13x08 - Episode Eight

[bunniefuu]

CHILDREN CHATTER

MATURE JENNIFER: They say a woman's
work is never done,

and neither is a mother's,

any more than it begins or
knows its boundaries.

Day by day, night by night,
morning by morning,

a mother sees all things,

seeks to meet all needs,

and always with a love

that need not speak its name.

As Nurse Crane is still at the

maternity home with Mrs Singh,

I have the pleasure of giving
morning orders today.

PHONE RINGS

She has, however, left me
a note written in red ink.

"Nota bene - bedbugs at
Lisbon Buildings."

PHONE STILL RINGING

Nonnatus House. Midwife speaking.

Rosalind, I'm calling to say
I'll be late.

I'm afraid I overslept.

Gosh, you'll be lucky if you get
here in time for elevenses.

What do you want me to say?

That I was ill in the night,

but I woke up feeling better
and I'll come in anyway.

I don't know about these municipal
fireworks down at the Rec, Reg.

I know Violet's the mayor
and she has to go

to make it look important but...

...it's not the same as having
our own party.

Nonnatus House is having a party.

I'm going to that one.
I know you are.

But there'll be shop fireworks,
not homemade.

- And who's going to set 'em off?
- Cyril.

He's got extra long matches.

It's not about the length of the
matches, Reggie.

It's about... the technique.

Fred...

What?

WHISPERS:
You look really pale.

And all together now.

CHILDREN:
Fireworks are fun for everyone,

but only if you're careful!

REVEREND:
Very good. Very good.

Come here, boys.

And our warmest thanks to Akela,
Baloo and the Cubs

for that very educational display.

Before we move on to our hymn,
I've been asked to mention

the upcoming Poplar Mother
of the Year competition.

First prize is a fully a*t*matic
washing machine.

MOTHERS:
Ooh!

And a place in the all London final
in January next year.

Tell your children to get their
tributes to their mums

- in by the end of the week.
- Akela!

All forms of artwork are encouraged.

Paintings, poetry and handicrafts
are all welcome.

Oh, I'm sorry I missed
clinic yesterday.

I had my wee in my handbag,
all ready to go,

but I got sidetracked.

Ugh, my hands are that full at
the minute,

looking after my sister's three
as well as my own.

Do you want it now?

I don't have the proper
accoutrements, Mrs Walker.

Erm, are you at home tomorrow morning?

DOOR OPENS, VIOLET SIGHS

I don't know what I used
to do with my time

on early closing days before
I became mayor.

I've been debating play streets

and dog dirt bylaws all afternoon.

- Cup of tea?
- Oh, bless you, Reggie.

I am parched.

FRED COUGHS

I polished your chain.

Oh, you don't look 100%, Fred.

He's very pale.

Oh, I'm sorry,

but you aren't coming to the
municipal display tonight.

Oh...

I was looking forward to it.

I know, but you need to rest.

I'm perfectly capable of oohing
and aahing

at a few Roman candles on my own.

Hey, Cyril!

Got your extra long matches!

Ahh! Now it feels like
Bonfire Night!

ALL CHUCKLE

FIREWORK FIZZES AND BANGS

ONLOOKERS GASP

Not so fast! Anyone would
think you were Cinderella

storming off into the darkness minus
her prince and a sling back.

Oh, hello, Geoffrey.

Well, as it happens,

I appear to be wearing a
full complement of shoes,

and I'm not going to comment
on the prince situation.

Ouch!

Do say you're coming to the fireworks.

I've brought a whole box of
Catherine wheels

and some dandelion and burdock.

- Who invited you?
- Sister Veronica.

We keep up quite a lively
correspondence.

Oh, sis, please don't go sloping
off on your own.

I can't bear it.

I find it hard to bear anything else
at the moment.

You need me to come round
and cook for you.

Coq au vin, and choice
of sparkling repartee

or companionable silence.

Either would be nice.
Let's arrange it soon.

You two have got much better
names for writing in sparklers.

By the time I get to the end of writing
"Rosalind", the beginning's disappeared.

I tend to do better if I
just write "Geoff",

which isn't a name I ever use in life.

Nurse Highland. Look who's here!

Sylvester!

How did you know there was a party?

I called this morning to see
if I could visit.

Sister Julienne thought I
should come as a surprise.

You want some cake? We have Toto,

which is my own recipe from Jamaica.

And parkin, which is

- a British... delicacy.
- Thank you.

Nothing like a taste of home.

How long is your sister going
to be in hospital?

They reckon at least another six weeks.

It's that complicated, what's
going on with her back.

And I wouldn't mind,

only it's three buses to get to the
Orthopaedic Hospital.

Hmm.

Beryl, you need to take better care
of yourself.

If it all gets too much,
I need you to tell me.

Understood?

How do you spell "exemplary"?

E-X-E-M-P-L-A-R-Y.

Thanks.

I'm not supposed to know
what they're doing.

You're Mother of the Year every year.

I don't see why they have to enter a
poem in a competition.

Oh, Timothy!

PHONE RINGS

- Turner residence.
- Mrs Turner?

Oh, hello, Miss Williams.

We're due at the welfare office
with May

at the end of this month, aren't we?

You were. But I'm calling to say

that the appointment has been
brought forward.

Esther Tang, May's mother, has
had a change of circumstance.

She wants to speak to May.

- Speak to her?
- Yes.

At her request, we're booking
an international call

to our office number to take place
during our meeting with yourselves.

Can we discuss this with May first?

I'm afraid this must take place
as soon as possible.

So, we have nine individual
garter tags,

all with slightly frayed elastic.

That's easy enough to amend.

It's important for kiddies to have a
uniform,

when uniform is called for...

even if it's second hand.

KNOCK ON DOOR

Good evening.

I wonder if I might speak to
Miss Millicent Higgins.

I am Miss Higgins.
How may I help you?

I found your address
on the electoral roll

and I would like to talk to you
about a confidential matter.

I am the wife of Victor Chopra.

- Phyllis.
- Hmm?

I'm afraid I must ask you to leave.

Of course.

Has something untoward occurred?

Please, I would like you to leave.

Victor is very much alive and
he is here, in London.

Is he well?

He has had problems with
his health, but,

yes, he is well enough.

Is he happy?

Yes.

Victor is adept at joy.

He has a knack for it.

Victor...

I knew that was the name his
adoptive parents had chosen,

but I always thought of him as John.

I still do.

Is that permitted?

I'm allowed to think, "Is John well?
Is John happy?

"Did John make a decent life?"

Everything is permitted, Miss Higgins.

He is your son.

DOOR OPENS

Oh...

DOOR CLOSES

Drink this. I wish it was whisky.

Sherry doesn't seem strong enough,
all things considered.

The British drank all the time
in India.

We started drinking on the
boat going out there.

I was 21

and a part of what they called
"the fishing fleet".

- Fishing? For what?
- Husbands.

There was such a superfluity of
single men.

After the Great w*r, that was
supposed to matter.

My parents had gone home from
the Punjab when I was ten,

but I yearned to return.

Yearned.

I wanted India more than
I could have wanted any man.

Oh, Millicent.

My mother and father sent me out
to a widowed friend in Simla.

And I found employment in
a private lending library,

after which all talk of fishing ceased.

It's strange how swiftly
we come to assume

that we don't need love when
we're young and independent.

Hmm. When we're old and independent.

One day,

a young tutor came in...

...needing three copies of Henry V.

He was coaching a family stationed
in Simla that summer.

And the summer after that.

Did you walk out together
for a long time?

We didn't "walk out" at all.

His name was Krishnan Chaudri.

But you'd be surprised what
can be achieved

when both of you are respectable.

What other people don't notice...

or think to look for.

I never once mentioned him when
I wrote home to my parents.

I can't get it out of my head that

the changed circumstance is
that she has married.

Esther is a young woman, Patrick.

Working as a nanny for a British Army
family might have given her...

opportunities.

PATRICK SIGHS

And if it has...

...and if those opportunities
are genuine,

then we have to try to see them as
opportunities for May, too.

SHE SIGHS
I know, I know, but...

Shelagh...

May isn't ours.

Every day just now, I have to
remind myself of that.

Gwendoline, the widow with
whom I lodged,

sent me to a place she knew
of in Lahore.

And by the time John was born,
arrangements had been made

for him to go to a suitable family.

A mother of Dutch extraction
and Hindu father.

They couldn't have children
of their own.

Millicent, if it's any consolation
at all,

the most cherished little ones
I have ever come across

in all my years in this game

are the ones adopted by parents
who'd given up hope.

John is only in England for two weeks.

And he wants to meet me.

SISTER VERONICA HUMS

There is no need for musical
accompaniment.

I eschewed lauds this morning

on the grounds that my spirit
was in need of silence.

HUMMING STOPS

There you are.

If there's anywhere else you'd like
to... see to...

We've a little project on our hands
this half term.

Young Colette wants to
enter Nurse Corrigan

for the Mother of the Year contest,

and I thought we could do it in
the form of a big painting.

This is scarcely lukewarm!

It's a good job it wasn't a Kn*fe!

SHE SOBS

The thing is, Sister, is it
acceptable to look for faith?

I'm not sure I've found the
right church yet.

Looking for the right church...

...isn't quite the same as
seeking God.

I'm sorry, Sister,

but I require your intervention

before I let myself down and put
my hands round someone's throat!

You must apologise.

I am truly sorry, Sister...

...and I ask for your forgiveness.

And so must you.

My dignity has been compromised enough.

They wouldn't put up with that
attitude in the mother house!

No, they would not, and I will
not put up with it here.

You speak less like a Sister
in the vowed life

than the vexed parent of
recalcitrant offspring. Hmm!

Which is not a coincidence,
for that is exactly how I feel.

Then I apologise.

Thank you.

SHE SIGHS

Sister Julienne?
May I speak with you?

- MAN: I had thought roses.
- Hmm.

But... I don't think red would strike
the proper note at all.

- The chrysanthemums are nice.
- Oh.

- Two bunches, yes?
- In two colours.

But not the white.

I would like these, please.

HE EXHALES

Esther Tang was certainly very
well known to us in Hong Kong.

She gave birth to May in our
maternity home,

and the child ended up
in the orphanage.

What concerns me is what's
happening now

and what it may mean for May's future.

I'm going to sanction an
unusual expenditure.

I would like you to send
a telegram of enquiry

to Sister Margery at the Hong Kong
branch house

and see what can be ascertained.

This may be a case of forewarned
being forearmed.

Mm-hm.

CLOCK CHIMES

KNOCK ON DOOR

DOOR OPENS

MURMURED CONVERSATION

DOOR CLOSES

I... wanted to bring you flowers
to express my respect

and my gratitude for your hospitality.

And now I find...

...they are simply in the way.

We must put them in water.

PHONE RINGS

Dr Turner's surgery.

No, I'm afraid you can't order
antibiotics over the phone.

Why not?

Because they're a targeted
treatment for bacterial infections

and not a panacea for all ills.

LINE DISCONNECTS

CHILDREN SHOUT

BERYL GROANS

Oh! I'm really sorry.

SHE GASPS AND GROANS

But I think I'm in labour!

SHE GROANS

But my father was in the
Indian Civil Service.

The coincidence seems quite
extraordinary.

I was fortunate that the changes
after Partition

enabled a degree of advancement.

We were able to send our boy
to a private school in Delhi.

Run by the Christian Brothers.

Hari's a nice name. How are
you spelling it?

The English way, since he went to
university, H-A-R-R-Y.

I am struggling to digest the fact
that I have a grandson

reading dentistry in Liverpool.

VICTOR CHUCKLES

- Would you like to see a photograph?
- Oh, do you have one?

I have many photographs.
And much else besides.

May I just see a picture of
Harry... first of all?

Will the kids be all right with that
lad at the desk?

He don't look very experienced.

Young Mr Turner has more miles on
the babysitting clock

than you could possibly believe.

WOMAN MOANS

Oh, hell's bells.

Hang on.

I'm feeling it on me back passage.

It's just revved up like Stirling Moss.

Steady as you go, Mrs Viner.

KNOCK ON DOOR

Are you turned round yet? I need
to send Lynne Viner in.

Mrs Chopra, I hope you don't
object to my enquiring,

but is your husband entirely well?

Did you notice his ankles are swollen?

Victor has been sick for a long time...

...with Bright's disease of
the kidneys.

I see.

I did notice a little puffiness,
I can't deny it.

Should we arrange for him to be
seen by our practice doctor?

No.

He is enjoying his freedom from
doctors on this trip.

It is part, I think, of the
happiness he feels.

Hmm.

Your son, my grandson, is
so very like you.

And so very like someone I once knew.

I was afraid that you would
not like me...

...that...

...I might not be the person...

...you carried in your mind.

VICTOR EXHALES

I was afraid that... I might
disappoint you.

Likewise.

But that was not the case.

No.

THEY LAUGH

SHE SCREAMS

I'm sorry. Did I just wee
in your face?

It was...

It was amniotic fluid.

SHE GROANS

BABY CRIES

A little girl.

A "Congratulations" would be nice.

SHE GASPS

BABY CRIES

It's a false alarm, ain't it?

Things are cooling down rather than
hotting up.

But you can stay for a couple of
hours' rest if you want to.

Rest? Huh! No offence, Nurse.
I'd get more rest

down Piccadilly Circus.

BABY CRIES

The wages are all ready for payday.

Just the packets to stamp.

Meanwhile, the solicitors have
sent details through

for the transfer of deeds to the Order.

The Nonnatus House deeds?

Mother Mildred insists we proceed.

If the council ever enacts the
compulsory purchase,

she is of the view that it would be
to our advantage.

You sound a bit weary, Sister.

I'm sorry.

I don't mean to.

DOOR OPENS

Where have you been, Reggie?

Comics are your job, and
I worry when you wander off

and you come in late.

I went to the shed to
find a biscuit tin

for the Mother of the Year contest.

What are you planning to do with
a rusty biscuit tin, Reg?

I'm not sure.

The wages are in.

PHONE RINGS

Nonnatus House. How may I help?

Hello, Sylvester.

Joyce is right here.

I always wanted to see
the River Thames,

even before I knew I had a drop
of its water in my veins.

I always wanted to see the Ganges.

I finally managed it the year
before you were born.

Hindu people in London perform
their rituals here now.

Was my father a practising Hindu?

Oh, yes.

That was why I was pleased when I heard

you were going to Mr and Mrs Chopra.

There had been more concern about
your likely physical appearance, but...

I wanted a life for you that was
more than skin deep.

What did my father want?

Above all things,

Krishnan wanted to do what
was right by his family.

And that involved a marriage
that was not to me.

One so often hears of men
doing the honourable thing,

and he did the honourable thing...
in his way.

I wish you had been able to
have a happy ending.

We had an ending.

Tears were shed, but...

who's to say that he or
I would have known

a greater portion of contentment
had things been otherwise?

Or you.

I am content now with your arm in mine.

Is this all of it?

No. It's half.

You don't do too badly, Claudine.

I worked for this money,

like I worked for this life.

And I could take it all, simply
by telling people who you are

and how many lies you told.

- But I choose not to.
- No.

You chose this because
there's more profit in it.

It cost me everything I had to come
out here in search of you.

You owe me recompense
for that, at least.

This is just the start.

- Hmm.
- Hm.

- Such a treat.
- Hm.

I always thought it rather a shame
Julie Andrews didn't sing about

whelks in These Are A Few Of My
Favourite Things.

VICTOR LAUGHS

There aren't many words that rhyme
with "whelks".

I am a very great admirer
of Julie Andrews.

- Mm. She has superlative diction.
- Mm.

I sometimes find her choice of
roles a little anodyne.

What's your favourite film?

Rear Window.

- Oh.
- Yours?

- Spartacus.
- Ah.

Favourite novel?

Forever Amber.

The Maltese Falcon.

Composer?

- Chopin.
- Brahms.

This is an excellent game.

- And these are excellent whelks.
- Mmm!

HE EXHALES

HE GROANS

My dear, are you quite well?

I think... perhaps I am not.

HE GROANS

HE COUGHS

Chronic kidney disease is very
difficult to live with,

whether you call it glomerulonephritis

or Bright's disease.

In India, Bright's disease is
used more commonly.

But it's a very old name.

There are... more modern treatments.

I have a very good nephrologist
in Delhi.

When did you last see him?

A day or two before I came away.

Was he happy for you to travel?

I was not happy not to travel.

I have very important things
to do in England.

Mr Chopra, your kidneys are failing.

And so is your heart.

BREATHING QUICKLY

I need to find the details of all
the best specialists

for Dr Turner to peruse.

The Royal Free even has a
dedicated dialysis ward

with an artificial kidney.

It may be best to just
get Victor admitted

to St Cuthbert's as soon as possible,

at least while the next steps
are decided.

Is that tea for Mr and Mrs Chopra?

- I told them I'd send it through.
- Of course.

These...

...are the names of the best
nephrologists in London.

I understand that Leeds is also
a centre of excellence.

I will make sure he's seen
as soon as possible,

but...
HE SIGHS

...it may be too late to do
very much for him.

He's too young!

He...

...has a son who's still in his teens.

Do you know the family well?

We have a connection that goes
back many years.

May's said very little about this
appointment at the welfare office.

I think an awful lot goes over
the children's heads.

But for how much longer?

They may be children but they're
not little children any more.

There's all this talk about
fostering May

but Angela doesn't even know
she's adopted.

All the advice is to tell the
child once they are

old enough to understand.

Angela's got a telescope on the patio.

She's old enough to understand
the gravitational pull of the Earth.

Oh...

ANGELA:
Mummy!

May's crying. She's scared
about the meeting.

SHE SIGHS
I'm coming upstairs.

If I am to sleep here, where
will you rest your head?

There's a bed in the box room

and a convenient little
contrivance downstairs

called a studio couch.

I also have friends across the way
with whom I can lodge

if I'm not needed close at hand.

I think it is better that I am here.

Visiting hours in a hospital
may be very strict.

We will have to make the most of it.

If we can arrange for you
to have dialysis,

you might end up on the
far side of London.

What are your favourite flowers?

These.

It's so good of you to make the
time to come with us.

May kept saying she was scared
her mother would try

to talk Chinese to her.

I fear my Cantonese has subsided
to restaurant level.

But, Mrs Turner, I've had a telegram
from Sister Margery.

About May's mother?

Earlier this year, she lost her job
with the British Army family

and she ended up back on
the streets very quickly.

Oh, no.

The Sisters have taken her in again,

and she's just given
birth... to a baby boy.

Nurse Aylward, could you test
Lynne Viner's urine for me?

Yes, of course, Sister.

I'm afraid we seem to be out
of dipsticks.

You'll have to do it the
old-fashioned way,

with a spirit lamp.

SHE EXHALES

SHE SPEAKS CANTONESE

Miss Tang says she's a little
nervous, too.

As she doesn't want May to be anxious,

she's quite happy to speak
to her through me.

Are... are you happy with that?

SHE TRANSLATES

Do you like living in England?

SHE TRANSLATES

Are you getting good marks at school?

SHE TRANSLATES

And your mother asks,

"What do you want to be
when you grow up?"

A nurse or a hairdresser.

SHE TRANSLATES

SHE LAUGHS
She says, "Be a nurse!"

ALL LAUGH

Ohh!

Do you love your English
brothers and sisters?

Yes.
SHE TRANSLATES

And... do you love your English
mummy and daddy?

Yes.

SHE TRANSLATES

And do your English mummy
and daddy love you?

I know they do. They say it
all the time.

Would you like to live
with them forever?

Yes.

SHELAGH SOBS

Nurse Aylward, I found some dipsticks.

GLASS SHATTERS, SHE GASPS

No! No! No!

TRIXIE GASPS

I've been taking caffeine
tablets all day.

SHE SOBS

And I can't sleep and I can't work...

...and I can't think.

Trixie...

these burns are entirely superficial.

But if you were my patient,
and not my...

colleague whom I cherish dearly,

this is the point where
I would be saying,

"Is there anyone I should fetch
or telephone?"

Yes.

My brother.

THEY LAUGH

Will May's surname be Turner now,
the same as ours?

Yes, it will.

SHE EXHALES DEEPLY

TRIXIE GROANS

I'd like to say you look better for
a hot bath but I'd be lying.

I don't know what's worse - the
smell of the ointment or...

SHE GASPS
...the stinging.

First caffeine, now nitrazepam.

I could ask you to talk me through
the role these little darlings

played in this latest debacle,
but I suspect I don't need to.

Geoffrey, I'm not in the mood for this.

I'm not in the mood to indulge you.

Sis, there are many, many reasons
why you find yourself

in your current situation, but at
least 23 of them are in this bottle.

And they're going in the sink.

Geoffrey!

Ohh!

Oh, you can't do that.
PILLS RATTLE

Those tablets are only available
on prescription!

I may appear, to the casual observer,

to be an unassuming suburban bachelor,

but I have, in fact, seen more of
life than most.

And I know the role that
chemical dependence plays

in shattering lives that are
already fragile!

When did you last go to
Alcoholics Anonymous?

Too long ago.

I keep asking myself,
"Should we have travelled?"

But Victor's health has been broken
for a long time now.

Meeting his mother cannot repair
his body, but...

...it has brought him peace of mind.

I do hope it does the same
for Millicent.

How can he answer all her questions

when they have so little time together?

The whole of Victor's life is in here.

All the things she could only imagine.

All of the events that she
could not see.

So, if you were in a meeting...

...after you've said your name and
said you're an alcoholic...

...what would you say then?

I would say...

Every day...

at work...

I see the evidence of all that
love can do.

I see the joy that results from it.

I see the pain that results from it.

I see the panic and the bliss
and the...

...and the mess that it makes.

But in that room...

...I am in control of everything.

The power is all mine...

...the wisdom is all mine.

And the mess is only temporary?

Oh, it goes in the wash.

No-one has to deal with anything
for very long in the birthing room.

HE SIGHS

We both run from love, don't we?

Mm. It's the way we're forged.

We both want it,

but we fear it wants too much from us.

Sis, if you have to run...

...if you have to stay in perpetual,
panicked motion...

...run towards him.

And run towards the girl you
were on your wedding day.

I was a monster on my wedding day!

But you were a monster who
knew what love was.

You weren't scared of it.

Oh, you were fearless in
that white dress.

It was magnificent to see!
SHE CHUCKLES

This delivery pack has got
everything in it

that you'll need for a home birth.

Apart from clean sheets, a nightie
and someone to mind your kids.

I'll work something out.

It's my afternoon for going to
the hospital to see my sister.

I'm taking the youngest two with me.

You look a bit flushed, Beryl.

Will you let me run some checks
on you while I'm here?

Oh, I've no time.

We're having a packed lunch
on the bus as it is.

You must be Harry.

You must be my grandmother!

Of course I don't mind that you
call me Mum, Reggie!

What a funny thing to ask,
after all this time!

But would my other mum mind?

Well, I like to think that
she'd be very happy

that I'm looking after you.

I'm doing her job because she can't.

People can be mothers in lots
of different ways.

And people need mothers in
different ways as well.

Help! Help!

I have a very sick lady on my bus.

Wh... what's the matter with her?
Have you called an ambulance?

PHONE RINGS

Nonnatus House. Midwife speaking.

I'm fine, I'm fine!

No, no, I really don't think you
are, dear. But help is on its way.

I just need someone to look after
the kids!

I know, I know.

Thank you.

Oh, thank goodness!

Now, what's all this commotion about?

How about we all keep calm
until the ambulance arrives?

I can feel its head.

Ah! One of those that knows
its own mind.

Mrs Buckle, if you could
grab those kids?

If I'm remembering correctly,
Beryl has some jam butties

- in her bag.
- Right.

How about we give them some of those?

- I'm glad it's you.
- Oh, dear.

SHE GROANS

I wanted to come to Liverpool

to see what your hall of
residence was like.

Denton Hall isn't bad.

It is all men but you cannot
have everything.

We sent you to university to look
at teeth, not girls!

When I come up,

I want to see you in your white tunic

at the Dental Hospital.

Daddy...

...you're not going to be able
to come up, are you?

Don't tell your mother.

SHE GROANS

Little pushes for the head, Beryl.

Just little ones for now.

Blow, if it helps.

SHE YELLS

There you go! One head,
complete with hair.

Oh, well done. Well done, love!

Wait for Baby to turn now.
You know the drill.

I reckon if I gave one great
walloping push, we'd have it!

Hold off for a second.

Oh, it's coming!

SHE STRAINS

No, Beryl. No.

Blow. Blow.

SHE BLOWS

The cord is round its neck.

SHE PANTS

SHE STRAINS

Jeez, you don't do things by halves.

Push, Beryl.

SHE YELLS

BABY CRIES

Oh!

What a gorgeous, gorgeous little lad.

- Born at...
- 23 minutes past three.

On the 23 bus.

SHE LAUGHS
It's a boy!

WHISTLING AND CLAPPING OUTSIDE

Nurse Crane, I'll unload the autoclave

when I get back from the Pentecostal
service at St Oswald's.

I'm running a bit late.

Is this another entry for
Mother of the Year?

Hmm?

Something like that.

♪ From all alarms

♪ Leaning

♪ Leaning

♪ Leaning on

♪ The everlasting arms. ♪

Brothers and sisters, if any of you
wish to come forward

and testify what Jesus has done
in your life this week,

now is the time to share it,

so we can give thanks
and praise together.

Please.

Praise the Lord, church.

ALL:
Praise the Lord.

The Almighty has been doing great
things for me.

ALL MURMUR IN AGREEMENT

SHE SOBS
He is worse.

I know he is worse.

We must wait to see what
Dr Turner says.

He conferred with the Royal Free
only this afternoon.

DOOR OPENS

I'm going to arrange for him to have
oxygen at home, urgently.

First thing in the morning,
if it can't be done tonight.

Then I'm going to have one more push
at getting him dialysis.

I will come into the surgery tomorrow.

You and Victor will require
my assistance.

I came to this city with nothing.

I came without work,
or material prospects.

And then I found a church.

And friends.

And I rediscovered the power of prayer.

WOMAN: Praise God!

Here, in my hand, is my first
wage packet.

The money won't last long,

but I am going to keep
the envelope forever

because it is stamped with
the date and the day

God changed my life.

ALL:
Praise the Lord.

THEY CHUCKLE

MRS CHOPRA:
Oh, the bicycle you rode to school!

HARRY:
Is that Grandma?

MRS CHOPRA:
Yes.

SHE CHUCKLES

Thank you for making me so welcome,
Pastor Robinson.

Oh, I'm glad our church
has been a blessing.

Starting in a strange place
can be hard.

BELL CHIMES

Sylvester, do you mind stopping
so that I can ask you something?

You're out late, aren't you?

No, thanks. I only smoke
mentholated.

Sylvester, what were you doing with
a Nonnatus House wage packet?

What?

In church.

I saw you, from the back.

And why were you lying
and saying it was yours?

Maybe that's between me and my cousin.

Maybe you ought to ask her.

That would be prying.

This is a direct question.

You ask the direct questions to your
friend, Nurse Joyce Highland.

See if she will tell you the truth.

And tell her to give my regards
to Claudine!

MACHINE WHIRS QUIETLY

DOOR OPENS

WHISPERS:
Mariam's dozed off in the box room.

Harry's on the studio couch.

Let them rest, for now.

I'll sit up with him.

Hold his hand.

But who in the name of God is Claudine?

Is she some sort of fancy piece of his?

If Sylvester's been fleecing you for
money,

he's the one who needs to
be hitting the high road.

Or getting a smack in his smirking
face...

And what good is v*olence going to do?

He's got fists like rocks
and an anger in him

that you cannot quench.

And I know because I tried
to quench it.

You can tell me to shut up
if you want to,

but are you telling us the whole story?

SHE SNIFFS

No.

No... I am not.

And if Sylvester is a liar, I am worse.

I am Claudine.

My name is not Joyce and
Sylvester is not my cousin.

He is my husband.

I left him and changed my name

and came to England looking
for a better life.

So now you're just going to
run away from it?

Maybe I'm running before I get pushed

and stripped of everything!

We are not going to let that happen!

But we are going to talk to
Sister Julienne.

BIRDSONG

MARIAM SOBS

In the end, I was there for his
first breath...

...and his last.

I know.

Not many mothers can say that.

I never wanted to lie.

I only wanted to survive.

Nurse Highland...

...do you think I haven't
seen stories like yours

played out a thousand times?

Bright, valuable women
brought to their knees

by the ignorance and brutality of men?

I will examine the paperwork
and see what can be done

to put things in the proper order.

Will you involve the police?

Yes.

Your tenure here is not in question,

but my feeling is we must report
Sylvester Warren

for blackmail, making demands
with menaces.

Why are you doing this for me?

Because... in leaving that man,
and that life,

you have done more for yourself
than too many women

can find the strength to do.

I consider it an honour to match
my strength to yours.

MATTHEW: It's not forever.
In four or five months' time

I can come home and manage
things from a distance.

TRAFFIC RUMBLES, HE SIGHS

But I wish you were here.

I was there once.

HE CHUCKLES
It's like I can see your footprints

on every street I walk down.

And my fingerprints in every shop?

HE LAUGHS

Yeah, I don't really go in the shops
much these days.

I wouldn't either now.

We'd be doing something else together.

Building, from the ground up, just
like proper newlyweds.

Instead of...
shrieking from the rooftops,

like we'd won some sort of race?

Did you feel like that, too?

Oh...

I felt like I'd won...

...every prize.

Every competition the world
had to offer.

Just at the point when we had
to start earning it.

Earning what?

Our happiness.

Or maybe just each other.

I think that possibly comes
to the same thing.

Hmm.

I wish you were here.

I will be soon.

I'm coming out to join you.

HE LAUGHS

Thank you!

It... it's not for ever.

SHE LAUGHS AND SNIFFS

DOORBELL RINGS

You didn't come to meet me as
arranged, so I came to you.

And you think that will frighten me?

It might've worked before,

but it won't work now.

Why, Claudine, when all I have
to do is tell the truth?

Because the truth is mine,
and I have told it

to good people, who will not
use it as a w*apon.

SHE SUCKS TEETH

CLAPPING

QUIET CHATTER

What are Mum and Dad talking
to Angela about?

I'm sure they'll tell us.
It won't be a secret.

And that's your story, sweetheart.

You have made us happier
than you will ever know.

Thank you for choosing me.

BOTH SIGH AND LAUGH

Good morning, dear Sister,
in Jesus Christ's name.

I greet you likewise,
and with affection.

SISTER MONICA JOAN LAUGHS

If only Sister Julienne were
here to witness it!

SHE LAUGHS

She deserves more praise than ever
she receives, or would look for.

And not just from us.

I must be washed and dressed forthwith.

We have stratagems to implement.

My mother wondered if you would want

to scatter his ashes on the river.

No.

People only use the Thames for rituals

when they can't get to the
Ganges or go home.

Your father can do both of those,
now that he's been cremated.

The flowers are enough.

Do you want me to put them
on the water for you?

I... I don't want you to wet
your shoes or slip.

That would be very kind.

I have made a miniature garden

to celebrate that I have two mothers.

The soil is from Poplar

because this is where we all come from.

The ivy is because my first mum
was called Ivy.

And the violets are because
my new mum...

...is called Violet.

Erm, as you can see, around the garden,

there's a ribbon, from Violet's
haberdasher's,

erm, in the colour that Ivy liked best.

And, erm, Reggie says that
the bow means love.

Bravo!

I... I am not known for relishing
the Limelight.

But today we come in praise of
one who seeks it even less.

She has been present at the
opening of 1,000 pairs of eyes

and witnessed the closing
of 1,000 more.

She has soothed the sick
and fed the hungry.

She has given counsel,
offered consolation.

And she has dried tears.

She has performed a mother's
work for decades.

And like a mother, she has sought
no thanks.

But in every house, in every street,

there are women and children
and mothers who love her.

And these are the tokens of
their regard...

...for Sister Julienne, of the Order
of St Raymond Nonnatus.

MATURE JENNIFER:
We are born knowing nothing

and no-one but our mother,

and never again will the world
feel so complete.

Our time on Earth becomes
a quest for love.

We look for love to feed us,

love to teach us,

love to help us grow

and keep us safe.

And we will find it

because love is always closer
than we think.

Love is in every smile we exchange...

...every lesson we share,

every hand we hold,

every gift we give and we receive.

Love is in every breath we take.

It is the greatest prize of all.