McLeod's Daughters

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Narrator

Previously on "McLeod's Daughters." -

Tess

How dumb would you have to be to do that? No argument from me. -

Announcer

Next out of the chute, local lad Alex Ryan on PST. Come on, let's give Alex a big hand, now. (people cheering) I didn't mean your brother was dumb. (pleasant upbeat music) (horse whinnying) Still fighting the collar. Yeah, yeah, give him time. -

Harry

Not too much rope, Alex. Keep him close. He's beautiful, Harry. Yeah. Sort of a lucky devil. Three times national drafting champ. Great confirmation. That means he's good, right? Yeah, perfectly shaped and lots of spirit. You are still talking about the horse, aren't we? Go on, Alex, keep your mind on the job. We ready for the roller? Bag him down yet? Yeah, yeah, bring it over. I've never seen Claire use anything like that when she's breaking in horses. -

Claire

I prefer to call it starting them. Same difference, horse has still gotta learn who's boss. It's not the same at all, Harry. There are other ways, apart from scaring them into submission. Oh, come on, spare me the horse-whispering mumbo-jumbo. You do it your way, we'll do it ours. -

Nick

Don't girth him up to tight. -

Alex

Don't worry, I'm gonna keep it nice and loose. (horse whinnying) Alex! - Grab him, Nick! (horse whinnying) He's a cranky bugger. You're gonna scare him, of course he's gonna fight ya. What, you think you can do a better job? No way. Yeah, I reckon I could. Is this a bet? No. - No. Oh, come on, let's make it a business proposition. How much to break him in? Nothing. Except his first foal out of Blaze. (horse whinnying) You know what that's worth? Now I'm looking at two grand servicing fee for him. Bonking is expensive in the country, Tess. You're looking at nothing right now, Harry. How long? Four days. - Three. Oh, get real. All right. Stay for dinner, we'll seal the deal. You haven't got a hope. We'll see. (pleasant upbeat music) It'll take some time To find your heart and come back home You could walk for miles, cross every river And find you're not alone 'Cause I'll be there Oh, oh You're not alone Oh, oh 'Cause I'll be there Ooo (cattle bawling) One guess who this is. Come on, they're Bill's calves, he's entitled to check on them. Yeah, but every single day? Have a heart, Jodi, he's doing it tough. I don't care how much money his adjusting business is making us, he's driving me nuts. I mean, what does he think we're all gonna do, lose them down a big hole? G'day, just passing. They're still looking good. Yeah, just like yesterday and the day before that. Okay if I hang around a bit? Yeah, of course. What's he gonna do, pitch a tent and sleep with them, too? So what's it gonna be for Blaze, eh, Claire? AI or live color? AI, unless she wants a trample. Does the vit and all the gear come as part of the deal? I didn't know it could all be so complicated. Oh, we have such sophisticated conversation. Well, why don't we just let nature take its course? Because a stallion can get a bit carried away. Typical. They're valuable creatures too, so they have to be protected. I'm glad I'm not a thoroughbred. No indeed. (chuckling) We can bring Wildfire over tomorrow, if you like. Greg will have to sedate him, though. Do you have to? He would just get hurt otherwise. Then leave him here. Have you had a go, Nick? Maybe you'll have better luck than Alex. I don't ride any more. Oh. Is that because of what happened to your leg? (quiet reflective music) Was it a riding accident? Yeah. Would you like some more potatoes? No thanks. Bet you miss it. We don't talk about this. Now, uh, someone pass me some carrots, please. Thank you. -

Tess

How was I meant to know you don't talk about it? 'Cause you just don't, everyone knows. Yeah, well, I'm not everyone. Social customs aren't like osmosis, Claire, you can't just suck 'em up through your skin. So what else am I not to mention? Fred Baring shooting himself, that's important. His daughter thinks it was an accident. So what did happen to Nick's leg? It was ages ago. (sighing) The boys went away, Alex came back, Nick was in hospital. That's all I know. What, you never asked? Of course I did. -

Tess

So what did they say? It was a riding accident. Yeah, but didn't you ask what happened? How, why? You saw Liz tonight, would you have kept on asking? (pleasant music) I went out with a guy who used a walking stick. He was just fine. I reckon some scars are pretty sexy sometimes. Yep. (laughing) You guys are seriously weird, do you know that? Compared to Alex, Nick is creepy. Who cares what happened to his leg? It's their business, all right? That's why you don't talk about it. Oh, not to their face, but behind their back's just fine. (coughing) Are you okay, Beck? Yeah, I'm fine. Sounds like you're coming down with something. We've got a calf with red water. What's that? Blood in the urine. Oh, that's gotta be bad, yeah? I'll get Greg to take a look at it when he brings over Wildfire. Right, Bill's never gonna stay away now. We won't tell him. Not until we know exactly what it is. So Meg, there's gotta be someone who knows the real story about Nick. Whatever it was, it almost killed Liz. (cattle bawling) (reflective music) (knife tapping) Harry, I was thinking. Why don't we go to Adelaide today? There's a few things I need- -

Harry

There's too much to do here. But surely that can be handled by the boys. Look, Liz, it's too late. We're already wasting half the morning taking this horse to Drovers for this idiotic bet. There's no way Claire can break in Wildfire. Well, neither could you. Nick, I'm gonna need you to cover for Alex while he's off with the horse. - I was gonna go and. Yep, sure. Blame your brother. Everything's under control, so why, why don't we make a week of it? I would really like this, Harry. Sorry, love, can't. (reflective music) (phone ringing) Yes, hello, Killarney. Uh, yeah, it's Tess Silverman, Mrs. Ryan. About last night, I'm truly sorry. I didn't mean to offend anyone. There's absolutely no need to worry. Thank you very much for calling. Greg wants us to keep an eye on him until the sedative wears off. Then I reckon he should be fine. Pity we had to sedate him at all. Yeah, well, you could've broken him in at our place. With you breathing down my neck all the time? I don't think so. -

Alex

Yeah, right. Take a good look, Blaze. Two grand for a roll in the hay with him. So get your money's worth when the time comes, okay? Are you coming? Greg's waiting. Uh, yeah, in a sec. (horse whinnying) So how's loverboy? I think Blaze is interested. She's giving him a horsey sort of a look. Alex, about last night, I- Forget it. -

Tess

Please, let me apologize, I just wanna say I- I said forget it, all right? Well, I can't. I obviously asked a really insensitive question, and I've upset everyone, so I just- Tess, will you shut up? Just shut the hell up. (pensive music) Right. (sighing) So no one says sorry in the country either. It'd be quicker if you told me what I can say. Hello, goodbye, how 'bout a cuppa? So maybe it's, uh, some phosphate or a weed they ate. No, there's too many of them, Claire. I'd say it's lepto. Damn. What's lepto? Bacterial infection, contagious. And a notifiable disease. Uh-oh. My advice is you vaccinate the lot. Suggesting is supposed to be making us money, not costing us. So now we're telling Bill about this, aren't we? No. Not until Greg's confirmed what it is and we can figure out where it came from. So we're gonna have to check our stock, that's you and me. Lay baits so that the rats stop spreading it. And uh, disinfect the troughs. I'll help you, Beck, you look terrible. Are you right for disinfectant? (coughing) Are you all right, Beck? - Yeah. You should go to the doctor. I'm fine, it's just the flu. You've got cattle to check, we can manage. Go to bed. Bloody stupid, pushing yourself. I'm not that sick. Hey. -

Meg

Come on, Jodi, give it a rest. Well, Tess said soup to keep up her fluids, and I've also got some herbal tea that really stinks. All right, well, don't stay too long. And don't get out of that bed. (coughing) Here. You all right? Yeah. (mellow music) You like books, don't you? I'm too slack. Oh, "Wuthering Heights." We did this at school. She dies on the moors, doesn't she? Who? Cathy. You know, Heathcliffe and Cathy. Do you want me to read to you? It's what Mum used to do when I was sick. Sure, if you want to. Chapter one, 1801. I have just returned from a visit to my landlord, the solitary neighbor that I shall be troubled with. This is certainly a beautiful country. In all England, I do not believe I could have fixed on a situation so completely removed from the stir of society. Enid, give me two semis, or a B double. No, I don't want one semi, I'm not gonna make two trips. Well, make one available. Look, I gotta get 100 head to the sale yards by Saturday. (pensive music) Well, if our cattle are still in the clear tomorrow, then Bill must've brought it over with his lot. Well, then we tell him, right? Of course, why wouldn't we? I give up. (horse whinnying) She's got her work cut out for her. Any other horse and she'd be petting him by now. What's his problem? The Ryans. Ahh, I tried something new tonight. Helen Walters gave me the recipe. Looking glam there, Mum. Ooh, you don't look too bad yourself. You got a hot date? Nah, just a bit of action. Why don't you eat with us and go after? I'll be a bit late then, won't I? That's the idea. Get a good's night sleep, put in a decent night's work for a change. Oh, Harry, come on, come on. It'll be nice, just the two of us, just for once. See ya, Mum. Yes, see you, darling. (sighing) (reflective music) There's fennel in the sauce. And I made your favorite dessert. Where's Nick, isn't he eating? Harry, he's working. Harry. Nick! Nick! Come on, Nick, leave it. -

Nick

Busy, Dad. You're always busy, you never go out. Geez, when I was your age- Yeah, you had four trucks and a half million dollar loan, right? Yeah, but I still knew how to go out and enjoy myself. Come on, Nick, you're a young man, what's wrong with you? Go tell Mum you like the sauce. She made it specially. (reflective music) (sighing) I think I'll go for a walk. You all right? Um, yeah, sure. Don't do this to yourself, Mum, please. I'm all right. Yeah, yeah, okay. Thanks, mate, catch you later. Where's the ute? I wrapped it around a tree. It's in the car park at the pub, what do you think I am? Drunk. Hey, you're wasted. Really? What a pair, huh? The Ryan brothers, the famous Ryan brothers. National rodeo champions. Two years running. Nah, nah, four, at least. Could've made it to the States. You bet. Made a fortune. Done a few cowboy flicks, even. What, you? As the rear end of a cow. Next to you I look like Brad Pitt, hey? Hey, hey? You can be the movie star. I just wanna ride the horses. (reflective music) (sighing) I never made you get on that bull, Nick. Never said you did. You didn't have to. (pensive music) -

Bill

Look, when I dropped them off they were fine, that's all I know. Get the door, Jodi. It doesn't matter, Bill, they all need vaccinations. I'm not paying for any shots. It's your land, you gave the lepto to them. No we didn't, none of our cattle are sick. So you're saying I brought it in. What I'm saying is, they didn't get it from here. Prove it. Those cows were fine. There was nothing wrong with them. You'll be hearing from my lawyer. Maybe we shouldn't have told him. (sighing) Just get Becky to the doctor, would you? He can't sue us, can he? I don't know, just get to town. I've gotta work on Wildfire. I thought you were meant to be fixing the fence up on the ridge. -

Alex

That's what I'm doing. I've just loaded everything up in the ute. There's only one post down, it's much quicker on a horse. (pleasant music) Sure you don't mind? You heard the doctor, it's just the flu. Okay, I won't be long. Tess, I don't know why you're bothering, this is the Ryans. Next to them, my family looks almost normal. Oh, good morning, Mrs. Ryan, is Nick in? No, he's not. Mrs. Ryan. These are for you. Oh. I, uh, I feel like I made a real mess of things. Why are you making trouble for us? I'm just trying to do the right thing and fit in around here. Oh, you can try. You can join all the right clubs, you can get involved. Everyone will be very, very nice to you, but you will never actually fit in. They're lovely, I have to go. I still can't believe you went over there. I mean, how many knockbacks do you need before you get the message? So you can accuse Bill of lying, to his face, but I can't mention Nick's leg. Well one's private and the other one's about protecting our reputation. Okay, so if it's got to do with money, anything goes. Have I got it now? Yeah, sort of. - Oh. You busy? - What? I need your help with something. Oh, okay. Right-o, come on. (knocking on door) - Yeah. What do you think you're doing? I was just gonna take the plates down to the house. Well, I'm perfectly capable of coming to get them. "Wuthering Heights", I love this. It's so romantic. - Oh, yeah. Jodi's been reading it to me. (coughing) Come on, into bed. You know, Jodi is a shocking reader. Page 12, is it? Yeah. The herd of possessed swine could have no worse spirits in them than those animals of yours, sir. You might as well leave a stranger with a brood of tigers. They won't meddle with persons who touch nothing, he remarked. I mightn't have been quite so enthusiastic if you had've told me we were trespassing on Bill's place. I don't remember you being enthusiastic. You really think the calves had lepto before coming to us? Only one way to find out. (pleasant music) Bums I have known. Wish they'd stand still for a sec. They don't need to. I can see it from here. Oh yeah, they've got it, they've got lepto, too. Bastard, he knew all along. Bastard. Yeah, he's burning something. (gun firing) Come on. What are you doing? I'm gonna shoot his nuts off. He tried blaming us for this. But don't you think we should, like, have a plan? Negotiate with Bill? I'm the one who tells you what to say and what not to say here, not the other way around. This country-city thing is crap. You go in there guns blazing, you're asking for a punch in the face. You're not afraid of a good stash, are you? Well, actually, yes. Then don't come. If I don't come, you'll probably kill him. If he doesn't tell everybody there's nothing wrong with Drover's Run, I will. I want them to know he was lying. Okay fine, that's a good plan. Then I'll shoot his nuts off. (upbeat music) No, you stay here. (gun firing) Bill! I wanna talk to you. (pensive music) You let me take the blame for the lepto when the rest of your stock had it as well. I didn't know then, I swear. I never would've put sick cattle on your land. You still let me take the blame. I don't know what got into me. I just, I couldn't afford to vaccinate. I panicked. Stock are worth a lot more than the cost of a shot. Yeah, not when you're up to your neck in debt already. Geez, Bill. You know you could've said something. I'm sorry, Claire. Yeah. (pensive music) (sighing) So what happened? I didn't know what to say. The Tilsons have been here for generations, you know. Same as us. You want me to drive you? Just tell me where, I'll drive you. Sydney. It's all right. Isn't he marvelous? Does absolutely everything for her. (somber music) (horse whinnying) You've only got a couple of days left, you know. Are you sure you can break him in by then? Of course. I just need to figure out his secret, that's all. I know you've got one. Just gotta make you tell me what it is. Whoa, steady, steady, boy. Easy, boy. (pensive music) (groaning) Nick! Stupid bloody idiot, what do you think you're doing? I'm all right, I'm okay. What are you trying to do, kill yourself? I've always been a better horseman than you, always. You mean you thought you were. At least I never needed a woman to do my work for me. Is that right? Oi, where are you going? To wipe the smile off your face. Alex. Don't be such a bloody idiot. (engines revving) (suspenseful music) Good boy. (horse whinnying) It's all right. It's all right. Good boy. Good boy. It's all right, good boy. There you go. That's not too bad, is it? Good boy. It's all right. It's all right. Yeah. Hey, how you doing? (engines revving) What are you doing, mate? Alex! What are you doing? Oh, hi, Alex. Nick. (shouting) The bet's off, I'll take him home. Would you guys shut up? I'm working here. I said I'm taking him home, Claire. One more day and I'm done. It's my job, I can do it. - Shut up, Alex. You don't think I can do it, do you. Go on then, show me. Don't let him push you, Claire. I know what I'm doing. Okay. Is he ready for this? Here we go. (whinnying) Claire! (horse whinnying) I'm all right. Are you hurt? I'm all right. (horse whinnying) You happy now? You bloody idiot! Nick, Alex! - Come on! Cut it out! Just, Nick! (grunting) Alex! You. Alex! Sorry, I'm sorry. What the hell was that all about? Well, are you gonna tell me what's going on? (pensive music) I'd heard about this rodeo up north. We were crazy about them. Any chance to ride in one, we took it. I remember. Dad never let us go that far, so we nicked his car and drove there. And we were underage, I was 15, Nick was 14. So I had to forge his signature. We'd already ridden a couple steers, both done real well. Maybe it would've been better if we hadn't. For me, at least. I mean, I was starting to think that I was immortal. Who doesn't at 14? Yeah. There was this old bloke, and he sat on this fence, and he said, if you're so good, mate, give the bull a go. Alex is going, yeah, yeah! So I started putting on the bull armor. Alex says, only girls wear it. He's just joking, he's just trying to get a rise out of me. He was always a better rider than me. Didn't that piss you off? He thought he could ride anything. So I just wanted him to prove it. Maybe I was scared. Maybe that's why I fell for it. I mean, I wouldn't have normally. So you didn't put it on. I was slaughtered. 200 kilo bull can mash you up a bit. I've got a plate here, screws here, screws down there, plate down there and the kneecap's plastic. I'd never seen so much blood. The bull was right on top of him. I thought I'd, I'd killed my little brother. So I just ran and ran and ran. I remember all these people around. A clown chasing the bull away, ambos, medics, more doctors at the hospital, nurses, you know, all these people, but no Alex. I finally go the guts to front up at the hospital and waited. Then Dad turned up. He walked straight past me and asked the nurse where his son was. When I was sitting right there. What did he do? Did he hit you? I thought he was going to. I was ready for it. But all he said was what happened, what happened, and don't lie. And he never spoke about it again. I was in hospital for months. Mum came every day. Nearly killed her. Dad came a few times. Alex, not once. He was scared. -

Nick

Of what I was gonna do to him? No. Of what he did to you. I know Dad blames me. Every time he yells at me, every time he picks on me. It was an accident. It wasn't your fault. Tell Dad. Tell Nick. I've ended up with a limp. Dad hates me for it. So I became the business man. See, Dad respects that. And it's something Alex can't hold over me, you know? So now you know. But you know what? In my dreams, I can still ride. And I'm still beating Alex. (pleasant music) If you just got them all in one room, if you just got that family to talk about what happened. Then it'd all be better? Well, it'd be a start. I don't know how you live with something like that. What if it were us? How would we cope? By not talking about it. Poor Nick. Poor Alex. (relaxed music) It is your fault, fault. You, sh, should have, take, taken. (door creaking) You can't tell anyone. No one's allowed to know. All these books. You really can't read any of them? Not yet but I will. Here, let me. Is he injured anywhere? Injured, I cried angrily. If he's not killed, he'll be an idiot. Oh, I wonder his mother does not rise from her grave to see how you use him. You're worse than a heathen, treating your own flesh and blood in that manner. It's all right, see? Okay. Come on, steady now. Steady now. Good boy, come on. Come on. Yeah. (engine starting) Good work. (reflective music) (pleasant upbeat music) Good boy. Good boy. (pleasant upbeat music) Don't judge, don't believe what you see Don't judge, there's so much more to me Inside it's hard to be clear Inside, yeah, I feel the fear I'm finding my way, I'm finding my way I can do it alone I'm finding my way, I'm finding my way But there's so much, so much more to say I'm finding my way I feel, but the feeling is wrong (cracking) (rumbling) (electronic music)