Call the Midwife

Mature Jennifer, voiceover: The ordinary seldom seems miraculous.

The slow, steady circling of the hands on the clock face, each time of day with its appointed task.

To ask us if we love the daily round is like asking if we cherish breathing.

We let our routines nourish us without a second thought.

This is who we are.

-This is what is needed.

-[Baby cooing] This is what we do.

Ahh... tea, best drink of the day.

Ooh.

Fetch a packet of Eccles Cakes.

Cyril's back from his conference today, so I've ordered in his 'Guardian'... Fred, there's water coming out of the ceiling.

Oh, flippin' heck.

[Sighs] It's one minute past.

Sorry, Nurse Crane.

Sister Catherine: It's my fault.

I went to see if there was any post.

And... we've had a card from Sister Veronica in Hong Kong.

Post on the sterile surface?

[Clicks tongue] Hmm.

'Christopher doing nicely.

New hibiscus clinic thriving.

Sister Hilda in her element'.

'Element' underlined.

We may now turn our attention to the particularly trying day we have ahead.

Do we really have to move clinic to the annex at St Cuthbert's?

The Board of Health have given us no notice.

Dr Turner has tried his utmost, but there's been no reprieve.

Joyce: I know that annex.

The screens and equipment are totally inadequate.

We'll be taking our own accoutrements, don't you worry.

Meanwhile, we do have both Nurse Aylward and Nurse Clifford coming back today.

Will you get a chance to go to bed this morning and catch up on some sleep?

No.

I'm going to meet Miss Higgins and try and lick these new arrangements into shape.

You do have to wonder what it all bodes.

I keep thinking about how we counted every step all the way to the top of York Minster.

And now I'm counting every step all the way back to your front door in Nonnatus House.

There are hardly any left before it's over.

It was a beautiful view from the top of York Minster.

And nothing is over.

It felt like another beginning, didn't it?

Yes, it did.

Let's go and make another cup of coffee before we go back to the ordinary world.

[Chuckles] You think it's rats, Mr Buckley?

Nasty, greedy things, gnawing at things with their incisors.

It's lead pipe.

If they gnaw that, they'll get poisoned.

I want them poisoned.

I use this flat for prayer meetings.

It's not from rats.

It's just... The solder's perished.

It's like tissue paper, this, Fred.

[Sputtering] Oh!

[Laughs] Hang on.

[Straining] Look.

I reckon you need to pull all these out, refit it with proper plastic.

Or just put something on it in the house.

Did you hear?

We're moving back to Poplar.

Moss Street.

Oh, so it didn't rain long then.

No!

Never mind your little chitchat.

This young man is wheezing like a creaking gate.

Hey, use your inhaler.

Son, it's alright.

He just gets like this every time we pull up floorboards.

He-- he's alright.

[Inhaler discharging] [Rosalind giggling] Hello, Mrs Wallace.

Fred.

What's all this?

Greetings, Pastor Robinson.

And greetings, Rosalind.

You didn't see the plumber's van outside?

Perhaps your mind was on other matters.

Good afternoon, Miss Higgins.

I've been sent to hold the fort while you're at clinic.

Master Timothy Turner!

Or... should that be 'Doctor'?

A little bird informed me that a certain set of examinations have not only been passed, but passed with flying colours.

Yes.

The pen you gave me stood me in very good stead.

Of course, I won't be writing any prescriptions out with it until I'm formally qualified.

All good things will happen in time.

[Baby shrieking] [Children laughing] Mrs Hennessey, we discussed the merits and demerits of peanut butter jars last week.

Leave your sample with me.

And if you cannot find a seat, you may queue against the wall.

I'd be extra alert for signs of protein in that one.

Wha-- And diabetes in the rosehip syrup bottle.

Honestly, Aisha, I'm still a bit full from our lunch.

Feed mother, feed baby.

Maybe I'll just nibble on one, while I'm waiting.

Ruth Khan?

Oh, hello, Ruth, dear.

I'm sorry, we're still finding our feet in our new location.

Sister Julienne will see you behind the screens in the far corner.

I come?

I have to go in on my own.

You know the drill.

Is there somewhere I can put this?

Erm... A paper towel, perhaps?

I was thinking more like the bin.

I love this sort of food, but my mum-in-law keeps trying to feed me, and I'm not that hungry.

We do advise small, frequent meals at this stage of the pregnancy.

[Baby crying] Nurse Crane said that in Mothercraft class.

I had to translate it for my mother-in-law, and I think she only heard 'frequent'.

I don't think it'll be too long before baby puts in an appearance.

Have we delivered the home birth pack to you yet?

No.

I'm so glad I'm having it in my own bed.

Babies are born at home in my husband's tradition, and I was born at home with Nonnatus, Nun, so it's something that sort of makes us the same.

I'll pop by tomorrow with the pack, and then we'll be all prepared.

[Both chuckle] [Baby crying] Kindly desist forthwith.

Those cards contain confidential medical information.

I work for the National Health Service.

In which case, I should not need to point out the proprieties.

I'm starting to think we were moved here for a reason.

Now we're on National Health premises, can't they just breeze in at will?

It's the thin end of the wedge.

If they want information about our district cases, then they should put in a formal request.

The administrator claims they can demand access without notice.

But as we have previously discussed, we are under no obligation to do everything they ask.

[Divider rattling] I'm not sure she's any nearer to deciding... Whether to accept the new rules or close Nonnatus House.

Shelagh, if she delays any longer, it won't be up to her.

And what happens after that will happen to us all.

Are you not partaking in pudding, Sister?

[Stammering] Can it be preserved?

I find my appetite does not keep the hours that once it did.

I will put some foil on it.

The standard of cakes has gone right down while Sister Veronica's been away.

[Laughs nervously] This is the second time this week I've made a sponge so bad we've had to pour custard on it.

You pour away.

Custard's one of the things I miss most when I'm in America.

Is there anything else you yearn for whilst you are overseas?

I could be flippant and say lemon curd and electric kettles.

But, above all else, I miss the respect for midwifery we're so used to over here.

May I suggest we turn our attention to the matter of St Raymond's feast day?

There will be the usual Eucharist in the chapel in the morning.

And then I thought, as the holiday falls on a bank holiday Monday, a strawberry tea might be appropriate.

Rosalind: Hmm.

Customer: Thank you.

Oh!

Good evening, Mrs Barrowman.

Now, you look like a woman on a mission.

I'm a woman in search of comestibles.

Mm.

My Ivan and his family, they're moving out tomorrow.

So, I'm going to christen the kitchen by making their tea.

Ivan did me a favour and a half this morning, soldering a burst pipe inside an hour.

Oh, good.

Erm, have you got any luncheon meat?

At the bottom left, dear, next to the soap powder.

Oh.

I'm going to take three tins.

Oh, I hope you're planning fritters.

There's nothing like the smell of frying to make a house a home.

Yeah, well, all I can smell at the moment is wet paint and plaster dust.

Still, it's on a better bus route.

Now Suzanne's got into the grammar school.

Gran, they've got rulers and protractors.

Violet: Grammar school!

Well, let's hope this is the beginning of great things for you.

Pick yourself out a rubber.

I'll let you have it half-price.

Hilda: Oh!

[Chuckles] [Knocking] Midwife calling.

[Background voices] You're welcome.

You've certainly got everything-- and everyone-- organized, Ruth.

Dil was well on his way up the ladder at the factory, but he had to start out as a garment presser.

A good manager must have experience of every department.

This not management.

This woman's work.

Ruth: It is alright, isn't it?

The flat?

The flat is spotlessly clean.

And this is clearly a home full of love.

I inspect for that, too.

It's much more important.

You wouldn't have found that in the house I grew up in.

My mum ran off and left us when I was 8.

And my dad hardly knew what to do with us.

[Door opening] Please.

We... wanted to ask you something, Sister.

Can Dilwar stay with me when the baby's born?

But, of course.

[Relieved laughs] I want it because I do not want Ruth to be afraid.

And I won't be if Dil was with me.

[Metal clanging] Madge, I found the tomato sauce.

Where was it?

It was in the tea chest with your bedding.

[Laughter] Suzy, you'll have to go on the camp bed until that new mattress is delivered.

You're not having any fritters?

Oh, she don't like luncheon meat, apparently.

It means she don't like your cooking.

[Laughter] Hey!

Shh!

[Laughter] Give her some more sauce.

[Laughter] Thank you for wanting to be with me.

I don't want to be outside the door, waiting for my mother to come out and tell me how you're doing.

At least that's not gonna happen now.

The mother is always in the room with the mother.

I do everything I can to respect your customs, Dilwar.

But if we don't do some things our way, we aren't gonna know who we are.

Please, don't let her in the room.

[Ivan groaning in pain] [Door opening] [Toilet flushing] Oh, Suzanne, love, I need you to go to the phone box and ring the doctor.

[Ivan moaning] It's dark.

The phone hasn't been connected, and nobody else is well enough to go.

Paul's still in the outside lav, and his asthma's bad.

The operator will help you find the number.

Put your coat and shoes on.

[Knocking] Ivan?

[Ivan moaning] Can you let me in?

Ivan: Five-- five minutes.

[Inhaler discharging] Just keep puffing on it as often as you feel you need to.

The stress of the vomiting has aggravated your asthma.

I'm hoping it's wearing off.

You know, I haven't worn the old porcelain turban like that in years.

Dr Turner: I know it's tough, but if it is something you've all eaten, then the best thing is to let your body clear itself of the poison.

I knew me mum's cooking would get us in here.

[Ivan coughing] You're shivering, Ivan.

I can see your goosebumps from here.

You can take paracetamol for fever.

Lovely.

Then go to bed and keep yourselves warm.

Tea's up.

And Suzanne's busy putting water beside your beds.

You're a bit overqualified to be a waiter, ain't you?

[Chuckles] Chip off the old block, eh?

Nothing like a lad following in his father's footsteps.

Paul's working with Ivan now.

They did half the renovations to this house.

All mod cons.

Central heating, if you please.

Put it on, if need be.

This is going to seem like a bad dream by tomorrow, teatime.

Ivan: Yeah.

Ha!

They should put you two on the television.

It's like watching a dance routine.

London Palladium, here we come!

[All chuckle] Let's get you into the bed, honey.

[Door thuds] Hello, erm... are you the lady who's about to become a grandma?

Yes.

Tell her.

[Moaning in pain] Mother, go!

[Ruth moaning] [Yelling in foreign language] [Ruth moaning] [Sighs] Ooh.

Mmm.

[Gasps] [Ship horn blowing] [Doorbell ringing] Is it because of Paul's asthma that you're making a return visit?

He was the one that worried me.

[Knocking] But everyone in the house is affected apart from Suzanne, which makes them vulnerable.

[Knocking loudly] The bedroom curtains are still drawn.

Doctor calling!

[Paul moaning] Hello?

[Coughing] I stopped being sick, but I've used up nearly all my inhaler, and my head's splitting.

You're dehydrated, which won't help.

Are your parents upstairs?

They haven't come down yet.

[Panicked moaning] It's stuck.

It's stuck.

I can't get it out.

Ruth, you're nearly there.

It's just all happened so fast, you've hardly had a chance to catch your breath.

Listen to the nurses, Ruth.

You know what you be doing.

Unh!

[Gasps] Well, you obviously do.

That's it, Ruth.

Keep pushing.

Just like that!

Your wife's a quick learner.

Huh!

Mr Barrowman?

[Knocking] Mrs Barrowman?

Dr Turner's going to come up and see you in a minute.

Dad...?

Dad!

[Groaning] Ahhhh!

That's it, darling!

You did it!

[Baby crying] Rosalind: It's a boy!

[Relieved laughter] [Baby crying] [Baby crying] You've given me a son.

[Baby cooing] [Ruth giggles] [Dr Turner breathing shakily] No pulse.

No pupil reflexes.

You poor little love.

I think Mr Barrowman is gone too.

First, we need an ambulance for Paul.

He's in respiratory distress.

And then we need to call the police.

I've-- I've gone a bit faint.

[Dramatic music] Deep breaths.

Then we need to get you outside.

I think I know what this is.

Why can't I go back inside?

You're to sit on the pavement and wait for the ambulance to arrive.

I'll wait with you.

Where's my mum and my dad?

I-- I can't go to hospital without them knowing.

[Siren blaring] Dr Turner's in charge of everything that's happening inside.

[Siren blaring] It's not an ambulance.

It's a police car.

[Brakes squealing] Oh.

Is this bad?

Not necessarily, but the placenta should have come away by now.

We don't want you to go to hospital, honey.

I don't either.

I think you may have a full bladder, and sometimes, that gets in the way.

If you can pass water, that may help.

I'll get you a bedpan.

Can we have it ladies only for that bit?

[Baby crying] I think you've seen enough for one day.

[Chuckles] [Baby crying] [Door shuts] I hear your wife cry, and I cry.

I hear the baby cry, and I cry.

Why are you speaking in English?

You think like an Englishman.

You understand like an Englishman.

Ruth has just given birth.

It was not easy.

It's not easy now.

'Not easy'.

Because she need mother.

A mother has known her pain.

A mother gives ease.

A mother gives peace.

A husband can't give that.

She wanted me there.

[Door opens] All's well that ends well.

Ruth passed water and then the afterbirth.

[Baby crying] It's not for you to even hear such things.

Where's my mum and dad, and my sister?

Stay with him.

Keep him on an even keel.

[Paul coughing] I tell you, there is nothing like a cream horn after a successful delivery.

I'm more of a custard tart girl, really.

Honey, what are you fretting about?

Mrs Wallace phoned Cyril last night, and she wants to speak to him about his conduct and also his conscience.

Are you surprised?

[Train passing over tracks] He's a pastor who walks into his flat, which is also his church, with a woman who is not his wife, carrying bags from a weekend away and bumps into the principal elder.

I had hoped you'd tell me not to worry.

That's not what friends are for.

Mm.

[Sighing] [Phone ringing] Where's my grandson?

He's through there.

He's resting and receiving oxygen.

I could come in with you, if you'd like that.

What I'd like is to have my son and my daughter-in-law and my granddaughter still alive.

I'd like them to have seen a competent doctor who hadn't tucked them into their deathbeds with kind words and no action!

Hilda: Oh, no.

Dr Turner: Three deaths in one family.

Miss Higgins says if the statements are signed, she'll deal with them immediately.

I don't think I've ever had to do harder paperwork than this.

[Sighs] Age 11.

She might have been in Angela's class.

I told them to go to bed and keep warm.

And when we found them, her little hand was hardly cold at all.

You're a good man, Pastor Robinson.

And you're doing a good job navigating this church through some very choppy waters.

But you haven't come here to tell me what I'm doing well, have you, Mrs Wallace?

No, I have not.

I have come here to tell you that you're compromising your position.

And you're compromising that young girl.

Nobody at church knows we went away together.

Nobody at church?

You don't think the Almighty go to church?

The Almighty see everything.

And what's more, He knows his way to York Minster.

I'm sorry, Mrs Wallace.

[Sighing] We are modern people, living in a modern world, wrestling with some very modern problems.

But sometimes, Pastor Robinson, the best way of protecting ourselves and those we love is by being a little bit old-fashioned.

You understand?

Because I require you to understand.

How?

I-I mean, how?

W-Was it the food my nan cooked?

Paul, everything is going to have to be reviewed by the coroner.

Ultimately, they will pronounce a verdict.

I don't need a verdict, I just need to know.

Because if I don't know, I can't believe they're dead.

Paul, from what the lab tests tell us, the food your nan cooked probably made you all ill, but that's a simple case of bacteria with the tinned meat.

Not her fault at all.

Suzanne never had any, anyway.

Yesterday, I suspected that the problem was carbon monoxide poisoning.

And now, the post-mortem have said exactly the same thing.

The signs are clear and unmistakable.

It's in the air, isn't it, carbon monoxide?

Only in very small amounts.

When there's too much, it becomes very dangerous.

Why would there be too much?

If a heating system develops problems.

It was a brand-new boiler.

My dad fitted it himself.

Oh... I helped him, Dr Turner.

Oh... I helped him.

[Crying] [Phone ringing] Hello?

Oh, Mrs Turner.

I rang the surgery, but Dr Turner wasn't there.

We've just had the public health inspectors at the shop.

Public health inspectors?

We're under investigation for selling contaminated meats.

They've taken I don't know how many tins off the shelf.

Well, I only picked them up from the cash-and-carry two days ago.

I knew Madge Barrowman.

She was on the play street subcommittee.

And now they've gone, possibly because of something that we sold.

[Violet crying] I think we all have to remain calm.

Nobody really knows who or what is to blame for this.

How did you get on with Mrs Wallace?

We're going to have to go for a walk.

The gas inspect is nearly finished.

Well, once the boiler's stripped out, I'd have no objection to Paul moving back in.

Thank you, sir.

I don't know where you get your flaming nerve!

You should be locked up for what you said to my grandson, telling him he killed his family by fitting a dodgy boiler!

Mrs Barrowman, only the coroner can say what happened.

I hope he finds you guilty of criminal negligence and strikes you off.

If you'd sent them all to hospital, they'd still be alive.

We can't turn the clock back, Cyril.

Not in terms of morals.

And not in terms of what having sex has done to me and my body and for us and our relationship.

Rosalind.

Stopping sleeping together isn't going to turn me into a virgin again, and I wouldn't want it to.

I wouldn't want it to either, because I feel just the same as you.

But I am not yet divorced, and I am still a pastor, and I don't like putting you in harm's way.

I'm not in harm's way.

I'm on the pill.

There is more than one type of harm, Rosalind.

Maybe we should wait now, until I'm in a position to put a ring on your finger and do things decently.

I have two things to say in response to that.

'A', I'm sure Mrs Wallace would be delighted.

'B', if that's a proposal of marriage, it's very poorly thought through, and you can keep it.

[Suspenseful music] Oh... [Sighs] Thank goodness you went in so early.

Under no circumstances must any patients be allowed to see it.

I'll root out some turps.

Ugh.

Phyllis!

Whatever is this?

[Sighs] No one is to contact the police.

Patrick, this is a clear case of criminal damage and probably slander.

That family have suffered and are suffering enough.

There is no proof at all that that vandalism is anything to do with them.

I, meanwhile, have had to give short shrift to a reporter from the 'Gazette'.

He asked questions about potential malpractice.

In front of patients?

What did you say?

Well, I mainly reminded him that it is against the law to print, publish or speculate on any details of a medical case whilst an inquest is pending.

Miss Higgins, that isn't true.

The man was very junior and knew no better.

No further rebuff was required.

I don't think anyone knows anything right now.

Until we hear from the coroner, I'm not seeing any more patients.

[General chatter] You know Cyril called again this morning, don't you?

Before you came down to breakfast?

Perhaps he had a sleepless night too.

I don't know what we're supposed to say to each other.

The matter of my ablutions generally falls to Sister Catherine.

Sister Catherine is standing in for Sister Veronica at the head lice conference this morning and set off looking as though nothing could make her happier.

[Chuckles] Do you recollect what it was like to be at the beginning of all this?

Yes, I do.

If only barely sometimes.

I've watched so much water flow underneath the bridge.

The question is, Sister, do we watch the water, or are we the water?

Because if it is the latter, you speak not of change but of we, ourselves, being changed or changing.

[Scoffs] It is a riddle [Laughs], is it not?

It is indeed.

[Chuckles] Sister, how long have your feet been as swollen as this?

It is a recent development.

Let us not speak of it.

Dad... what good is shutting yourself away going to do?

It'll do less harm than trying to treat patients when I'm not trusted.

And I can use the time to study the latest statistics on the rise in epidurals.

Trust is essential, isn't it?

It's like clean hands... or a steady hand with a lancet.

Like antibiotics.

Black coffee on the night shift.

Can't be a GP without it, son.

[Papers shuffling] You're going back to factory and baby not named.

We can't decide on the name yet, Aisha.

When we decide, we'll do it then.

She white face.

She sick?

Are you sick?

Sick of being cooped up.

I just need some fresh air.

[Baby cooing] [Cooing] You stay home.

The baby needs fresh air, Aisha, and I need to get into a routine.

Please don't go out.

I'm only popping out for an hour.

[Baby crying] Shh, shh... [Baby crying loudly] Shh, shh... I changed the sheets, I've cleaned everything.

But he will not let me do anything with that pillowcase.

Paul, lad, do you really think this is the best place for you to be lying while you come to terms with everything that's happened?

How can I come to terms with it?

I helped my dad put that boiler in.

It's my fault, and I'm the one that's still here.

It's not your fault.

There are plenty others you could blame.

Then what about you?

Eh?

And your cooking?

Come on.

You're both going through something that no one should ever have to endure alone or separately.

You'll face it better together.

I can smell my dad's hair on this pillowcase.

Oh.

Hilda: Oh!

[Crying] [Knocking] Ruth?

Ruth?

[Sighing] [Groans] [Laboured breathing] [Gasps] I think I need the doctor.

I can walk there.

I go for doctor.

Uh... Uhh.

You walk.

I walk with you.

[Baby crying] [Baby crying loudly] Every single person touched by this case is in torment.

Can we not do something to at least get a preview of the details?

Dr Turner's on the police surgeon roster.

He feels he can't ask for early access to the documents because he's perceived to have a vested interest.

The baby's mother lying in street by fire stairs.

I think she die!

Oh, no.

No!

Dr Turner!

[Door slamming] It's Ruth Khan.

She delivered a few days ago.

She just opened her eyes, said something about seeing lights.

Her ankles are swollen.

Looks like postnatal preeclampsia.

Ambulance?

No, she's on the brink of fitting.

We need bromethol, now.

Can you fetch some?

It's too late for 999.

I'll drive it there myself.

Now, run.

It's alright, Ruth.

I'm not going to leave you.

Cyril: You need a hand with those?

[Background chatter] Yes.

And we wouldn't mind a bit of fridge space, if you've got any to spare in your flat.

I'm sorry I lost my temper.

It was certainly a spectacle.

If you hadn't been shouting at me, I would have quite enjoyed it.

And you were right.

It was a terrible marriage proposal.

Was it a marriage proposal?

Yes.

Will you give me the chance to... do a better one?

This is better already.

But why don't you take me away for the weekend?

Discreetly.

And... ask me then.

You know your own mind, don't you?

I'm a grown woman.

And a feminist.

And... there are cathedral towns the length and breadth of England.

[Phone ringing] Mr Parry is still with Ruth.

He says you stopped her from tipping over into full-blown eclampsia.

[Sighing] She hasn't had any seizures?

None.

That would have been a very different story.

We don't always get to write the endings we choose in this profession.

But sometimes we do.

And sometimes, there isn't an ending.

And those stories are the best.

[Sighing] I'm sorry for pushing you away, Aisha.

A mother cannot be pushed away.

Ever.

A mother always at your shoulder.

And it is good.

I never knew that before.

I didn't know what to do with that kind of love.

But I do now.

Thank you... for showing me.

[Baby cooing] Nurse Crane: It's all written down there in good, plain English.

Dr Turner: It's as thorough as it comes, Mrs Barrowman.

And it states very clearly that it was the boiler that was faulty.

Not the way it was fitted?

It had a defective valve.

What happened was nothing to do with anyone who was there that night or anyone here today.

[Sighing] Meanwhile, all the tins of meat have been recalled, and the cash-and-carry will be prosecuted.

I'm sorry if I acted out of turn.

That's alright.

But I think if you did want to sue the boiler manufacturer, there would be a case to answer.

No, we've got a family to say goodbye to and a life to build, haven't we, lad?

It's Mrs Russell, isn't it?

What can I do for you?

Oh, it's not for me, Sister.

It's for one of me neighbours.

Well, a sort of neighbour.

I reckon there's a baby on the way.

I can remember you sisters coming out at all hours and in all weathers.

[Woman wailing] We still do.

[Wailing] Midwife calling.

[Gasping] I don't need a midwife.

My dear, I'm afraid it seems very likely that you do.

I don't need a ruddy midwife!

Aah!

[Woman wailing] [Gasping in pain] What we'll do is take a gentle look at you, and then we'll decide what to do.

Oh, I don't know why you're saying "we" this or "we" that, like we're friends or something, 'cause we ain't friends.

Don't you talk to the sister like that.

And we ain't friends neither.

[Spitting] Er, Mrs Russell, I don't see any means of heating water in here.

Would you return to your flat and boil a kettle for me?

[Gasping] It's such a shame Sister Veronica missed the Eucharist.

But her plane from Hong Kong must have still been in the air.

And it's also a shame that your brother can't join us, Trixie.

He's become quite a fixture on high days and holidays.

Oh, I know, but he's gone to Lido di Jesolo with a friend from his National Service days.

At least I get to arrange some flowers in his absence.

[Chuckles] This is a sod, this is.

Lana, the sense of pressure that you're feeling is because your baby's head is descending through your pelvis.

It's almost ready to be born.

Send for a bloody ambulance!

Lana, it's too late.

How's things?

I'm sorting through my dad's tools.

Seems a first step towards what he would have wanted.

Following in his footsteps, and all that.

Me too.

Delivering insulin to a self-injecting diabetic.

This is a lead dressing tool.

He had it so many years, it's been worn to its grip.

It's old-fashioned, but I'm gonna keep it.

That's what I think matters, doesn't it?

Could you organize a urine sample?

Next time she feels like getting up.

She has been needing a lot of rest lately.

I do not require repose.

It is almost invariably forced upon me.

If you feel like it, I can bring you a strawberry scone to nibble on later.

[Baby cooing] She's a pretty little thing.

I'm paying particular attention to her eyes as I bathe her, in case there's any infection.

Are you saying I'm dirty?

We take the same approach with every newborn.

I want to hold her.

When you've, er, finished your cigarette, perhaps.

I want... to hold her.

[Inhaling loudly] [Exhaling loudly] Get your hands off my baby!

I didn't ask for you to come here!

Unh!

Get your hands off me!

Who asked you to come here in the first place?

[Baby crying] The mother was angry, and she was distressed.

She wasn't unusual in that.

[Scoffs] And she needed... every ounce of love I could show her.

She spat at you, and she assaulted you.

And the only thing that stopped me turning my back on her and running out of that squalid room... was the fact that I was there as an act of... Christian witness.

Did that give you courage?

It gave me purpose.

And it gave me strength.

And it reminded me that we are missionaries here in the East End.

And I'd rather go and be a missionary elsewhere than be forced to pretend to be something we are not.

Sister?

Have you made your decision?

Sister Julienne, Sister Veronica has arrived back from Hong Kong.

She's waiting in your office and insists she'll see no one but you.

I came back to Poplar via the motherhouse.

I needed to confer with Mother Mildred, because I have been feeling increasingly... unhappy.

I wasn't unaware of it.

But our work is not about our happiness.

It is about seeking no reward other than knowing that we do His will.

If you are quoting St Ignatius of Loyola, then you are omitting the bit about giving and not counting the cost.

And I can't keep on giving and not counting the cost any longer.

But you must.

We must, Sister.

It is what we do.

It is what I have done, and done for too long.

I have... loved and served, and I have saved other women's children for decades.

If any one were mine, or... felt like mine, for a day or even an hour... I had to hand it back and stand there trying not to scream because my arms were empty.

Why didn't you tell me this before?

Because I hoped I could bear it, and I can't!

I've been given permission to go away for six weeks... while I decide if I want to give up my vows and leave the order.

[Chatter] Fred: Pull it.

Cyril: I'm pulling.

[Knock on door] Come in.

[Door opening] I couldn't let you go without coming to see you.

I've stood exactly where you're standing now.

Well, I hope you were standing in better shoes than these.

There are no lace-ups in the charity cupboard, and I can only walk in lace-ups.

There is a knack to court shoes.

Please, don't put your arms round me.

I'm scared I might break apart.

Beryl, do you have somewhere to go?

I've been offered a room in a Christian retreat house, near Gravesend.

There are no other religious there, and I'm assured no questions will be asked.

Let me find you a pair of tights.

You'll feel more pulled together in a proper outfit.

You were right about Sister Monica Joan's oedema.

It points to kidney failure.

But tests will tell us more.

[Children playing outside] This was always going to come, wasn't it?

In one form or other.

And when it does, it's going to feel like the ravens leaving the Tower of London.

The end of the known world.

One could say that about so many things.

I'm telling the board that if the Order are not permitted to work in a missionary capacity, we are leaving Poplar at the end of the year.

And that is final.

[Children playing] [Train passing] Do you know what you want, Sister?

Apart from a baby to call my own... No.

Sometimes, I don't think anyone knows anything, really.

I'll walk with you as far as the post office.

This must go with the first post in the morning.

Mature Jennifer, voiceover: Some things bring joy year after year, summer after summer.

They have delighted us before, and they will again.

We trust the tides and the rhythm of the seasons, the tilt of the sunflower's face towards the sky.

When the wind blows a little colder, do we even notice it?

Or if we do, do we think it will not be for long?

Because, one day, it may blow cold forever, but not yet.

Not now, while miracles are ordinary and still within our reach.

She's about to have the baby.

We think.

I just keep getting this-- Ooh, here it comes again.

Hello, Harmony.

I'm a nurse.

I'm sorry you've been hurt.

There is no reason to treat me as an invalid.

Best ice cream in Poplar, guaranteed.

And if I win, you'll get that bike.

One would hope they were above such pettiness, when there is so much at stake.