Call the Midwife s15e07 Episode Script

1
MATURE JENNIFER: There are
challenges that are eternal.
How do we stand
and face our fears and how do we let go?
We forge on because we must,
with weapons as fragile as courage,
as simple as work,
or as precious as compassion
for our fellow human beings.
These are the threads that bind
the very warp and weft of days,
the things we think we will remember
then move on from and forget.
(RETCHING)
(TOILET FLUSHES)
Oh, you poor child.
I'm pretty sure that's it for now.
Go and get ready. I'll cover for you.
Mum, what's going to happen
when they close the maternity home?
I wish there was a simple answer, May.
The truth is, nobody knows.
Will we have to move house?
No. This is our home.
And that's not going to change,
because Daddy
will still have his surgery.
I promise you, sweetheart,
everything will be all right.
Angela and me used
to do everything together.
Now we don't even get the same bus.
She'll be home tonight,
just as she always is.
And Timothy's back in London,
living at St Cuthbert's.
So that's good, isn't it?
I know.
New things are always hard.
Nurse Crane's been
held up at the maternity home.
She's asked me
to give out morning orders.
Sister Catherine, are you happy
to be on first call this afternoon?
Of course.
I was top of the call board myself,
but I now have a meeting
halfway across London.
Good morning, all.
Rosalind laddered her tights.
She's just sorting out a fresh pair.
Well, I hope she's eaten
a hearty breakfast.
She's going to be cycling
all over Poplar today.
- See you later!
- Six o'clock!
And don't be late!
KNOCK AT DOOR
Come in.
DOOR OPENS
HE CHUCKLES
Oh.
And it is wakey, wakey, rise and shine
for my favourite slugabed!
I bring grapefruit tea
and a French toast chaser.
Have I overslept again?
You're keeping not dissimilar
hours to Princess Margaret.
Although I am told her calling tray
has nothing on it
but black coffee and an orange juice.
She probably wakes up with a hangover.
I've never had a hangover.
HE GROANS
Are you getting a bad back
sleeping on the sofa?
I did think of sending for an osteopath.
Then I remembered I am one.
Well, I've slept like a log
every night since I came here.
It's like I'm getting over an illness.
You look to me as though
you are recuperating nicely.
Apart from the faintest
suggestion of a few split ends.
Dare I make you a little appointmentette
- at the salon on the corner?
- The hairdresser's?
Oh, no. I really don't think
I can go to the hairdresser's.
Not with my hair in this state.
In a moment, we'll be inviting
the ladies and gentlemen
of the press inside
to view the magnificent
ground-floor extension
funded by the bathroom grant scheme.
But first, I'd like to ask
Mrs Rhoda Mullucks,
who's here today with her
daughter Susan and son Paddy,
to say a few words about
how she and her family have benefited
from this council initiative.
This has been a really
fortunate development for us.
As many of you know,
Susan was affected by thalidomide
and we were struggling
a bit more than most
with the old outside toilet and tin bath.
- Hello, Mum.
- For those of you who don't know,
this is my second eldest, Perry.
He's at technical college.
My grandma was actually born
in this house,
and the addition of the bathroom
has brought us bang into
the middle of the 20th century.
What do you have to say, Susan?
It's fantastic.
LAUGHTER
In you go, members of the press,
straight through
to the back of the house.
Oh, and Mrs Mullucks' sanitaryware
is in a new colour called pampas beige.
So you might want to caption
your photographs accordingly.
Oh!
Come on, love. Let's bump you up.
Oh.
Oh
SHE GASPS
I can't believe
we're under notice of closure,
yet we've still got a cohort
of junior doctors coming in
for district obstetrics.
And all the more unsettling
because my own son's one of the doctors.
Oh, he was such a little boy
when he came into my life.
You were younger than he is now
when your path first crossed with mine.
And look at us now,
shutting up shop,
to all intents and purposes.
Where do you think
we'll be this time next year?
Possibly in a better place than this.
Possibly in a worse one.
- But not here?
- Shelagh
The council are not going to give
Nonnatus House any more money.
We'll have to see what God thinks
and what the order proposes.
Hurry up, please, gentlemen.
The mother is feeling the urge to push,
and Mr Parry wants all
junior doctors to be in gowns.
I'm sorry, Dr Turner, but I have begged
for an extraordinary meeting
of the Board of Health.
And Dr Threapwood says we have to wait
until the next one
is scheduled on Friday.
They might announce
more closures at that one.
There are half a dozen
other maternity homes
just waiting for the axe to fall.
Which doesn't give the board
the right to treat you,
or Nonnatus House,
like a canary down the mine!
Meanwhile, I fear
the fact that our GP practice
is remaining open
has confused matters,
and I'd expected some degree
of local uproar,
but no-one has so much
as started a petition.
The system we're heading into
is going to be so big
it dwarfs people's comprehension.
Then, by the time
they realise what's afoot,
their voices will seem too tiny
to be heard.
Well, my voice
isn't too tiny to be heard.
SHE CRIES OU
Now, Mother, let's concentrate
on the task in hand.
Less noise equals
more effective bearing down.
I'd do better without a ruddy audience!
Come, come. Just keep reminding yourself
you're making very satisfactory progress.
SHE CRIES OU
Now, once this contraction ends
and Mother has ceased her exertions,
would one of the gentlemen present like
to step up and describe what he can see?
Ah, Dr Turner Junior.
Rule one of obstetrics.
There is often something liquid
on the floor.
The foetal scalp
is not visible at the introitus
during the pause
between contractions, sir.
The presenting part is the vertex
in a cephalic presentation.
The head is beginning
to distend the perineum,
but the crowning has not yet occurred.
And?
Boy or girl?
It's reassuring to know your
expertise knows its limits.
LAUGHTER
PATIENT PANTS
SHE CRIES OU
Now, Lady Aylward.
Matron of the Lady Emily Clinic
for Women and Babies
does have rather a ring to it.
Yes, it does.
And I'd like to accept - with caveats.
You know I'll grant you
any caveat you desire.
I can't commence until the New Year.
I have to give in my notice
to Nonnatus House.
They're not in the best shape
at the present time.
BELL JANGLES
Had I to peal this bell much longer,
I would have been in need
of embrocation for my elbow
as well as assistance to the lavatory!
This means the diuretics are working.
Oh
And helping to cleanse your body
of all the excess fluid.
Ha. I am not in want of a biology lesson,
merely your aid!
It might be more convenient
if we set up a commode for you.
I have always prided
dignity above convenience.
I've spent the whole
of my career in the East End
..which equates to almost
all of my adult life.
You would have served less time
for murder!
I don't see it that way, Mr Scarisbrick.
It wasn't a sentence.
It was, and still is, a privilege.
And now our maternity home
is closing down.
And the domestic delivery of babies
could end up virtually outlawed.
Thank you, Peel Report.
I don't want to work in hospitals.
I want to get to know the women
I'm caring for.
I want them to feel safe,
as though birth is a miraculous
but normal part of life.
Soon I won't be able to provide that.
And in my view, that's a
..terrible loss.
I'm simply grateful we're able
to offer an alternative.
To those who can afford to pay.
Nevertheless, we have new
adventures to look forward to.
In due course, I'll have
something else to put to you,
but not today.
We have quite enough to celebrate.
Perhaps you'll allow me
to take you out to dinner.
Perhaps
..in a week or two.
Oh. Good evening. Is that the Gazette?
Oh, Miss Leverett. Glad I caught you.
Could you put me through
to Mr Reynolds on Features?
Paddy, what noise does a
- DOOR OPENS
- sheep make?
Baa!
Baaa!
THEY GIGGLE
I'm gonna have to take Susan
to the surgery tomorrow, Bernie.
That blister looks like
it's become infected.
We can't have that, can we? Hey?
What's the matter, my beautiful? Hey?
It hurts when I put the legs on.
Does it?
If I take her first thing,
can you drop Paddy at nursery?
Well, no, I can't. I've got a funeral
at ten o'clock out in East Ham.
Mr Albion wants us lined up
at the hearse by nine.
I sometimes rue the day
you took that undertaking job.
Well, it's a steady line of work.
You're drinking
more of that milk of magnesia
than you ever did when you were pregnant.
You're not trying to tell me
we got some news, are you?
Chance'd be a fine thing!
God, our Almighty Father,
we ask today for a blessing
to add to all the blessings
you have given us.
And as we thank you
for leading us to one another
and for letting us love one another,
enfold us, as my hands enfold hers,
and protect us,
as her body protects our child.
Amen.
Amen.
Oh, gosh
It is beautiful, isn't it?
I've always loved pearls -
the idea that, inside all that sheen,
there's a tiny speck of sand.
The heart of a pearl is
so much stronger than we think.
I didn't even know we
kept sherry on the premises.
When a house is a home
to a lot of young women,
it's always wise to be prepared
for a celebration.
I managed to grab some Twiglets
and smoky bacon crisps.
Fred sends his congratulations.
This is turning into quite the shindig!
Have you given any
consideration to a date yet?
I went to the register office
this morning
and filled in all the forms.
It's going to be in three weeks' time.
Three weeks?
And what of your parents?
Are they as delighted as we?
They don't know yet. Um
They've been away
on the school trip to Bruges,
so I'm going to call them tomorrow night.
They are educated
and they are inhabitants
of the modern world.
Congratulations.
- Congratulations.
- ALL: Congratulations.
I've stopped short of going
the full Vidal Sassoon
in giving you a geometric bob, but
..I think that's taken the curse off.
Farewell, split ends.
I've never had eggs
rubbed in my hair before.
- It felt quite nice.
- Trixie put me on to the protein rinse
when I decided to go long.
But Beryl
..now that you've had a rest,
we need to talk about the future.
The order want my answer in three weeks.
And what are you going to do
with those three weeks?
Are you just going to sit them out
indoors in the hope that
clarity will come floating
through the window?
Or are you going to try to live a little?
I think I'm living quite a lot
just being here.
Beryl, you know that's not true.
Today
..whilst I'm out
manipulating the vertebrae
of London's jet set
..I want you to make a list
of every single thing you wish to do
before you tell the sisters
whether you're going to leave or stay.
To what end, Geoffrey?
It may help you decide
..which sacrifice is bearable.
What do you mean, "Mayor turns midwife"?
You can't deliver babies, Mrs Buckle.
You're not qualified.
I'm not intending to deliver them.
The idea is that I follow you
and the other ladies round Poplar
as you go about your work,
lending a hand, you know,
as and when appropriate.
And getting photographed by the Gazette?
The Gazette feels
that it will draw attention
to the destruction of midwifery
services as we know it.
That I can't deny.
But so far, we've left the news
to seep out slowly
so we don't cause alarm.
Nurse Crane, in my opinion,
we need to cause alarm
to save the maternity home.
If people protest,
it might make a difference.
Mm.
SHE WINCES
How often do you wear
the artificial legs?
Every day. They make them
wear them at school.
There's three other thalidomide kids,
and the teacher says they all have
to set an example to each other.
What do you think about it all, Susan?
I don't really like them very much.
- The other kids?
- CHUCKLING
The legs.
They're heavy and they hurt
and they don't look like proper legs.
You're probably ready for a bigger set.
She's growing like a weed.
Um, while I'm here, Dr Turner,
I wouldn't mind some more
milk of magnesia.
Rhoda, you really need to get
that gall bladder removed.
You've been at the top
of the waiting list twice
and cancelled the operation both times.
I'm too busy, Doctor.
Belinda's away at university,
and I'm busier than ever, with
Paddy and Susan to look after.
I can look after myself.
Susan, you know that's not true.
And the campaign for compensation
has had so many ups and downs.
I'll write you a prescription.
It's cheaper than buying it
over the counter.
But promise me, the next time
your name comes up,
you'll get the operation done.
BABIES CRY
They don't complain like this
in male surgical.
BABY SCREAMS
He's hungry.
Oh. Sorry, mate,
we don't run to bar snacks.
BABY QUIETENS
The infant stomach
is a small fusiform organ
situated in the upper abdomen
..with a capacity of approximately 30ml.
HE LAUGHS
Anatomically,
it's comprised of the cardia,
the fundus, the body and the pylorus.
And the gastric mucosa
is capable of secreting
hydrochloric acid
What do you think you are doing
with that infant?!
I was comforting him.
His cry was quite high-pitched,
as though he might have colic.
SHE SIGHS
And he stopped
the moment you picked him up?
Yes, Sister.
He just didn't seem very happy.
A well-managed baby is a contented baby.
Doctors do not care for babies.
They diagnose them and they treat them.
And junior doctors
are on this ward to learn.
Sorry, Sister.
SHE SNIFFS
Ooh!
I don't know what's gone
on here. This one's covered
in lipstick and there's a whiff
of whisky! Oh!
SHE CHUCKLES
SHE SIGHS
Now, you don't get a belt or badges,
because you're not a nurse.
Your hair must be off your collar.
There's to be no coloured eye shadow,
and I shall be
inspecting your fingernails.
Not that we'd let you too near
the business end.
SHE CHUCKLES
I'm just so used to seeing you
do everything
the caring and the medicine all mixed up.
FIREWORKS NEARBY
In a perfect world,
the caring and the medicine
would always be mixed up,
and in obstetrics most of all.
Obstetrics in hospital
just seems like another branch
of surgery.
There are so many rules and protocols.
You'll be doing your rotation
on the district soon enough.
You'll probably wish
there were more rules then.
I just wish the maternity home
wasn't closing.
The maternity home
was an innovation once.
Practice evolves all the time,
and as a doctor, you have to lean into it
or medicine won't grow.
Sometimes change is for the better.
I mean, look at us tonight.
Putting on fireworks for the children,
just like we always have,
but timing them so Angela and May
don't miss their pop music programme.
If you're talking about
The Partridge Family,
that is not a change for the better.
THEY CHUCKLE
Looks like the Sunday Times
has come out on our side again
about the manufacturers'
latest compensation offer.
Them manufacturers, they want
the book throwing at 'em.
3 million quid for 400 children?
Arms missing, legs missing,
some deaf, blind.
I've heard the campaign leaders
say the kids deserve 20.
Million.
I'd never seen numbers that big
until we started this campaign.
And they'll never be big enough.
Money can't buy
what that girl will never have.
SUSAN SCREAMS
HE CHUCKLES
- SUSAN SCREAMS
- Susan, what's the matter?
She's screaming at David Cassidy.
Oh!
He's a pop star. You have to scream
when you see his picture!
SHE SCREAMS
LAUGHTER
David Cassidy!
I want to scream every time
I see his haircut.
It's better than that
T. Rex fella Belinda likes.
SUSAN SCREAMS
Our Susan's going to grow up soon.
- In't she?
- Well, I think it's happening already.
Right, Nurse Clifford, I'm assigning you
to juice and milk tokens.
That way you can show off
your engagement ring.
Thank you, Nurse Crane!
Are you ready with
the petitions, Miss Higgins?
I have personally typed up four copies
to be presented to the board,
and they will be circulated
- while clinic is in progress.
- Oh, I'll
Mrs Buckle!
And a gentleman of the press,
unless I'm mistaken.
You are most welcome.
Oh!
SHELAGH LAUGHS
I've drawn up a list of suitable poses,
but first, you'll need
to help me with the hat.
I'm telling you now,
you'll not last long
in a slingback court shoe.
KNOCK AT DOOR
You may enter.
I brought you some chrysanths, Sister.
They're still coming up lovely
on the allotment.
There was an earwig in the last bouquet.
I watched him climb from
petal to petal for an hour.
It was so like being out in nature
that I almost fancied
I felt sunlight on my face.
Would you like us to get you
into the garden, Sister?
I could light the brazier.
You could have a blanket
- on your knees.
- I think you mistake me for one
..elderly and frail.
Never.
I'm sorry to confess it
..but I do not think my feet
will carry me.
Sit with me for a while.
PHOTOGRAPHER: That's right.
Give me the joy.
Give me the excitement.
Trouble with this is
..we do our most important work
when people aren't smiling.
FOOTSTEPS
Um
Do you reckon Sister Monica Joan's
fading, Sister?
She's certainly weakening.
And the worst thing is she knows it.
She must be getting scared.
Not of death,
but
..letting go of life.
And life means so much more than
breath and a heartbeat.
It's
..independence and company
..and joy.
Even nuns take pleasure in things.
And with every day that passes,
she's denied a little more.
Maybe it's time to move the telly
to her bedroom.
That said, I don't even think
the TV will perk her up.
It's only the test card half the time.
We need to get her outside.
Why aren't you and Cyril
making this call together?
Cos, in case you've forgotten,
my parents haven't spoken to him
since the day I introduced them,
which was also the day they
said he wasn't the man for me.
I think I need to break the ice.
Honey, you're going to need a pickaxe.
My mother and father
aren't bad people, Joyce.
They're just very blinkered.
And my marriage is their chance
to see things a different way.
You're a good child, child.
SHE SIGHS
My name's Bernie. I'm an alcoholic.
I used to be a warehouseman
..before they closed
the docks. I was good at it.
Things on shelves,
things in boxes.
Lists to tick.
I was in control.
And then I lost my job.
And I have to have a reason
to get up every morning,
to get dressed, go out,
or else the drink comes creeping in.
So, when Mr Albion offered me a job
..I thought, "Yeah. Things in boxes.
"That feels familiar."
I didn't know
that I would find my calling.
That it would make me more human.
That it could make me feel so much.
And you don't feel much
of anything at all,
apart from safe, in a warehouse.
SHE SOBS
Rosalind!
A little while back
..we had to take care of
a family who'd come to grief
in their own home.
Carbon monoxide.
It took a mum. It took a dad.
It took a little girl.
And the little girl was the same age
as my youngest daughter.
Even their names were nearly the same.
Suzanne instead of Susan.
And her hair.
I had to wash and brush
..her hair.
But it was when I was washing her feet
that I thought, "These
"..perfect little feet
"..will never go dancing."
We all found that one hard.
It was a hard job.
But I can't put
HE CLEARS HIS THROA
..those feelings on the shelf
..that keeps things safe
..because my Susan's feet
..they'll never go dancing either.
Her hands
..never wear a wedding ring,
never hold a child.
And I love her so much.
Every imperfection she has
is beautiful to me.
There are days I think I just
live to see her laughing.
And sometimes
..sometimes, when
..when I stop to look at her
..my heart stops.
But I know that I am not at ease
..with
..with what was done to her.
Because sometimes
..I
Sometimes I compare her to the dead.
SHE SOBS
Rosalind.
A telephone call
we could have made together,
telling news we couldn't deliver
in person
was never going to end in happiness
for anyone involved.
I suppose I just thought that
the niceness I'd always seen in them,
the general decency
they'd always shown
..would somehow come out on top.
But it didn't.
What did they say about the baby?
Nothing.
Because I didn't tell them.
Rosalind, the baby is more
important than the wedding.
I know that. I just
It's agony enough having them
reject the man I love.
I'm not going to give them
the chance to reject our child.
One "Buy a new dress."
Oh, Beryl! Well, that's a bit basic.
I have put "not in navy blue"
in brackets.
I'll add, "Mustn't go with a wimple
and lace-ups."
I could see you in tiger-print chiffon.
No, I don't think
animal print ever really works
if you're bigger than the actual animal.
The only member of
the feline species you outrank
in the size department is tabby cat.
The door is wide open for tiger print,
and, indeed, leopard!
No. Two
"Drink wine
"..while making crepes fruits de mer
like the Galloping Gourmet."
Well, I can put a line through
that one after tonight!
And we'll get the scorch marks
off the frying pan eventually!
Three
Oh "Earn some money."
How am I going to earn money?
Sing hymns in the street
and put a hat down?
Hmm. I need a secretary.
You could be the Miss Higgins
of Harley Street.
I don't have a felt hat
or a petrifying manner.
No, no, no, it makes perfect sense.
I hire space in three sets
of consulting rooms,
and I'm always missing calls.
Do say yes.
Only if you forgive me
for the frying pan.
I'll do more than forgive you.
I will buy you a felt hat
and an ocelot two-piece.
SHE RETCHES
SHE GROANS
SHE CRIES OU
Hell's bells! Rhoda!
SHE GROANS
What-what-what's happened?
SHE CRIES OU
- What's the matter?
- The pain!
- What?
- The pain!
And I can't stop being sick!
CHILD CRIES
You've woken up Paddy now.
- He's got nursery in the morning.
- I'm going to call 999.
SHE GROANS
SHE CRIES OU
Thank you for attending
this seminar today, gentlemen.
This practice was established in 1947
under the auspices of the then
new National Health Service.
And the maternity home
was opened in 1958.
Is it true that it's due to close down?
Yes, in a word.
Do you have any questions
relating to your training?
Do we have to ride bikes?
Proficiency in cycling
is considered an advantage.
Evolution gave you two hands,
Dr Drinkwater!
Can we see one on each handlebar, please?
Now, gentlemen,
if you would all oblige me
by signalling
as if you were turning left.
- WHISTLE BLOWS
- That's the other left,
Dr Turner Junior.
- Oh
- Sorry.
He was like that as a little lad.
I had him in Cubs.
WHISTLE BLOWS
Any oil left in that can, Fred?
They're going to operate tomorrow,
take the whole thing out.
I know. And the nurse says
that it's worse
because it's an emergency.
Dr Turner's not getting on at you
for the good of his health.
It's for yours.
- And you ignored him.
- I've got too much to do.
Now you've got too much to do.
- I'll cope.
- Pff!
Your sister's going to come
and pick up Paddy.
Mavis? Oh, I'll have to give her a list.
About Susan.
It's not the most luxurious
mode of transport
but, with a couple of cushions,
it'll be just the job
for taking you out in the fresh air.
By fresh air, do you mean in public?
Sister, you need stimulation,
and you're capable of embracing it.
Why, then, did you bring
that infernal television
into my chamber?!
It is the equivalent of putting
straw down in the street
so a moribund patient
will not be disturbed
by the carriage wheels!
You make all these gestures
because you think
I am not long for this world.
Can you not see
that all of these gestures
are because we love you?!
I have neither the time or the temper
to engage in violent sentiment!
Love is not violent, Sister.
Love is patient and love is kind.
And sometimes love pushes us to places
where we do not wish to go!
I thereby refer you to my feelings
regarding that conveyance!
She was as mulish
as I have ever seen her,
and I came as close to
losing patience as I ever have.
When I was in formation.
Mother Albert used to say
that our greatest trials
would always come
from within our family circle.
I've had flesh and blood sisters
as well as sisters in Christ.
The thing is,
you don't have to forgive
the flesh and blood ones.
You can just roll around on the floor
and smack each other and forget.
That sounds quite appealing.
BELL JANGLES
Sister Catherine,
I'm afraid I have to increase
your nursing duties.
Mother Mildred has asked me
to go to the mother house
to discuss plans for our missionary work.
You've always said
we are missionaries here.
And there's a whole world
in need of healing.
Let us see what is proposed.
- RECEIVER PICKS UP
- Belinda?
Hello, love.
Yeah. We need you to come home,
er, help look after Susan.
- Did Mum say that's what she wants?
- Er, no.
She wants you to prioritise your studies.
- It's me. I'm asking you.
- Then I'm doing what Mum wants.
I I wouldn't be at
university if she hadn't worked
so hard to help me. I owe it to her
to work hard and make
the most of the opportunity.
- But what about Susan?
- I can't, Dad.
I just can't.
You don't have to stay here
for this, Rosalind.
FOOTSTEPS ON STAIRS
From now on,
we share all the hard things.
KNOCK AT DOOR
So, Pastor Robinson, Rosalind.
What's all this?
We wanted to talk to you about
the engagement
and the wedding.
This is the wedding that's
taking place in three weeks' time?
Less than three weeks now.
And you think
I don't have eyes in my head?
There's a look to young mothers
even before their bodies tell the tale.
Have you guessed, Mrs Wallace?
I have.
I must have said some terrifying things
in your imagination.
Yes.
Then let that be your punishment.
Now make me a cup of tea.
I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden
Along with the sunshine
There's gotta be a little rain
sometimes
When you take you gotta give
So live and let live or let go
Whoa, whoa, whoa
I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden
I could promise you things like
big diamond rings
But you don't find roses
growing on stalks of clover
So you better think it over
Well, if sweet-talkin'
you could make it come true
I would give you the world
right now on a silver platter
But what would it matter?
Gotta be a little rain sometimes ♪
This newspaper story
certainly made a splash.
Will it make any difference,
do you suppose?
My dad went along with it,
but I don't think he's very optimistic.
I keep feeling as though
I should be helping you.
You're a junior doctor now,
not a student.
No donkey work allowed.
DOORBELL RINGS
There's some sort of spring
sticking out of this saddle
and into my backside, Joyce.
District work is all about determination
in the face of challenge.
And if you can't get on board with that,
you're not getting your red cardigan!
I feel for the pair of them, Mrs Wallace.
Nothing takes the shine off a wedding
like parental disapproval.
It was always going to be under a shadow
because of Pastor Robinson's divorce.
But he deserves as much
happiness as any other man
now his mistakes are behind him.
I don't think his marriage to Lucille
was a mistake, Mrs Wallace.
It was never a union without love.
What it was was a union without luck.
Perhaps matters would have
turned out differently
if they'd been able to have a child.
A baby is always a blessing.
And now we must look to the future.
Let us say nothing further.
Meanwhile, hastily arranged
though it may be,
this is Rosalind's first wedding.
How do we make it special for them?
How do we make up for the fact
that her parents
have treated them so coldly?
It's simple enough, Nurse Crane.
We show them love.
Nurse
Nurse! My wife is on the second floor.
- I will take you to her.
- That's OK, honey.
Let us park these bicycles
and we'll head straight up.
This is young Dr Turner, by the way.
- A doctor? Yes?
- He'll be working under my supervision.
CLATTERING IN KITCHEN
WOMAN COUGHS
Do you have running water, Mr Das?
We have only one room. We use this tap.
WOMAN COUGHS
BABY GRIZZLES
Oh, Nurse Highland?
- It's Mrs O'Dey, isn't it?
- Yeah.
I remember you from the clinic.
You couldn't come and look
at my little Barry, could you?
He don't seem right.
I'm on my way to a lady in labour.
What's the matter with him?
It's like a cold and a bit of a cough.
Please.
MRS DAS GROANS
I can hear her crying out.
Have you taken him to the surgery?
I haven't got the bus fare.
- I don't get my money till tomorrow.
- Please.
- MRS DAS GROANS
- I'll pop down later, honey,
when I get the chance.
MRS DAS GROANS
I'll have to run
or the chippy will be closed.
Do you want cod or haddock?
Cod, and get haddock for Dad.
He's hungry when he comes in
from picking up dead bodies.
I'll be back in ten.
- DOOR CLOSES
- Perry!
My Jackie magazine's
still in the bedroom!
SHE WHIMPERS
DOOR CLOSES
Thank you.
My husband cannot touch me now,
even though he wishes to.
Are you Hindu, Mrs Das?
Yes. And we are Bengali.
We could not stay
in our own country any more.
Don't worry about where you've come from.
The only thing that matters tonight
is what's going to happen in this room.
I should not be here.
No man should be here
unless he is a doctor.
But I have nowhere else to go.
And I do not want to leave her.
We could rig up a screen.
I can go out onto the landing
and requisition a bit of washing line.
You get cracking,
but I need you back quickly,
or this won't count
towards your rotation.
DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES
SHE PANTS
STAIR CREAKS
SHE SCREAMS
HE PRAYS, SHE GROANS
Now, with this next pain,
I'm going to need a really
long, strong push from you, Ranjini.
- I am too tired.
- You're stronger than you know.
And you've come further
than you think already.
Ha! This one talks a good talk.
Let's see if we can prove him right.
Help! Help!
SHE GROANS
That's excellent, Ranjini.
Excellent.
Check for descent of the head.
SHE GROANS
It's crowning.
SHE SHRIEKS
Baby's head has been born, Ranjini.
It's resting right here in my hand.
- KNOCK AT DOOR
- Help! We need the nurse!
HAMMERING AT DOOR
Do you mind? A lady
is having a baby in here.
Her kid's stopped breathing!
RANJINI GROANS
MRS O'DEY: Help!
Just rest, Ranjini.
Just rest.
And I'll talk you through the next bit.
Help! Help! Barry!
What's all this, young man?
You OK?
What happened? Did he choke on something?
It was just like he was just choking
and then he just stopped!
Why has he gone blue?
Somebody call an ambulance!
SHE BLOWS
This is just your baby turning, Ranjini.
- BABY CRIES
- Everything's OK.
Barry, Barry, Barry!
Is he breathing? Is he breathing?!
Oh, it's not working!
He's going all blue!
He's going all blue!
Did somebody call an ambulance?
MRS O'DEY SOBS
- RANJINI GROANS
- Almost there.
This is it, Ranjini.
BABY CRIES
SHE CRIES OU
And you have a little girl.
BABY CRIES
MRS O'DEY SOBS
I'm not going to stop
until the ambulance gets here.
SHE BLOWS
BABY CRIES
Where is the midwife?
Ranjini
I'm going to have to give you
an injection.
SHE SOBS
BABY GURGLES
Oh! Is he OK?
BABY CRIES
He'll need to go to the hospital
and be checked.
Thank you.
Don't suppose many house calls end up
with two ambulances arriving?
Well, that baby seems to have had croup,
and they do bounce back from that.
And Ranjini will be all right
after a blood transfusion.
I froze for a moment.
But then it was like
my heart rate shot up
and my brain kicked in.
That would be the adrenaline.
I wonder if anyone's
ever done blood tests
on doctors immediately
after a crisis situation.
That might make an
interesting research paper.
Yes.
Belinda
I can't show you the bruises
your sister has all down her back.
But I'm telling you,
you have to come home!
You said I was to throw
everything I've got at university.
You said it was something you never had.
This isn't about you.
And it isn't about me.
This is about Susan!
Rhoda Is all this shouting
really necessary?
Everything is always about Susan.
And I know you love her as much as us.
There are essentially two ways
of approaching make-up.
One can purely use it to disguise
nature's shortcomings,
or push things a little further
and deploy it as a sort of costume.
You mean like a disguise?
No.
People hide behind disguises.
Bold lips and defined eyes can
bring out our inner confidence.
Try putting this on -
by yourself this time.
And then I'll show you how to blot.
Do you ever have to bring out
your inner confidence?
More frequently than you might imagine.
It's jolly hot in here.
Bear with me a moment.
It's the excitement of seeing
yourself transformed perhaps.
No, no. I suspect it's something else.
It's passed now.
Let's get on with your nails.
And before we turn our attention
to the riveting recent investigation
into unlicensed butchery operations,
we have item five on the agenda,
the closure of Kenilworth Row
maternity home.
Which counts as unlicensed
butchery all on its own!
- OTHERS: Hear, hear!
- Thank you, Turner.
Any comments from the wider committee?
Yes, from me, Dr Threapwood.
This is what midwifery
looks like in your district.
And this is what local people
think about your proposal.
The women of Poplar know how vital
and how valuable the sisters are.
And you're closing them down, too.
This is the direction of travel
dictated by the National Health.
Meanwhile, Turner, rest assured that
even as you progress to this next phase,
we continue to learn from you.
Will you be watching
to see what goes wrong?
Because there'll be plenty.
May we move on now to item six?
I will pray for you
when I say the offices.
You will not be as alone
in the chapel as you imagine.
Oh
Keep the home fires burning
and all of that.
I will telephone from the mother house
if there is anything to report.
CHILDREN PLAYING OUTSIDE
BALL BOUNCING OUTSIDE
Come on, shoot!
CHILDREN LAUGH
Are you happy to take
your diuretics with just water?
Or would you like me
to make some hot blackcurrant?
I require no beverages
for I will take no pills.
But the treatment is working.
It is not treatment.
It is merely postponing
all that is to come.
You would have me out in nature
..but I would sooner
admit nature into this room
..and let it take its course.
Sister, I'm speaking to you
nurse to nurse now.
If you refuse your medication,
you will progress
from chronic kidney disease
to end-stage renal failure very rapidly.
And what if that
is what the Lord intends?
SHE SOBS QUIETLY
Sister Catherine?
What's this?
I chose this life
because I wanted certainty.
There was work
and a rule of life,
and there was faith
to knit it all together.
But now nobody is where
they ought to be and
..we don't know what's coming next.
Sister are you doubting your vocation?
No!
I have made my vows.
And those vows
are indivisible from my soul.
But if I felt I could leave
..I would leave
..because right now it would be easier.
It would not. I can promise you that.
- I'm sorry
- Oh
But
..just now, just today
..I feel so alone.
I'm almost at the end
of Harry's new jumper.
I suppose I'll be casting on
for Rosalind's baby after this.
There is going to be a baby, isn't there?
- Of course there is.
- Oh!
The girl's been locked
in the bathroom every morning.
SHE SIGHS
There's so much change afoot.
Phyllis, I often find
people speak of change
as if they're speaking about rats,
as if change is something
hiding underneath the house,
attempting to get in
and gnaw at all that we hold precious.
Perhaps we would be better
to compare change to the birds.
- Enlighten me.
- Well
..birds do what birds will.
They carry twigs in their beaks
and seeds.
So they build nests
and sow flowers -
however accidentally.
Maybe you should put that in a poem.
DOORBELL RINGS
Good things can come from birds.
And it's the same with change.
DOORBELL RINGS
DOOR OPENS
Oh, it's Mrs Turner.
FOOTBALL RESULTS ON RADIO
DOOR OPENS
- Is that Belinda?
- I don't know, darling.
Hello?
Hey, welcome home, love.
That what I think it is?
I'm eight months gone.
I managed to hide it
over the summer holidays.
And then once I went back,
I thought I'd be safe.
I thought I wouldn't have to tell you!
And then I had to come home
because of Susan!
BELINDA SOBS
It's all right.
DOOR OPENS
MATURE JENNIFER:
Often, a fear faced up to
is a fear outgunned,
and love expressed becomes
love doubled and ignited,
whether we light the fire
through words or deeds.
There is always a way ahead,
a route through the woods,
a path that leads us
to the place we need to be.
We listen always
for the voice that calls us.
But sometimes the love
speaks loudest as we let it go.
I have news to impart.
Would you consider entering
into partnership with me?
I'll never finish with God.
Thank you for your patience, ladies.
- May I present the bride?
- I would like you
to summon someone
from this establishment.
Albion & Sons is an undertaker's.
And every bed, kidney bowl
and set of clamps is staying
on these premises
until the last mother and baby
go out of those doors!
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