Michael Russell is dying of cancer, a fact that his father finds hard to accept. A potter by trade, Whit is skeptical of technology and persuaded his son to leave city life for the family farm once his illness was diagnosed. Unbeknownst to Whit, Michael and Penny have undergone gamete fertilization, a process enabling Jolene to be the surrogate mother for their baby. Believing the pregnancy to be natural, Whit vows to have no part in raising his grandchild. Subsequent to one of his tirades, Jolene disappears. As Michael's health deteriorates, the situation looks increasingly grim, especially when Andrew arrives. Using a clever metaphor, Monica gently convinces Whit to accept the non-traditional pregnancy. Michael dies just as his son is born, and as his bereaved family visits the grave, Tess arrives with Jolene and the baby in tow. She gives the infant to his mother, who laments that Michael never got a chance to hold his son. Tess comforts Penny by pointing that he has a bir