Pete Wilder

Pete Wilder was an alternative medicine specialist at Seaside Health and Wellness and a critical care specialist at St. Ambrose Hospital until his death.

Early Life
During his childhood, Pete had to clean up after his mother while his brother, Adam, made excuses. She was an alcoholic 'A party all by herself', and liked a lot of men. She met a serious partner, Henry, but later stabbed him to death when he tried to leave in front of Pete, who was especially close to Henry and the age of fifteen. He is now estranged from his brother and does not know who his father is.

Death
Pete had had a heart attack previously. He also got in trouble with the law because he illegally took a man who wanted to die off of life support. He was resistant to agree with the court so he was held until he cooperated. Violet talked Pete into cooperating with the court and he got out and had to go to a preliminary court hearing. On the day of the hearing, Pete went for a run and texted Violet, "I went for a run. No matter what happens, I will always love you." Violet showed up for the hearing, but no one could find Pete. Violet got a call later from his phone. It was a police officer telling her something had happened to the owner of the phone and asking if she could come and identify him. It turned out that Pete had had a second heart attack and died on the side of the path and was lying there all day until someone found him.

Personality
Pete can be cold at times but has a loving heart. He is loyal to his wives even though he hated them at some point.

Addison Forbes Montgomery
During Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery's first visit to Oceanside Wellness, Pete and Addison established a teasing and often flirtatious relationship. Addison initially labelled Pete a “quack,” but she allowed the “cute hippy boy” to treat her with acupuncture. Although Pete was immediately attracted to her, he promised their mutual friend, Dr. Sam Bennett, that he would stay away from Addison. However, after finding Addison crying over her newly discovered infertility, Pete kissed her to prove that she wasn’t “dried up.” Addison seemed open to pursuing a relationship with Pete, but was warned off by Sam. According to Sam, Pete is a serial monogamist, unable to emotionally connect with any woman since the death of his wife. Pete's last foray into office romance was apparently disastrous, and resulted in the unnamed OB/GYN's sudden departure from the practice. In response, Oceanside Wellness instituted a strict "no consorting" rule. Later, they got together again, after Violet left Pete and Lucas behind. They raised Lucas together for a while. They split up after Violet's return.

Anna Wilder
Pete's relationship with his wife is somewhat mysterious and he appears reluctant to discuss their marriage. During a visit to her grave on the anniversary of her death, we discover Anna Wilder died in 2001, at the age of 40. (In "The Other Side of This Life," Sam stated that Pete’s wife had died eight years prior. However, in a subsequent interview, Tim Daly said that there is some confusion as to whether Anna died six or eight years prior, which was finally decided to be six years prior.) In a discussion regarding a patient, Pete hints to the other doctors that he stayed in an unhappy marriage because his wife was sick and that they were unable to make the marriage work. Pete eventually tells Addison that he went to bed with his wife on a Tuesday night and when he awoke the following Wednesday morning she was dead. He further states that no night was perfect during their marriage, not even their wedding night. This information was the most that Pete has ever divulged to any of his co-workers about his wife. During a second visit to his wife's grave, Pete unleashes his pent-up anger to his wife's headstone. After stating that Anna was "a mean, cold bitch" and that he hated her, Pete softens and apologizes for not being able to save her. Pete later reveals to Violet that at the time of Anna's death they had been trying to conceive a child.

Meg Porter
In season two, a mysterious woman from Pete's past appears in clinic and reveals surprising facts about his past. Meg Porter (played by Jayne Brook) is a Doctors Without Borders physician and Pete's former lover. They met when they were both residents and later worked together as Doctors Without Borders. Meg reveals to Pete's surprised co-workers that once during the war in Bosnia Pete (whom Meg calls Peter) refused to evacuate and, despite the mortar fire, stayed with sick children for the whole night, saving the lives of most of them. Later Pete told Meg, who has a smoking habit, that his wife was a smoker and she didn't quit the habit before she died. Despite their renewed relationship, Meg decides to come back to Ghana, where she works in malaria fighting program, but Pete asks her to come back to him, because she makes him happy. Despite that, Meg returned later to LA and even tried to give up smoking for Pete, the relationship didn't work. Meg wasn't sure if she wants to live in LA and Pete admitted that ever since his unhappy marriage he doesn't trust women anymore. When Pete and his Oceanside Wellness Group colleague Violet hooked-up, the relationship with Meg was definitely over.

Violet Turner
The relationship with Violet started with just sex, but later Pete realized that he wanted more. When he asked Violet if they could move to the next level and begin a real relationship, she turned him down, saying that she didn't trust him because of his past. But it was Violet's behavior that really caused the end of their relationship, when she started secretly dating Sheldon, the therapist from the rival practice, Pacific Wellcare. Pete ended their relationship because of Violet's infidelity. Afterward, Violet revealed to both Pete and Sheldon she was pregnant, and willing to raise the child, but ignored who the father was. Pete confronted Violet and said that he loved her and they could be a real family. Violet turned him down, but later she kissed him and told about her feelings towards him. In the end, Violet was kidnapped by her patient, Katie, who believed that Violet's baby was her own.

Pete found Violet lying unconscious on the floor of her house, bleeding to death. Katie cut the baby out of Violet and ran away with him. Pete saved Violet and together with Naomi rushed her to the hospital where Addison and Naomi operated on her. In the meantime, Katie appeared at the hospital with Violet's baby and was apprehended by Pete, Cooper, and security. While waiting in the hospital for Violet's surgery to be finished, Pete thought about their first meeting. They met just four days after Pete's wife's death, when Sam and Naomi, Pete's friends who just opened their private practice, recommended Violet to him as his therapist. Pete at first was reluctant to talk with Violet, but finally he opened to her and admitted that he hated his wife and argued with her all the time, even the night she died. The next morning, he was still yelling at her and only a few minutes later, he noticed that she wasn't answering because she was dead. Pete admitted that he was relieved after his wife's death and felt free. After that, Pete, who was the owner of an Infectious Diseases practice in Beverly Hills, decided to change his job, and started working in Oceanside Wellness Group as an Alternative Medicine specialist, where he still worked eight years later.

A month after Lucas's traumatic birth, Violet was still trying to recover and get over her trauma. Pete lived with her and took care of her and Lucas. Violet was not leaving her house and had panic attacks every time the doorbell rang. After getting advice from Sheldon, Pete decided to move out, to help Violet recover and push her to go outside. Violet realized that after traumatic events in her life, she couldn't bond with her baby and gave Lucas to Pete, asking him to take care of the baby.

A couple of weeks later, Sheldon requested a paternity test and it was revealed that Pete is the biological father.

A few months later, Violet returned and wanted joint custody of Lucas. Pete didn't want to let this happen and battled her in court. Their relationship was strained for a while until Pete discovered that Violet had changed and that she was a good influence on Lucas and him. After Dell's death, Pete and Violet decided to get married.

After Pete had his first heart attack, he started to resent Violet, believing she was coddling him, and that resulted in their seperation.

When Violet started seeing Scott, Pete realized he was still in love with Violet.

Eventually, after Scott and Violet broke up, Violet also decided that she was still in love with Pete. Pete and Violet attempted to go to couples therapy, but Pete decided that they were in love and that was enough for him. Violet still wanted him to work, for them to work and sort out their problems.

When Pete went out for his run, he texted Violet, telling her that he loved her. Concerned when Pete didn't show up for the hearing that he was meant to go to, she thought he had left. When she realized that Pete was dead, she told Cooper that Pete didn't look like Pete at all. According to her, Pete had always looked warm, even when he was angry, but now he just looked cold.

Career
Pete worked at the Oceanside Wellness Group as a naturopathic doctor and licensed herbalist. He graduated from medical school and practiced traditional western medicine for a number of years before spending five years in China studying alternative medicine. Pete’s medical practice combines eastern and western medicine in an integrative approach, and he is often asked to provide expectant mothers with holistic birthing plans. Pete has also lectured locally and internationally on the subject of Oriental and Eastern Medicine. He used acupuncture on Addison during her first visit to the Oceanside Wellness Group and made her release negative energy.

Before Oceanside, Pete owned a practice in Beverly Hills which worked in infectious disease. Pete also had training in critical care.

Pete was offered a job at Oceanside Wellness Group when the doctor they originally hired, a dermatologist, was sued for inappropriately touching his patient's feet. However, Violet had doubts as he was seeing her for therapy following the death of his wife. Eventually, Violet saw progress and allowed him to work at the practice.

In season three Pete has accepted Naomi's offer and left the Oceanside Wellness to start working in Pacific Wellcare; additionally, he has picked up shifts at St. Ambrose Hospital's ER, becoming employed as an attending critical care physician.

Notes and Trivia

 * Pete rode a Triumph motorcycle.
 * Before settling on the name Pete Wilder, the creators of the show considered and rejected "Pete Finch" and "Pete Fisher."
 * Pete couldn't parallel park to save his life.
 * Pete wanted a party instead of a normal funeral.
 * Pete never ate the crust off his pizza.
 * Pete loved mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Notable Episodes
These episodes are Pete-centric or otherwise very informative about his life.
 * In Which Addison Finds the Magic
 * War
 * Take Two
 * All in the Family
 * Can't Find My Way Back Home
 * The Hardest Part
 * God Laughs
 * And Then There Was One
 * True Colors
 * Gone, Baby, Gone
 * Mourning Sickness

Appearances
Pete Wilder