01x02 - Wattle

[bunniefuu]

[AGNES] Be careful out there!

[CLEM] You all good?

You've got me.

- [AGNES] Have fun.
- [ALICE] Bye, Mum.

[CLEM] Let's go. Woo-hoo-hoo!

[DOG BARKS]

[CLEM] Whoo!

Alice.

[GASPS]

[ALICE GASPS, BREATHES QUICKLY]

[DOG BARKS]

[BIRDS SING]

Let's get you up,

and into the shower.

There you go, my dear.

These might fit you.

I, uh, found Candy's old boots,

extra pair of socks,

just in case they're too big.

[BIRDS CHIRP]

It's going to be good to have
a child on the farm again,

don't you think?

Is it?

Or are we going to
screw this one up as well?

You're the one who
always tells the flowers

every day is a chance to start over.

Alice deserves that, and we do too.

Do you think we should
put Agnes's room back?

A few of her books, clothes?

Let's not do that.

She doesn't even know Agnes was here.

[TWIG SIGHS]

[CREAKING]

[BARKS]

Wow, look at you.

[DOG BARKS]

[WHIMPERS]

[RINGING]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

Let's go meet the flowers.

Alice, this is Stella...

...and Myf.

Nice to meet you, Alice.

May is our second-in-command.

[TWIG] And this is our Rosie.

And this is lovely Vlinda.

[JUNE] And finally,
the one and only Boo.

At last, I finally get to meet you.

I'm Candy. Candy Blue.

Alice is my granddaughter,

and she will be living
with us from now on.

Let's eat.

I'd like to make a toast.

Please?

[CANDY CHUCKLES]

To Alice.

Welcome to Thornfield,

where wildflowers are allowed to bloom.

[ALL] To Alice.

[GLASSES CLINK]

These are our cutting fields.

They run all the way
down to the beehives,

and back over to the river.

And all of it is Thornfield.

It was started by your
great-great grandmother Ruth,

and it was handed down

through three generations
of Thornfield women.

Maybe one day it will be yours.

♪ ♪

These are ready for cutting.

When I cut, I cut at the base,

so when they grow through,

we'll have nice tall stems.

People say they look like kangaroo paws,

but I think they're
like bursting fire pods.

[AGNES] Like bursting fire pods.

Do you want to get the next one?

Yeah. Guess what.

They feel a bit like that too.

[INDISTINCT]

Did Agnes say why
she wanted the will amended?

[MAN] She wanted to include
her unborn child in the will.

Her son.

She just... She must have felt
she was in danger.

Yes, I gathered it was unsafe
for her to call from home,

so she was calling from pay phones,

trying to fax documents
to a post office.

Poor Agnes. Jesus.

[JOHN] Did Agnes say why she'd
named these two people guardians?

I'm only asking because
she barely knew my wife,

and June Hart also told
me she didn't know Agnes.

Um, no.

But we never really discussed that.

Well, I'm going to have
to update the coroner,

so I'll need copies of
the will sent to my office.

Sorry, Mr Wheeler,

what would it actually take

for June to be declared
unfit to be Alice's guardian?

Well, the main ones
would be health reasons,

drug and alcohol dependence,

a criminal record.

♪ ♪

[BIRDS CHIRP]

Up here is where the human flowers live.

- [LAUGHTER]
- Back in a minute.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

Hey, girls.

- Hey.
- Hey, June.

- So, Stella, your sister called.
- Mm-hm.

And Paddy's out of jail.

He's looking for you.

Um...

Did... Did she tell him where I am?

No.

You're safe.

[ROSIE SIGHS]

[JUNE] I just wanted
you to be aware, vigilant.

No calls out. Stick to the rules.

[CROWS CAW]

[HINGES CREAK]

Alice!

You're not to come in here
ever again, do you understand?

It's dangerous.

[CROWS CAW]

_

♪ ♪

So did your dad ever
tell you about Thornfield?

So I'm guessing he never
told you about me either?

Well, I'm your aunt.

[CHUCKLES] Not by birth.

June and Twig found me
by the river and took me in.

They'd taken Clem to the river to play,

and they heard this
sound of a baby crying.

And there in the reeds, in a basket,

they found me,

only hours old, wrapped
up in a blue evening gown.

They looked high and low for my mother,

but they couldn't find her anywhere,

so they took me in.

And Twig named me Candy,

after her fondness for sweets,

and Blue, after the colour of the gown.

Oh, I wish I could, but I...

I need to finish these,
and then do deliveries.

We can go tomorrow, OK?

It's alright.

[SIZZLING]

[SIGHS SOFTLY]

If I show you the path to the river,

you have to promise
me you'll go straight there,

take a look and come straight back.

Promise?

[BIRDS CALL]

[BIRDS CONTINUE CALLING]

♪ ♪

[CLEM AND ALICE LAUGH
AND CHAT INDISTINCTLY]

Daddy, you try.

Alright. You're going to
have to help me, though.

You teach me, yeah?

One, two, three, four.

- I'll get a photo, get a photo.
- OK.

- I should show Mum.
- Yeah.

- You good?
- Yeah, I am.

Now, do the hula. Do it again.

Arms out. Look at that!

[WATER LAPS]

Alice!

Sorry.

Come on.

I'm trying.

Now stand up, and do the hula, please.

[WATER LAPS]

[WHISPER] Alice...

Alice...

[WATER LAPS]

- [ SPLASHING]
- [SCREAMING]

[GASPS]

[COUGHS]

[GASPS]

Are you OK? I've got you, I've got you.

[COUGHS AND GASPS]

Breathe in.

And think 'in'.

In...

Out.

- [BREATHS AND COUGHS]
- In...

- [EXHALES]
- Out.

Yeah, yeah, that's it.

[BREATHES HEAVILY]

I... I have to do this for my mum.

She has asthma.

I'm Oggi.

I used to live here when
my mum was a flower,

but now I live in town behind the diner.

I s... I still like to
come back to the river.

Though, June might sh**t me
if she ever catches me.

I'm not kidding.

You know she's got a shotgun.

[CANDY] I think she's upstairs.

[JUNE] She's not upstairs, I checked.

[TWIG] Candy.

[CANDY] I thought
she was with the flowers.

[TWIG] She's not with the flowers.

Did she just wander off?
Where did she go?

[CANDY] She was helping me with
the pies, and then she went outside.

[TWIG] You've said that. Where?

[CANDY] I... I don't know.
To the fields, or with the flowers.

[TWIG] She's not with the flowers!

You're scaring us now, Candy.

[JUNE] Do you know where she is or not?

- [CANDY] I'm sorry.
- [TWIG SIGHS]

She's at the river.

[JUNE] You let her go
to the river by herself?

We don't even know if she can swim!

[INAUDIBLE]

Alice!

- Alice...
- Alice, it's OK, baby girl.

- It's OK.
- [WHIMPERS]

- [TWIG] I'm not going to hurt you.
- [JUNE] Shh...

- [TWIG] It's alright. It's OK.
- [CRIES]

- [CRIES, BREATHES RAGGEDLY]
- Get a blanket.

- Shh, shh...
- [CRIES HYPERVENTILATES]

- [SOBS]
- It's OK.

[SIGHS]

_

_

_

[SIGHING HEAVILY]

The lawyer faxed over
the files for the Coroner.

Yeah.

They sent Agnes's original will as well.

Yep. Thanks, mate.

I could vaguely come at

why Agnes would name
you guardian four months ago,

after you tried to help her.

But two years ago?

I thought you didn't even
know her back then.

Uh, well, I... I didn't.

She came to Gemma's funeral.

But I didn't really know her.

She brought us a...
a plant. She... She...

She would come to the
library sometimes, and...

And we'd talk books.

Later, she would talk to
me about Alice, and I'd...

I'd talk to her about Gemma.

Hold on. So you knew what was
going on with Clem back then?

No. No, no, I didn't know.

I mean, there were...
there were hints, but

it wasn't till later that I saw
signs that he was hurting her,

and then I told you.

And then Alice turned up to the library,

and you know all the rest.

Do I?

I've been investigating
this thing for months, Sal,

trying to put all the pieces together.

Yeah, I know. I know. I'm sorry.
I didn't think it mattered.

I didn't know she put me in her will.

So did you get anything on June?

A drink driving charge
from years ago.

I don't know. There's stuff
in her history, but it's... it's...

Complicated.

- So you're not going to tell me now?
- Oh, jeez, Sal.

You know I shouldn't have
looked in the first place.

♪ ♪

I spoke to Alice's
nurse at the hospital.

She's had these sorts
of panic att*cks before.

And she put me on to a, um, Dr Harris.

He felt Alice should be in therapy

for PTSD and anxiety.

He also suggested dr*gs.

For a nine-year-old?

♪ ♪

Oh, wow!

You made this, Clem?

You have a gift.

[CAR DRIVES]

[MUSIC PLAYS SOFTLY]

Oggi, homework. I'll be right back.

[OGGI] I don't have any homework.

- Hi.
- [MAN] Coffee. Please.

Are you in for dinner,

or here to get drunk?

Just making deliveries,
and then I'm heading home.

Flowers and pies.

Now, that is a winning combination.

Where's the big man?

The big man had a big day.

[EXHALES] You can say that again.

Hey.

I'm sorry things didn't
work out with Alice.

But now you're in the will.

Maybe you've got a sh*t.

Huh, yeah, well... gotta be a longshot.

Custody battles can get very messy.

Yeah, but...

June's got a pretty interesting record.

All those assaults.

It's no wonder Clem
turned out the way he did.

You didn't hear this from me,

but we had a call at the hospital.

Alice had another one
of her panic att*cks.

Scared the hell out of them.

- Calling it a night?
- Mm-hm.

How about you?

I used to have a whole
set of playing cards

with girls on them who
looked just like you.

Mmm.

And I bet you played
with them all the time.

No shame in that.

Hmm.

So where are you headed?

Mmm...

Nowhere.

[ROOSTER CROWS]

[BIRDS CHIRP]

_

_

Firewheel is

"the colour of my fate".

Emu bush is

"my hidden worth".

We mix it with some phragmite,

for "dangerous pleasures".

And paper daisies mean...

"by your love I live and die".

The perfect wedding bouquet

for a marriage that's
bound to end badly.

Don't they all?

Oh, for God's sake girl,

put on your lips.

I can't tell who's talking without them.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[GENTLE CLATTERING]

[KEYPAD BEEPS]

[PHONE RINGS]

June Hart here.

- June. It... It's Sally Morgan.
- [SIGHS]

I'm just...

I'm calling to see how Alice is going.

She's fine.

Settling in.

Asking lots of questions.

Sh... Asking?

Is she talking again?

Yeah.

Well, th... that's...

That's amazing, Alice is talking again.

Hey.

I... I was... I was just wondering...

Has she had any more panic att*cks

since she's been with you?

No. Not that I'm aware of.

Um, for the sake of transparency,

I want you to know the...

The main reason that I'm calling.

A solicitor has contacted us.

And Agnes changed her will

before she d*ed.

She appointed me as...

As Alice's guardian,

in... in... In the case that y-you
were deemed unfit to care for her.

Sal. Sal.

Unfit?

What are you saying?

I'm saying that you should know
that I'm talking to the lawyer,

and I am taking steps...

To get custody of Alice.

[JOHN] Please, Sal...

[SALLY] Would you...
Could I please talk to Alice?

I would like to hear her voice.

- Sal!
- Wait!

I mean... I was on the phone to her!

- What the f*ck are you doing?
- You just hung up on her!

- What are you doing?
- What?

I know for a fact that Alice
is having panic att*cks.

How... How could you possibly know that?

- It doesn't matter how I know.
- It doesn't matter!

It does matter, Sal,
you've just threatened her.

- No, I haven't.
- You just threatened her.

I said that I am taking
steps to get Alice back.

Which is what I'm doing.

With or without you.

- [GENTLE KNOCKING]
- [HINGES SQUEAK]

[SOFT FOOTSTEPS]

So, I wanted to give you this.

It's the Thornfield Language Of Flowers.

It was started by your
great-great grandmother, Ruth.

And then every
generation has added to it.

It's our very own secret language.

Here.

You pick out a flower,

something special to you.

♪ ♪

Wattle.

"Always with you".

- [SOFT CLANKING]
- [PAPER RUSTLES]

_

No.

_

[WOMAN] June!

[DISTANTLY] June!

[SNIFFS]

[INSECTS CHIRRUP]

[BREATHES SHAKILY]

It's from Paddy.

It was by the door.

They're our wedding rings,

from the night he b*at me,

and I lost the baby.

His, and, um...

The one he cut off my f*cking finger.

[SHAKILY] You said you'd keep me safe.

[CRIES]

- Please...
- I will.

[SOBS]

If we move Stella,

we're just putting her in more danger.

And that's what he wants: to scare her.

- But out there, we can't protect her.
- Yeah.

But if that Sally bitch
gets a whiff of this,

they're going to take
Alice away from us.

That's not going to happen.

I'm going to find this
fucker and get rid of him.

[INSECTS CHIRRUP]

[CREATURE CALLS]

There he is.

Hmm.

[TWIG] Can't believe he got parole.

I think I saw him at the diner.

You think you did or you did?

I think I did.

[JUNE SIGHS]

- Let's send it through to Esther.
- Yep.

I can try him on the radio.

He's out at the Hart property.

Just let him know I came by.

I chatted to a cop I know,

about June Hart.

Oh, yeah. What did he have to say?

Well, for starters, there's
definitely no love lost

between June and the police.

She won't let them on her
property without a warrant.

The locals out there think the
farm's some sort of lesbian cult.

I went online.

It's four hours inland, no website.

It's not on any maps.

There's just a PO Box and
a number you can contact

from the flower markets in the city.

That's it.

Look at you, big detective.

Thank you, I... I appreciate it.

Sal.

My mate did say he'd be happy to...

Keep an eye out for her...

Apply a bit of pressure on June.

Only if you wanted.

[SOFTLY] f*ck!

- [KIDS CHANT TIMES TABLES]
- [INDISTINCT CONVERSATION]

[CHANTING CONTINUES]

_

[CHANTING CONTINUES]

So why can't she speak?

Ah, she was in a fire.

It b*rned down her house
and took away her voice.

Where does she live now?

S-she lives on a wildflower farm.

Should have guessed she was
one of those Thornfield retards.

Here we go.

So, is your mother a junkie,

a whore, or a lesbian,

like Oggi.

- [KIDS GASP]
- Ooh!

- [BOTH GRUNT]
- [CHILDREN] Oh!

[KIDS CLAMOUR]

[ALL CHANT] Fight, fight, fight!

[CHANTING CONTINUES]

[SIREN WAILS]

Afternoon, June.

Why did you pull me over?

Random breath test.

Had anything to drink today, June?

For f*ck's sake.

[CHUCKLES]

June, I was about to call you.

Were you?

To see how your harassment's going?

Ah, I'm not sure I follow.

You trying to be funny, Sergeant?

Yeah, I wasn't sure what your

crazy wife was up to the other day.

But getting the local cops
in to intimidate me...

I don't scare easy.

- And I sure as hell know my rights.
- [KNOCKS ON WINDOW]

So you better call off your boys,

or I'll have you all
done for harassment.

_

Mum.

She... She said it
was a terrible accident.

[CAR DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES]

Mr Chandler, so sorry
that this has happened.

And thank you again for
being so understanding.

Alice, come on, sweetheart.

Off we go. See you later, Oggi.

Thank you. See you again.

[MR CHANDLER] See you tomorrow, Alice.

_

[CHIMES TINKLE]

♪ ♪

[JUNE] So what are they
calling us these days?

Are we witches?

Are we drug addicts?

Lesbians?

Some people in this town don't like

the idea of women running a farm.

And they don't like that
we keep to ourselves,

and that we're different.

It scares them.

But I'll tell you a secret.

Their fear

gives us a certain power over them.

That and the fact that they're idiots.

Good timing.

I... I've printed out a...

A draft of the court papers

for you to go over.

What the f*ck were you thinking?

Going behind my back to Chef,
of all f*cking people.

Getting his mates to
apply pressure to June.

Huh?

Well, you can forget this,

'cause June will be
well within her rights

to sue us and the entire f*cking
police department for harassment.

I didn't want to go behind your back,

really, I... I didn't.

But then I found out that...

You weren't telling me
everything about June's record.

I told you she had a drink
driving charge from years ago!

Yes, you did tell me that, but you
didn't tell me about the assaults.

I didn't tell you about
the assaults, Sal,

because June has been the
victim in every one of them.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[MUSIC PLAYS SOFTLY]

Thanks, Esther.

You look like you could use another.

No, I'm fine, thanks.

Oh, let me buy you a drink.

Esther.

- Cheers.
- Cheers.

[EXHALES]

- I don't want another.
- Oh...

I hate to drink alone.

Look, I don't want to be rude,

but I'm not interested.

[CHUCKLES]

No, I'm sure you'd be much
more interested in, uh...

Someone much younger,

nicely put together,

spunky...

[INHALES]

Bright red lipstick.

Who the f*ck are you?

Esther.

I don't want a

drink, not from you.

Now, you stay the f*ck
away from me, or I'll f*cking...

Or what?

You gonna hit me?

[CHUCKLES]

You...

You f*cking p*ssy.

Oh, that's right.

You only like to...

b*at up on young girls,

young, pregnant girls, even better.

[CHAIR SLIDES]

[WHISPERS] Come on.

Coward.

I'm not falling for it.

I... I get the guilt, yeah?

And I get...

that you miss our daughter.

I do too.

- I said I was sorry.
- Oh, stop saying that!

I don't want "sorry". I...

I want you to talk to me, Sal.

Just talk to me.

Please.

Just tell me the truth.

[GROANS]

[BREATHES HEAVILY]

[GROANS]

[GASPS]

[WHISPERS] Come on.

Agh! [GROANS]

[MAN] Oi!

[GROANS]

[BREATHES HEAVILY]

[INSECTS CHIRRUP]

The things you do.

I got him, though.

- Ow!
- Sorry.

- Ow!
- Is that better?

[LAUGHS] Don't make me laugh.

[WHISPERS] Sorry.

- [BIRDS CALL]
- _

Rosie.

Thank you.

It's not as bad as it looks.

I decided to clean out
the damn greenhouse

and got whacked in the face
with a falling branch.

♪ ♪

Sal?

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]

What is this?

That's not Alice, is it?

Why was Clem Hart carving our daughter?

I need you to say it, Sal.

I need you to say it.

Say it!

S-she...

She was his.

Gemma was his.

No...

[PHOEBE BRIDGERS:
"NOTHING ELSE MATTERS"]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[CLEM] "Dear Agnes,

"This story reminds me of you,

"how being around you
makes me feel I'm falling,

"but in the most wonderful way.

"Since you arrived at Thornfield,
my life has changed.

"You're more beautiful than
any flowers that grow here.

"I think that's why Mum
loves you so much."

[SCREAMS]

"You're the daughter
she's always wanted."

No, Daddy!

Daddy!

[SONG CONTINUES]

Hey, I've got you.

[SOBS]

[COUGHS]

You're OK.

- [GASPS]
- You're alright.


♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[SONG ENDS]