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Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Vows We Have Made · 2021 — Chapter 9 of 18 · 3'04" · B1

Tracing Fred Back to Owen, Explained: put her up for adoption

A young mother decides to give her baby up, admitting she is "not in a good place to be a mother right now," while Oliver and Norman visit a fire station to trace Fred, the old mascot at the center of Owen's drawing.

What happens

A young woman says she is not in a good place to be a mother and plans to put her baby up for adoption once it is born. Elsewhere, Oliver, Norman and Shane visit a fire station to find out who Fred is, and learn he was a station mascot lost in a forest fire.

InvestigationConfessing feelingsConfessingExplainingCoworkersB1fastamericanClean
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Listen for

put her up for adoptionthe story goesbad boysarson

00:00 / 03:04
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  52. ❝ MonologueThe fire that lost Fred8 linesPractice page ↗
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Phrase of the scene

put her up for adoption

to arrange for a child to be adopted

Charley admits she plans to put the baby up for adoption because she isn't ready.

They put the kittens up for adoption at the clinic.

Also in this scene

  • the story goes

    people say; according to the tale

  • bad boys

    impressive things, especially machines or gear

  • arson

    the crime of deliberately setting fire

Everything marked in this scene

31 notes across 64 lines

Soundlittle girl

flap

I want this little girl.
Phrase · A2have a chanceBut I also want her to have a chance, you know.
Phrase · B2put someone up for adoption

to arrange for a child to be adopted

Charley admits she plans to put the baby up for adoption because she isn't ready.

So when she's born, I'm going to put her up for adoption.
Grammar · A2when she's born, I'm going to put her up for adoption

be going to for plans

So when she's born, I'm going to put her up for adoption.
Phrase · B2how would you like to do somethingHow'd you like to be the guy that gets to ride in one of these bad boys?
SoundHow'd you like to

elision

How'd you like to be the guy that gets to ride in one of these bad boys?
Slang · B2bad boysHow'd you like to be the guy that gets to ride in one of these bad boys?
Phrase · B2if it meant doing somethingNot if it meant going to a fire.
Phrase · B1dream of being somethingOh, you never dreamed of being a firefighter, Oliver?
Phrase · B1always want to be somethingI always wanted to be...
Phrase · B2drag someone away from somethingSorry to be dragging you away from your forest fires.
Phrase · B1receive a letter from someoneOh, we received a letter from the mother of a little boy named Owen.
Phrase · B1search for someone/somethingShe is searching for Owen's best friend, whom we believe may be a firefighter named Fred.
Phrase · A2for a whileFred was with us here at the station for a while.
Phrase · B1a retirement partyat a retirement party a few years ago.
Phrase · A2a few years agoat a retirement party a few years ago.
Phrase · A2in a wayWell, he was, in a way.
Phrase · B2pull someone inThey pulled in fire crews from all over the state to fight that.
Phrase · B2the story goes

people say; according to the tale

Theo tells the legend of the boy and his toy using the story goes to hedge.

So the story goes, this five-year-old boy, who always wanted to become a fireman,
Grammar · B2this five-year-old boy, who always wanted to become a fireman

non-restrictive who clause

So the story goes, this five-year-old boy, who always wanted to become a fireman,
Phrase · A2give something to someoneand I guess he gave it to the crew to carry on the truck for company.
Phrase · B2for companyand I guess he gave it to the crew to carry on the truck for company.
Soundfor company

liaison

and I guess he gave it to the crew to carry on the truck for company.
Phrase · B2be passed aroundFred was passed around from station to station and fire to fire until...
Grammar · B2until we took him on an arson call

until clause

well, until we took him on an arson call in Roosevelt National Forest.
Phrase · B1pull backWe had to pull back really fast, leaving everything behind.
Phrase · B2leave something behindWe had to pull back really fast, leaving everything behind.
Phrase · B1be allowed inso we weren't allowed in the area.
Phrase · B2it wouldn't have matteredProbably wouldn't have mattered.
Phrase · B1keep following someone/somethingI guess we could just keep following Fred backwards until we arrive at Owen.
Phrase · A2a lot of workSounds like a lot of work.

Tracing Fred Back to Owen, explained

What's really going on

The chapter sets two searches side by side: a mother giving up a child, and a station trying to recover a lost toy. The young woman is direct about her reasons — she says it is getting obvious that she is "not in a good place to be a mother right now", but she never sounds cold, insisting that she wants this little girl and wants her to have a chance. At the fire station, the crew pieces together Fred's history from a photo and an old story, then decides to trace him backward from station to station. The parallel is gentle: some things are given up out of love, and some are chased out of loyalty. Neither thread treats loss as simple.

Theme

ParenthoodA mother chooses adoption out of love, hoping her child will have a better chance.
DutyThe firefighters keep tracing Fred because honoring the boy's gift feels like an obligation.

Listen for

  • little girl — flap
  • How'd you like to — elision
  • for company — liaison
So when she's born, I'm going to put her up for adoption.

Her clear decision: the baby will be placed with another family after birth.

I guess we could just keep following Fred backwards until we arrive at Owen.

The plan to trace the mascot through every past station until they reach the boy.

She is searching for Owen's best friend, whom we believe may be a firefighter named Fred.

The letter's request that starts the search for the figure in the child's drawing.

But I also want her to have a chance, you know.

Her love stated plainly: she wants the child to have a better life.

Questions about this scene

Why does the young woman plan to give up her baby?

She says she is not in a good place to be a mother right now and wants the child to have a chance at a better life.

Who is Fred?

Fred is an old station mascot, a toy a five-year-old boy once gave the crew, later lost on an arson call in a forest.

What does 'put her up for adoption' mean?

It means to arrange for the baby to be raised by another family after birth.

Why do they decide to trace Fred backwards?

They hope that following him from station to station will lead them back to the little boy who first gave him away, Owen.

Why was Fred left behind?

The crew lost control of a fire, had to pull back fast, and could not return because the site became a crime scene.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Vows We Have Made · 18 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 10any means necessaryFinding Fred and the Wedding Canopy
Chapter 1lose faith inInterviewing for the Dead Letter OfficeChapter 2trust the timingThe Best Man's Wedding ChecklistChapter 3not everyone's cup of teaOliver's Mother Stays Four DaysChapter 4track him downThe Team Reads a Dead LetterChapter 5skedaddleNorman Meets the Pregnant TempChapter 6is in my bloodShane's Mother Visits the OfficeChapter 7a handfulOliver Agrees With His MotherChapter 8made for each otherThe Fire Station on the EnvelopeWatching · Chapter 9put her up for adoptionTracing Fred Back to OwenChapter 10any means necessaryFinding Fred and the Wedding CanopyChapter 11mean the world toOliver Finds Fred the Stuffed ToyChapter 12never looked backOliver Leaves the Bear at the AltarChapter 13hard to come byShane's Mother Visits the OfficeChapter 14beaten the oddsNorman and Rita Consider AdoptionChapter 15love at first sightShane's Mom Interrogates OliverChapter 16get your act togetherCharley Gets a Job and a FamilyChapter 17get it out of my headOliver Faces His Fear of ForeverChapter 18have a way ofOliver Gives Shane a Wedding Watch
Chapter 9 of 18 · about 40 min to go