We are nothing without change.
Cells multiply and cluster from the moment we're conceived.
Biology shapes the smallest seed,
but fate can propel us in every direction,
without ever asking us which wind we wish to ride.
What are you doing up?
You know the rules of this hotel -
expectant mothers get their cup of tea in bed.
I know.
But me feel good today. Only a little bit of nausea
when me first wake up.
And it passed quite quickly.
You have a letter? Yes.
HE SIGHS
I've applied for so many jobs lately.
Maybe I'll open it tonight. Come.
I'm happy, and not in the mood to start the day with a rejection.
I don't see any rejection in here,
Cyril Alphonse Robinson.
What me see is an invitation for an interview
at the council offices on Tuesday of next week.
No... no.
The council job? Out of all the positions I applied for?
Why you sound so surprised?
You brush down that suit, and I'll iron whichever shirt
and tie you choose. I can't believe it.
Cyril, me have to get to work.
HE CHUCKLES
Do you mind if I do a quick detour
before I start my midwifery round, Sister?
Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and ye shall find.
Thanks.
I'm actually seeking a new pair of plimsolls for Collette.
They go back to school tomorrow, and she's grown out of hers.
Ah, back to school.
The joy never dims, year after year.
Nits by the end of the week and chicken pox within a fortnight.
Your steed is at your service.
You're most kind.
I checked the post and there's definitely no discharge paperwork
for Gordon Packer.
It all seems frightfully disorganised
for such a complicated case.
Good morning, district nurse calling.
I'm Nurse Franklin.
And I'm... I'm somewhat out of breath.
Lift out of order again? Yeah.
My turn now!
I remember you from when I had my eldest.
If you wouldn't mind wiping your feet up and disinfecting all over.
Of course.
Oh.
DOOR CLOSES Good morning, Mr Packer.
It's Nurse Franklin, Gordon, she was there when I had our Deborah.
That's more than I was.
I was sat outside working my way through two packets of Henleys.
I hear you've been in the wars, Mr Packer.
Did you fall from scaffolding? A crane, yeah. Bust my back.
Now I'm functionally paraplegic.
Well, you've certainly picked up the lingua franca.
15 weeks in hospital does that to a bloke.
It would have been longer, if they'd had their way.
They were about to send him to some long-stay place
out in the back of beyond.
We weren't having it, were we, Gordon? No, we weren't.
DOOR OPENS
BABY GURGLES
I'm taking tea and toast to Mrs Maguire,
and I thought you warranted a cup as well.
It's just outside the door.
You put me on bathing duties! It's hardly arduous.
You'll not say that when I bring you Master Chowdhury.
He's up to his little belly button in meconium.
And don't forget to drink this tea.
Keep your fluids up.
No!
Heavens to Murgatroyd.
May, you're going to have to let us look at it,
or we won't be able to make it better.
No! What on earth has happened?
Little May has met with an accident.
SHE CRIES
She may sound as though she's being disembowelled,
but I'm assured that's not the case.
CRYING CONTINUES
May, let Daddy have a look.
We were at the swings and the wooden foot rod in the roundabout
was so rotten, her foot went right through it.
She's gashed her ankle on a rusty bolt.
Let's clean the wound and prepare the injection.
The hospital would normally want you to be fully confident
with the use of a catheter before they let you home.
They would also have arranged for you to have a proper hospital bed
and other equipment.
I run a decent and very clean home.
If we need a few extras, well, that's where you come in, isn't it?
Absolutely, but these things can't happen overnight.
Nevertheless, we're here to help.
I need help changing the sheets and washing him.
He can't roll over and... ..I can't roll him.
Mr Packer, are you expecting to be in bed all the time?
You should be transferring to your wheelchair every morning.
I did in hospital, but there was room there.
You really will have to keep this in the flat.
Not only is there bubblegum stuck to the wheel rim already,
but your husband needs it.
It's not a thing I thought I'd have in my house.
I do understand.
Your husband has suffered a life-changing accident,
and it's changed your life, too.
It was my idea to bring him home.
But he wanted it as well.
We do things together.
We always have.
And if he'd gone to that country place,
he wouldn't have been back this side of next year.
Rehabilitation from spinal injury can take a very long time.
But he will gain new skills, and new ways of coping.
How, when they won't even send the physiotherapist round?
I can't get him to hospital if the lift's gone again.
Gordon cut short his physiotherapy
when he discharged himself from hospital.
But I'll see what can be arranged through outpatients.
I'll also do you a welfare referral, too.
You mean to a social worker?
DOOR CLOSES
Good gracious. Is this Deborah?
She's nearly 11 now, and fully house-trained.
SHE CHUCKLES
Put the Jaffa Cakes on the plate for the nurse,
then get the rest of it unpacked.
Social workers are for people who've made a mess of things.
That playground's always been a deathtrap.
First time I ever saw an open fracture
was when somebody fell off the monkey bars.
Well, that was probably daredevilry gone wrong.
This was wanton neglect of play equipment.
It was an accident waiting to happen, and it happened to me.
She'll be right as rain in a couple of days.
Nothing broken, and just one tiny suture.
But it's what it says to the children.
It's as though we're giving them a message
that this is all they can expect. And?
And I'm not standing for it.
Poor little May!
Ohh!
I must say, I think a jamboree jumble sale
is a splendid idea, Mrs Turner.
I mean, people seem to have so much more to throw away
than they used to. Exactly so.
Once upon a time, it was all make do and mend.
Nowadays they only wear something twice and it's on the rag pile.
Now, I can't make any promises, but if the funds raised
are going towards refurbishing the playground,
I can apply to the council for a matching grant.
I hoped you'd say that!
Although one would have thought playground safety
was the council's responsibility in the first place.
CLEARS THROAT
Mum says you can have a Jaffa Cake.
The nurse only ate one this morning.
Well, that's all the more for us, then.
Your eyes are watering.
It's the sunset - it gets too bright in here.
Because they're so high up.
Pull the curtains over.
I'm glad you came home.
So am I.
Matthew! What are you doing at the council offices?
Consorting with the enemy?
I'm trying to arrange some help for that family I told you about.
The fellow in the wheelchair?
Nothing was in place when he discharged himself,
and it's so much harder trying to organise these things
from the district.
But that doesn't mean I'm not going to fight his corner.
You're like the Little Red Hen sometimes.
"I'll do it myself," and so she did.
Less of the little, thank you.
I can be quite fierce when the need arises.
I know.
How do I look?
You look like an educated man.
Like a member of the professional classes.
And anybody who can't see that, I feel them blindness
and I feel them loss.
Mm-hm.
Good morning, Mr Packer.
Glenda just told me you had a restless night.
I had, uh, trouble with...
my back passage.
We managed. Once you're done, I'll get the twin tub going.
Or you could see to that now, if you'd like to.
I'll go over Gordon's bowel care routine with him,
and then we'll work on managing the catheter.
You'll have to show me how it's done. No!
I want to be able to do it myself.
That's the spirit.
I brought you some information from the welfare offices.
You might qualify for a home help, for example.
No.
No offence, but it's enough of an intrusion
having a nurse come round.
And this is what it's all about, isn't it?
In sickness and in health.
Sister Julienne has agreed to make Nonnatus House
one of two collection points for jumble and other donations.
This will be the other.
I'm afraid I don't consider that to be remotely wise.
Why not? This is a central location
with a good, steady flow of people passing through.
One, lack of space.
Two, potential tripping hazard.
Three, fleas. In warm weather, flea eggs can follow
an accelerated hatching pattern.
I shall ask Timothy to collect any donations
at the end of each surgery session and transfer them to Nonnatus House.
And I shall ask him to perform such tasks
only when he has seen to his other duties for the day.
I'm sorry this is such a struggle.
But if you don't work towards new goals, you are going to plateau.
This is still better than the hospital.
I'm at home with Glenda, and I've got the kids.
Glenda is a remarkable woman.
Go on, thrill me.
Is it nits or chickenpox?
It's more delicate than that.
Better come straight out with it.
I teach the fourth years.
The last class before they leave to go to secondary school.
And?
One of the girls started her...
periods, yesterday.
I found her crying by the coat pegs.
She had no idea what was happening.
The same thing happened just before the summer holidays
with another pupil. The blood...
came through her clothes in PE. Oh, the poor pet.
She thought she must have cancer. Oh!
These are girls of ten and 11.
Is something wrong with them that they keep starting so early?
No, Mr Wetherby.
But there is something wrong with the way they've been prepared.
SHE SIGHS
Mrs Pamela Heslop?
Doctor's ready for you. Can my husband come in?
Mothers-to-be only, I'm afraid.
Why do you want US to give the girls a talk about periods?
Haven't the council got any slides that you can show them?
I had a desultory flick through the brochure,
but all the educational material is aimed at girls of 15 or 16.
It's a bit flamin' late to tell them what Aunt Flo has in store.
I share your sentiments, Nurse Corrigan,
even though I wouldn't express them so... robustly.
I also think they require a thorough grounding in all the facts of life.
What, including... ..sexual intercourse?
I hope so.
I knew nothing. I was told nothing.
We all know how that ended.
Or what it began.
You're both much nearer to their age than I am.
You won't frighten them, and I think that matters.
The trouble is, Mrs Heslop, if you were under the consultant
in St Cuthbert's, he would insist on a hospital delivery
simply because of your age.
My Terry says this is what counts as a geriatric pregnancy.
My husband's an enthusiast, Dr Turner.
I quite like enthusiastic fathers.
This is his first.
He's like a dad to my other two, but this one's ours.
And if he wants to see it being born, then I want that too.
We do allow fathers in the delivery room at the maternity home.
Do you?
Oh, well, that's settled then.
As long as no complications arise.
But I don't see any trouble brewing.
Oh, and I have a letter for Nurse Crane. Hm.
Bless us, oh Lord, and these, thy gifts,
which we receive by thy bounty.
Amen. ALL: Amen.
I think little of his bounty when we are faced once more
with a repast of lettuce and tinned salmon.
It wasn't God that gave us all those tins.
It was the foreman from the fish factory.
His little boy was breech.
Besides, tinned salmon is absolutely chock full of vitamin D.
No rickets for us if we tuck in twice a week.
By my calculation, it is thrice already.
Oh!
Nurse Crane, is something amiss?
SHE GASPS
So often I've seen people run from the room
as though news were an animal from which they must escape.
If you wish to tell me what has come to pass, I... I can support you.
If not, simply know that you are upheld.
I think my life has just changed, Sister Julienne.
I've come up on the Premium Bonds.
I've won...
£5,000.
That's wonderful!
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, if I'd won £5,000,
I wouldn't go into a state of collapse.
I'd be running to Carnaby Street at 90 miles an hour.
You'd have thought somebody had died.
Ta-dah!
So this is the illustration of the womb.
Well, I had to do it big enough to be seen at the back of the class.
Do you think the fallopian tubes look a bit out of whack?
Well, fallopian tubes vary from woman to woman.
Besides, I had to do 'em like that,
otherwise I couldn't get the ovaries in.
Do you know what? I like it.
All the medical posters are covered in Latin.
They're not going to mean anything to girls of ten or 11.
This looks like a human being did it - not a doctor.
And what's more, I think we should wear plain clothing.
Me, anyway.
I always wear plain clothes - they're the only clothes I've got.
Shame you can't come up on the Premium Bonds.
I can't remember when I had a second glass of anything.
It's only cream sherry, and it's for shock.
I'd forgotten I even had a Premium Bond.
It was a birthday gift from Mother,
not long before she became bed-bound.
I was quite vexed with her.
All her life, she'd never so much as bought a raffle ticket.
And she would not have it that this was gambling by another name.
Well, I feel she would be delighted with the outcome.
Well, I feel mean-spirited because I'm not.
Why not?
Because I've worked so hard to put by a bit for my old age.
Putting five bob here and ten bob there into the Post Office.
The car has been my only luxury,
and I've mended the fan belt with my own support hose before now.
I ration my petrol as if it were still on coupons.
But starvation in one's twilight years
has always been such an intimidating spectre.
And all this time, I've had no need to fear anything.
There's things I don't know how to want,
because I knew I could never have them.
Well, good news isn't so very different to bad news.
One must adjust to both.
I ought to be over the moon, Millicent,
and I'm just in a quandary.
DOORBELL RINGS
Hello? Midwife calling.
Come through. She's been up all night in agony.
Terry, I told you I didn't need the midwife. It's just heartburn.
She's got through a whole tub of bicarb since last night.
Oh, and now I'm belching like nobody's ruddy business.
Off you pop - that tower block staircase won't plaster itself.
I promise you, Mr Heslop, she's in safe hands.
I'll start off some milk of magnesia
and check her blood pressure while I'm about it.
Oh...
No.
SHE CHUCKLES
What's all this?
Oh, I run a book-keeping business from home.
It's how I met my Terry.
He was keeping his accounts on the back of a fag packet.
Got himself in all kinds of bother.
Very enterprising of you.
Oh, I had no choice.
I had my two eldest in two years.
My ex-husband didn't earn much.
We couldn't manage, and my only job was factory shifts.
Shifts and babies just don't work.
No, I don't suppose they do.
I don't want you to think I'm grabby or a spendthrift, nurse,
but a decent life costs money,
and working around children is hard.
So I went to night school and retrained.
Good for you.
I'm slightly regretting my offer to act as collection point
for the rummage sale items.
This box contains a number of very personal... accessories -
none of which seem at all appropriate for sale.
Sorry. Those are the things we're taking to illustrate
our menstruation lecture.
At the primary school? Yes, Sister.
At the primary school. There's sanitary towels,
sanitary belts, pins, tampons and sanitary briefs.
Sanitary briefs?
Honestly, you'd be amazed how things have come on since your day.
SHOP BELL TINKLES
Fred, has any post addressed to me been delivered here by accident?
It's happened before, with the bill for my wedding suit
and that card from Lucille's aunt.
No, mate. Only I'm waiting to hear about a job. I'm sorry.
If anything arrives, I'll be straight up them stairs.
Thank you.
The most important thing to remember is that if ever
you are worried about anything,
older girls and other women will be so quick to help you.
OK? You don't ever be afraid to ask.
And speaking of asking, are there any final questions?
Carol?
If you get period pain, what tablets should you take?
Well, I find paracetamol better than aspirin,
but... but you could try either.
And you can try putting a hot water bottle on your tummy.
Mm. Mind you, that doesn't really work in PE lessons.
THEY LAUGH
Any more questions?
Very well. We've already told you about the questions box.
Anything that you feel too shy to ask out loud,
you can just jot down on paper and put in here. Anonymously.
Which means you don't have to put your name on.
Great. We'll read them all tonight
and we'll come back tomorrow with the answers.
I had wondered what you'd planned to do work-wise
once the little one arrived.
I wasn't planning that far ahead at first.
It was all so unexpected.
A bit like you and the Premium Bonds.
I'm not discussing the Premium Bonds.
A bit of good news doesn't have to alter everything.
But I can't carry on as a midwife once I've had the baby.
There's too much work, and the hours are completely unpredictable.
So what are you planning to do?
I'm going to train as a health visitor.
The hours are more regular, I'm not wasting my skills,
and I can still do the job I love.
Call me old-fashioned, but what does Cyril say?
I haven't told him yet.
I didn't expect this many. We mustn't have been very good!
"Do dogs go to heaven?"
We're teaching them the facts of life, not philosophy!
Oh, good Lord.
What?
"What happens to the egg shells?"
Oh, because I said that the man's sperm pierces the woman's egg.
Oh, God love 'em!
SHE CONTINUES LAUGHING
"How do you tell the NSPCC?"
Tell them?
Do they mean... ..make a report to them?
Yeah, they must do.
That's literally all it says. They haven't even left their name.
You could ask Mr Wetherby if he recognises the handwriting.
But they're all encouraged to use standard cursive in fourth year.
Every pupil's will look the same.
Well, what other clues could there be?
Bruises? Child cruelty takes many forms.
And not all bruises show.
One last question before we finish.
"Do dogs go to heaven?"
THEY LAUGH
Well, the answer is that everything with a soul goes to heaven.
And if the proof of having a soul is the ability to feel love,
well, dogs are very loving animals,
and therefore I think it's safe to say that they have souls,
and so they go to heaven.
There were one or two questions in here that we can't answer
because they're a bit more complicated.
So we're going to leave the box on Mr Wetherby's desk
and if you want to ask the question again,
you can just pop it in and put your name on it.
Even just your initials will help us to help you.
So...
you're training to be a health visitor?
This is news.
It isn't news so much as a plan.
A plan you already decided on. No.
We agreed long before we get married,
we will always discuss the future with each other.
There's not much point in building a shared life otherwise.
I hadn't thought about what would happen with your job.
It's not just a job, it's a career.
A career me travel halfway around the world for pursue.
You think I came in a 24 bus?
I travelled halfway around the world too.
But there's no "career" here for me, just a job.
Me not like the way you say that.
I don't like the way you talk about retraining
and requalifying without a thought as to how we're going to manage.
In the short term, we'll have to manage.
But in the long term, it would be the thing that make our life
as a family possible.
Meaning you don't trust me to be able to do that?
Meaning I don't expect you for be able to do that.
DOOR OPENS
Cyril... DOOR SLAMS
♪ When I said I needed you
♪ You said you would always stay
DOORBELL RINGS
♪ It wasn't me who changed but you
♪ And now you've gone away
♪ Don't you see that now you've gone
♪ And I'm left here on my own
♪ That I have to follow you
♪ And beg you to come home
♪ You don't have to say you love me
♪ Just be close at hand
♪ You don't have to stay forever
♪ I will understand
♪ Believe me, believe me
♪ I can't help but love you
♪ But believe me I'll never tie you down... ♪
TRAIN RATTLES
Evening.
Evening, Officer.
You got a home to go to?
Yes, I have.
So what are you doing here?
Taking in the air, doing a bit of contemplating.
I believe you - thousands wouldn't.
Move!
♪ God is all of my strength... ♪
DOOR CREAKS
SINGING CONTINUES
It's got the council frank on it.
I'm sorry, mate. It got put under a couple of copies
of the Morning Star.
We don't get that many communists in here these days.
I've got a job, Fred.
I've got a civil engineering job.
Oh, mate.
Have you got a hanky? I'm all right.
All the time...
All the time, in all the years since I arrived,
I never let one tear fall.
I wouldn't.
But now I can, because I am so all right.
All good things come to those that wait,
and those who go to night school!
Fred, I need flowers - very badly.
I got some roses coming out on the allotment.
Can I have some? Take them all!
HE LAUGHS
I'm sorry.
Me sorry.
And I have news.
Go straight there, and don't talk to strangers.
Good morning. We have had another night of it.
But we are managing.
I'm afraid the back of your pyjama jacket
isn't quite as fresh as it ought to be.
Let's change you out of it.
It might be nice to get an actual shirt out of the wardrobe today,
and perhaps a pair of slacks. I'll ask Glenda.
What's this?!
Oh, I took a tumble trying to get in the wheelchair.
This is not good enough!
I'm trying, I'm really trying.
Oh, I don't mean you.
I mean the so-called services - health and welfare.
You need better equipment, better support,
and some actual physiotherapy.
You have Sister Julienne's permission to leave everything
in the entrance hall.
But you may have to remind her if she has forgotten.
I'm afraid I have first call on Timothy's services,
and he is required to hand-deliver urgent samples to St Cuthbert's.
I was told someone had left a paisley eiderdown in here.
It's been doused in disinfectant and hung up on the railings.
I got it all over my trousers.
Tim, put the whole lot in the car. I will drop it off at Nonnatus.
You, come with me.
HE SIGHS
Just 15 minutes.
I'm overdoing it, aren't I?
May only sustained a minor injury.
I know. The accident will have to be reported to the children's officer,
next time they send a report to Hong Kong,
and her mother will ask how it happened
and why I wasn't taking better care of her.
The care you give all our children is exemplary.
If you ever feel that May's life with us is in any way wanting,
then try to remember the alternative.
I can't bear to.
I never want her to be let down again.
Nor do I.
But love should never be a prison.
Let her scrape her shins a bit.
We can kiss that better.
SHE EXHALES SOFTLY
BELL RINGS
May I help you? I'd like to see the housing officer
and the medical officer, please - I don't mind in which order.
They're both very busy men.
I'm sure the editor of the East London Gazette is a very busy man,
but I'm sure he'll make time for me
when I tell him of the disgraceful way an injured and disabled man
has been treated by this council.
KNOCK AT DOOR Come in.
You don't have to knock, Deborah.
Is there anything I can help you with?
It was me who asked about the NSPCC.
I've been turning it all over and over in my mind
ever since the day I got the news.
For a while, all I could see was bank notes.
And I'm not at ease with banknotes, Sister.
Some of us take a vow of poverty.
Others have poverty forced upon them.
I, for one, never know whether money or its absence
is the greater trial.
And then I thought, what if I approached every banknote,
every pound or guinea...
as an opportunity, instead of an imposition?
I would imagine that was almost as disconcerting.
SHE CHUCKLES
I thought of all the places I've longed to see
and never been to.
And all the holiday I've never taken.
You have weeks and weeks of holiday accrued.
As many as... six?
It actually may be a little more than that.
Because I found this motor-coach tour in the small ads.
It takes in Bruges, which I've always fancied.
Then Arras, Paris, Nice,
Montpellier and Spain.
If I could wish you Godspeed in Espanol, I would.
I'd be back by early November.
And a full week to set things straight before I go.
A full week! Mm.
I'll be back before you know it.
DOOR CLOSES
Are you sure I can't persuade you to come with me?
Oh, no!
I suspect the motor coach and I
might have a rather strained relationship.
I suffer appalling nausea if I'm not behind the wheel.
Very well.
But thank you for giving me the confidence to ask. Oh!
That's enough for now, pet. Button your shirt.
Deborah, you say it's your mother who disciplines you.
What does she... discipline you with?
The dog lead.
Your daughter, Felicity, she is Wiggles debutante of the year.
Yeah, she's having a going back in party...
LAUGHTER
Both children were treated for greenstick fractures
of the upper arm in the past three years.
And last Christmas, the little boy presented with a perforated eardrum.
There's never been any history of infection, so it could have been
caused by a blow to the side of the head.
Deborah described frequent beatings about the head for both of them.
The police will need to know all of this.
Nurse Franklin, were you detained somewhere?
I've been reading the Riot Act to the council offices,
demanding to know why Gordon Packer has ended up covered in bruises
and on the brink of clinical depression.
I thought she was the best wife
any man could ask for in this situation.
Capable, organised, and utterly committed to his care.
Were you aware of him suffering any injuries?
Yes.
He was struggling to transfer himself
into his wheelchair and he...
he had some bruising to his back.
Is it possible that Mr Packer may have been the victim
of domestic violence?
It is.
Oh. And what's more, I think he...
I think he may have been the victim of abuse.
They're the same thing, aren't they? Violence is always abuse.
Abuse isn't always violence.
I also think he's been covering for her,
and I don't know which is worse.
Are you all set up and ready?
Pamela Heslop's in labour.
I did ascertain it wasn't heartburn this time.
I do like Mrs Heslop, and her husband is sweet.
Well, find him something to keep him occupied.
I'll never get used to men in the room.
It's like letting a dog in a cinema.
And if tonight turns into a long haul,
you pick up that phone and send for me.
You've come about Deborah, haven't you?
Yes, we have come about Deborah.
She is always home by now. Has she been hit by a car?
What have I said?!
I told you, you are always to come home together!
Deborah has made certain disclosures to her teacher, Mrs Packer,
and WPC Fuller would like to discuss them with you.
Well, there are certain disclosures I wouldn't mind making myself,
like that child is liar. She is devious, dishonest,
and she is doing all of this for attention.
We have had trouble at home.
As Nurse Franklin will tell you.
But for all the trouble that child gives me,
I would never have sunk so low as to bring round the police!
It's all right, David.
Mrs Packer, I've spoken to your daughter
and I'm going to speak to you
and every other member of your household.
Nurse Franklin, can you inform Mr Packer
that I'll need to interview him? DOOR OPENS
You don't need to.
I heard what's happening through the door.
Glenda, before WPC Fuller goes any further,
I think you should show her what you just picked up from the table.
If you would.
A dog lead?
And we haven't got a dog.
I'm ready with the gas if she needs it, whenever she needs it.
Pam's been coping up very well with her contractions,
but you stay there, just in case.
I feel all bunged up, like I'm not opening out the way I should.
You're several fingers dilated, precious.
You're doing wonderful work. Oh.
But I'm afraid, Pam, you have what we in the trade call
a loaded rectum.
Is that dangerous? No.
It's essentially simple constipation,
but it's making you uncomfortable now,
and it might not be very convenient later.
I had enemas with my other two.
I'm not going to put you through that at this stage.
But we could try a suppository - that might help.
Mm. How long will it take to work?
Oh, does it matter how long it takes, Terry? I just want it out!
The stuff that's loading up the rectum?
No, the ruddy baby!
I'm sorry if it's not happening fast enough.
I'm sorry if it's boring and disgusting,
but that's what childbirth is like.
Mr Heslop, your wife is distressed.
Does she need the gas? No.
She needs some time alone with me, her midwife,
and for you to go and sit on the chairs in reception.
Oh.
Nothing but trouble, every single...
Where's Deborah?
She's being well looked after.
I can take you to join her, if you'd like.
But I can't leave my dad.
She... she might hurt him.
Very well, thank you very much.
You look at me...
If we could keep to the details.
What do you know about raising kids,
running a house, managing illness and filth?
I bet you aren't even married.
I don't see many good adverts for it. Neither did he.
Growing up, his mother wasn't even all there.
My mother was educationally subnormal.
He didn't know anything.
He doesn't now. Ate with his hands when I met him.
He'd never been shown how to eat with a knife and fork.
You were grateful to me for civilising you.
And doing better by our kids.
I wasn't grateful that you beat them,
and I wasn't leaving them alone with you
for one day longer than I had to.
Everybody smacks their kids.
All right? And you never said nothing
till you wound me up yourself.
Fractures, perforated eardrums and lashings with a dog lead
are a matter for the courts.
I think it's best if you come down to the station.
I shouldn't have snapped at Terry. I shouldn't have.
He wants to see this baby born so much.
And he still can, Pam.
But you can't be putting any energy into making sure
he has an enjoyable experience.
You have work to do, and so have I.
Am I being a difficult patient?
No, you are not.
Everything I do in this room is for you.
That is my task and my privilege.
For the next few hours, there is nothing and no-one
in the room that matters more than you
and the baby you are giving birth to.
Do you hear me? Yes.
Good. I'll be back soon.
I'll take a chance to spend a penny myself.
SHE CHUCKLES
DOOR CLOSES
Thought I'd take advantage of the kitchenette.
Do you have sugar, Nurse? One.
Nurse!
Ooh, ooh!
Ah, I've got to push, I've got to push, I've got to push.
Precious, stay calm and try not to push.
Blow. Ohh!
Like this.
SHE PANTS
Come on, girl, I'll do it with you.
Ooh... Ooh.
There's no need for me to examine you.
I can already see Baby's head.
SHE SCREAMS
Now, you just listen to me and do as I say.
Everything's going to be just fine.
Ohh. Ohh...
That's it - blow.
SHE EXHALES
There's scum on that.
Really?
It won't ever get to court.
He'll change his mind.
He'll probably change his story.
Love runs very deep in our house.
We nearly have this baby, precious.
This is the perfect position to get those shoulders out.
Oh, are they big? Is it big?
It's a rugby player!
BABY CRIES FIERCELY
It's a girl. Oh!
And she is beautiful!
HE LAUGHS
BABY CONTINUES CRYING
Bless you, Nurse Robinson.
You've got tears in your eyes.
Oh! I'm just going to clamp and cut the cord.
You should have called me before that delivery, not afterwards.
Come on, let's get these shoes off.
I'm worried about Pam's blood pressure -
it seems on the high side.
I've already checked it, it's coming down.
I think she might have a small tear.
It might need a stitch.
At the end of duty, I'm going to drive you home.
In the meantime, you will rest.
I will sort out Mrs Heslop.
And Miss!
I should have seen the signs.
In that flat.
Those children.
It's the way they looked - neat and compliant and...
frozen.
It's the look of a child who knows they're...
always standing on the edge of an abyss.
Are you trained to spot the signs?
Shouldn't have to.
I grew up feeling like that,
and all I wanted to do was to make everyone feel better.
You've never stopped wanting that, have you?
If I can find just one person
where the love and the empathy I feel
is equal to the difference I can make...
I wasn't ill, but...
you cared for me.
I didn't know I loved you then.
I'm not going to say, "Do you love me now?"
Because tonight...
I don't need you to answer.
But I am going to say...
I love you.
Because tonight I need you to know.
We're going to go through the list of names when she wakes up.
We both like Sharon, and Karen.
It's not like we can call her both,
because Sharon Karen Heslop just sounds daft.
SHE BREATHES RAGGEDLY
I think I'm miscarrying, Phyllis.
I think you might be right, lass.
It's like my whole period is coming at once,
all the pain and all the bleeding.
I think I need a receiver. I never had time to get one.
I'll fetch you one, lass.
SOBS
It's like a miracle, motherhood.
What about fatherhood?
It's just magic. Hm.
The ambulance will be here shortly.
Pound to a penny they'll give you a D&C.
But it looks so complete in the receiving dish.
You can even see the shape of it inside the sac.
I know.
There's just more bleeding than I think is entirely normal.
I think I might need a fresh pad.
I'll fetch you one.
And I'm going to call Cyril.
BABY CRIES SOFTLY
I'm really sorry that there's no lift.
At least it can't break down.
You can have home visits if you're housebound.
I can't afford to be housebound, mate, I've got two kids.
WHEELCHAIR CLATTERS
It's always sensible to check any discomfort
when there's a catheter in place.
But I'm seeing no sign of infection, I'm pleased to say.
You don't need any additional worries at the moment. No, I don't.
At least I know I can get here if I need to.
If I can look after myself, then I can look after the kids.
Are you going to press charges against your wife?
If she goes in front of the magistrates,
it might help me to get custody.
Although I hate that word.
It makes it sound like the kiddies are being punished.
When what you want is to stop them being brutalised.
I'd never met a manager like her.
Clean, neat, busy.
Sharp as a pin.
It was perfect.
Except it wasn't.
It's what you have to let them do to keep it that way.
I'm not going back.
She's not coming back.
And Debbie and David aren't going anywhere.
I need all the help I can get.
We will get you so much help.
We'll put you down for a ground-floor flat,
on medical recommendation,
and I will make sure that you are fully reassessed by St Cuthbert's.
They should never have let you out without a proper plan in place.
It was what Glenda wanted.
And I was worried about the kids.
I understand. I can't be less of a father than I was before.
I'm going to have to be more.
Well, that is the last time I buy a gross of Battenberg
from the cash and carry.
I've hardly sold any and they're all going stale.
Well, people have mixed feelings about marzipan. Hmm.
I've brought some jumble. Jumble?
Oh, well, you need to leave it in the porch
over at Nonnatus House, dear.
What have you found, then? Cricket pads...
comics, a teapot, and a skittle.
Can't have much of a game with one skittle.
Here, have a couple of gobstoppers.
If you'd have brought me a full set, I'd have given you a chocolate bar.
SHE CLEARS THROAT
I'm hoping Nurse Crane will perk up a bit
after a slice of this homity pie.
She looks completely drained after having been on hand
for poor Nurse Robinson.
Oh, such sad news.
And of course, none of us even knew she was expecting.
Is everything as it should be?
Oh, it's from my godmother, Daphne.
In Portofino.
She's seriously ill.
Is it visiting time?
I would have fought my way in if I'd had to.
But yes, it's visiting time.
Nobody's breaking any rules, Nurse Robinson.
I thought I'd be better at it.
At what? Carrying a baby.
Losing a baby, too.
But all my training...
all my expertise meant nothing.
You don't need to talk.
I couldn't prevent it, and I couldn't say, "Miscarriage happens."
Because it was happening to me.
And you.
Sometimes we don't get to be the expert.
When I'm pastoring, I'm full of all kinds of wisdom.
I say to people, "Have faith."
"Have hope."
"Be strong and courageous."
But when I'm down and nearly out...
I'm as human and helpless as everybody else.
Still not as though you're ashamed.
There's no shame in not winning.
Only in not waiting to see what happens next.
Are your godmother's doctors absolutely certain that it's cancer?
There doesn't seem to be any doubt at all.
Even so, if she has good support around her,
then she may do well.
But she doesn't have good support around her.
She's fluttered through life like some beautiful, vivid bird,
all gloss and plumage.
Sadly, that sort of existence doesn't give you roots,
or a home,
or anyone to care for you when you're wounded.
DOOR CLOSES
If you are called to go to her, you must respond,
no matter whether the invocation comes from her pen
or from within yourself.
Help!
It does come from within myself.
She's given me so much.
That dress allowance is no small matter.
Nursing me through the worst of my addiction
was no small matter either.
Help!
Stop.
Don't come down the stairs.
I'm holding what appears to be an unexploded incendiary bomb
left from the war.
We found two more skittles. Can we have a chocolate bar?
Go on, then.
Hup. Hup.
Careful. Come on, let's have a look.
SIREN BLARES
Please keep well back.
The device is on the table in a bucket of sand.
Army is on their way.
Past the cordon as quickly as you can, ladies.
You speak as if we have no experience
of ordnance and explosions.
May I remind you, we endured a war,
and emerged intact.
Please keep your children and animals with you.
What's happened to Nurse Crane?
We informed her of the evacuation plan,
but would she pay heed? Oh! She would not.
Put these on.
You can't be giving orders in your civvies.
Well, what about the trousers?
Well, you can change in the shed or behind the bins.
I've got my Rolodex!
Trixie! Matthew!
Oh, get behind the cordon!
This isn't Here To Ruddy Eternity.
There will shortly be a controlled explosion.
Three, two, one.
EXPLOSION
Battenberg cake. Get your Battenberg cake!
Fred Buckle!
You did not go back inside that shop.
Come on, Monty, what's the latest?
Sit tight and wait for the all clear.
It'll all be over by Christmas.
SHE CHUCKLES
I'm going to have to go, Matthew.
To your godmother?
In Italy.
I might not be able to cure her or save her...
but I can nurse her and cherish her
and stop her being lonely.
How long will you be gone for?
I don't know.
But I will be back.
I do know that.
Well, if you need me...
I will come to you.
I need you to stay here and keep my life warm.
People say love hurts.
That is not true.
Love that wounds is not love, but its opposite.
And if love cannot cure all ills,
it can heal, and it can strengthen.
Love is our blood and in our bones.
The question is not always who we love, but why,
not where we go, but when.
And how we stay tethered when our roots are torn
and we're scattered on the breeze.
What would we be without love, and what would be our purpose?
I'll be back.
Only the heart knows the answers.
Let it beat as it will, and as it must.
The heart is wise and will never lose its way.
There's someone among us about to meet our maker.
We're a collective.
How are you managing to cope in these conditions?
Free from what? All the rules on how we should live.
I wonder if her return has come too early.
Spiritualism is a religion, not a parlour game.
He's standing there right next to you.
Measles could be eradicated.