the order, but Willow tells him that he didn’t know Sullivan was in the group he was sending out to fight. She says that she knows Cam, and he would have given anything to save Sullivan if he could have—even his own life. In the tension that follows, Willow asks Cam if he still reads out loud. He gets East of Eden and begins reading the first page.

The next morning, Willow makes breakfast in the kitchen. Tension hangs between them, and Cam ends up standing next to Willow at the stove. He looks at her, and she can feel him contemplating. He tells her that he wants her to say “no,” but instead, she says “yes,” drawing Cam to her as he kisses her. They kiss for several minutes, but Cam’s phone starts to ring. He stops and pulls away.

Frustrated, Cam tells Willow that he shouldn’t have kissed her. She argues, saying that she wanted him to. However, Cam tells her that he doesn’t deserve to after causing Sullivan’s death. He tells her the story, but Willow responds by insisting that Cam isn’t responsible for what happened to Sullivan. She tells him that he “deserves” to live—despite what Cam, the town, and even Arthur may think. He tries to argue that she deserves someone better than him, which shocks her.

Before she can argue back, his phone rings again. He answers it, telling the person on the other line that he’ll be right there. When he hangs up, he tells Willow that his father had an accident.

When Cam gets to his father’s house, he finds Xander in the garage performing CPR. Arthur tried to take the car out but couldn’t get the garage door open. As a result, the car continued to run, filling the garage with carbon monoxide. Arthur has a pulse but isn’t breathing. Cam instructs Xander to stop doing compressions, as it could damage his pulse, and to instead focus on rescue breaths.

When a medivac helicopter arrives, Cam meets the paramedics and briefs them on the situation. As they load Arthur onto the helicopter, Cam realizes that this is exactly what his father didn’t want—to be resuscitated. He has always been adamant that he wants to die in his home.

Cam tries to tell Xander that they’re defying their father’s wishes, but Xander argues. He insists that he isn’t ready to let his father die. The paramedics instruct them that only one person can come in the helicopter, so Xander leaves Cam at the house alone. As the helicopter flies away, Cam has a “bitter” feeling that he helped resuscitate his father.

A few hours later, Cam gets to the hospital. He’s immediately angry that Arthur has been put on a ventilator. He confronts Xander, but the doctor interrupts their argument to update them on their father. He can’t breathe on his own. They’re hoping that hyperbaric oxygen therapy will help.

Later that night, Walt comes to the hospital to visit Arthur. He, too, is bothered by the fact that Arthur is on life support. Cam tries to take partial blame, explaining that he told Xander how to save his father in the garage, but Walt insists that he isn’t responsible for what’s happening now.

Their conversation is interrupted when Xander yells for help in Arthur’s room. Arthur is conscious and is trying to rip out the tube in his throat. Cam helps restrain him and then sees the accusatory look that his father gives him. Arthur looks terrified. The medical team comes in and gives his father a sedative.

When Cam and Xander are alone, Xander tries to apologize. However, Cam insists that he won’t stay to see Xander ignore their father’s wishes. He refuses to see him wake up in terror again.