13x01 - Episode One

[bunniefuu]

MATURE JENNIFER:
Perhaps it is always best

to start things in the spring,

matching our rhythm
to the Earth's clean b*at,

moving in sympathy
with nature's good intentions.

Small beginnings.

Time to grow,

sunshine to feed from

and drink.

I have to keep checking the calendar

to make sure it's March
and not September.

There's a real back-to-school
feeling in the air.

One way or another, we'll all
be learning something.

The training regulations
seem to be so very stringent.

Meanwhile, Pupil Midwife
Downes, Katherine Violet,

has neglected to forward
her vaccination record,

and they start tomorrow.

That's one copybook already blotted.

Have you spoken to Miss Higgins?

Miss Higgins is outside

supervising Cub Scouts clean her windows,

and Nurse Crane is watching
Cub Scouts wash her car.

They'll be finished soon enough.

It's always all hands to the pump
on bob-a-job week.

Oh, is everything in hand
as regards the tea, Sister?

I've erred on the side of frugality,

given it's still Lent -
only two types of cake.

And one is Madeira.

DOCTOR: Pant, please, mother.

WOMAN WAILS

BABY CRIES

Congratulations - a son.

Two minutes past two.
Deep transverse arrest.

Kielland forceps deployed
and demonstrated.

All midwifery students
may leave the room.

Obstetric housemen,
stay for suturing, please.

Are you an obstetric houseman?

No, sir.

I can see salad cream.

It's a most frivolous accompaniment
during a season of fasting.

The new girls might not be
religious, Sister.

They might have given up something

other than food for Lent,
such as grumbling.

Two chapel chairs.

Not especially comfortable,
but they're sturdy.

We'll have to put the children
on the floor

and pretend it's a picnic.

I hope it won't give the wrong impression

- of district midwifery.
- No.

Oh! Excuse me. I'm awfully sorry.

Could you possibly direct me
to Nonnatus House in Wick Street?

Ah.

DOOR OPENS
SISTER JULIENNE GASPS

Good afternoon, ladies.
Welcome to Nonnatus House.

Did you all travel together?

No, we just met on the step.
I'm Joyce Highland.

I'm Kathy Downes.

And I'm Norelle Morris.

That means we're only
waiting for Rosalind Clifford.

Hello! I'm so sorry!

Am I late?

GENTLE WHISPERING

I was supposed to be
in the approved lodgings,

where Kathy and Norelle are.

But when the landlady found out
I was a vegetarian,

I got swapped over here.

Because you've got one
on the premises already.

Well, that would be me.

SOFT CHUCKLING
Is it because

you're sentimental about animals?

It's because I can't abide
the taste of them!

I hope you're going to be happy
with your new room.

Used to be our room, didn't it, Nancy?

But you have much better
wallpaper than we had.

My sisters and I spent
quite some time selecting it.

Numerous saints were asked to intercede.

I'm afraid we do ask
that you refrain from smoking

in your quarters.

We're concerned that the nicotine

might stain the decor.

BED CREAKS Mm. Terrible.

I've had worse.

- Where have you had worse?
- I grew up in a boys' boarding school.

My father was the headmaster.

Some of the beds were Army surplus,

left over from World w*r I.

A boys' boarding school?

I bet you play a mean game of cricket.

I AM a competent batsman,

but never got the hang of bowling.

Gosh!

- What did you win those for?
- Mm...

This is the Sister Dorothea Headley Medal

for Student Nurse Excellence,

awarded by Birmingham
Teaching Hospital in 1968.

And the Astonbury Cup

for an essay I wrote
about the history of antiseptic.

Your family must be very proud.

My grandma in Trinidad would be,

if she was still alive.

But I never really had
any family apart from her.

That's a shame.

I suppose I just
have to be proud of myself.

I shouldn't think that's very difficult.

Do you mind if I put my CND poster up?

It isn't very big.

Child...

You didn't hear the nuns going on
about their new wallpaper?

You would think they mixed
that paste with angel sweat

and their own tears.

If you want to save the world,
you save the world.

But you stick pins
in that paper at your peril.

Thank goodness you can drop me off

and pick me up at Nonnatus
so much of the time.

I'm turning into one of those people

who has a favourite seat on the bus,

and glares at anyone who sits in it.

The sooner you decide to learn to drive,

sooner there'll be
a fetching little sports car

parked outside for you.

Please can it be red
to match my cardigan?

I have to say, I was delighted

when the borough announced
this new scheme.

I think GPs delivering
district patients in hospital

is the only way to take
pressure off the maternity wards.

It's been so successful
in other parts of London,

and the list of reasons
for hospital referral

was just getting longer and longer.

So now the women in the risky categories,

they still go to hospital,

but you deliver the babies
unless there's a problem,

in which case
the consultants are on hand.

It sounds brilliant.

It will be if we can make it work.

Mum, have you got new glasses?

We wondered how long it would be
before you noticed!

WHISPERS
I didn't realise for two days.

I've done your list

for this dinnertime's cash-and-carry run.

I've underlined Handy Andys

and we've had a run on pixie hoods.

People will just start buying them
at the hairdresser's

if we don't have them by the till.

You... are going to have to stop
all this seductive chitchat, Violet!

There are young ears listening.
Aren't there, Reggie?

I am glad someone's in a good mood.

I've just had a call
to say that the mini fairground

that I booked for Easter Monday
has had to cancel.

What?

We had a helter-skelter
outside Nonnatus House

and a roundabout for the kiddies.

I came home especially.

Oh, Fred. Fred, have you got
any more bike oil?

Oh, what's happened now? I lined
them up all ready to go last night.

The chain on the Raleigh keeps
jamming, and

none of the students have passed
their cycling proficiency.

Well, all the oil in Texas
won't solve that.

Ladies, please remember to pedal
using the balls of your feet.

You must use your feet
as if they were hands

and your ankles
as though they were your wrists.

I really don't think
that's going to help anyone.

It's advice
from a public information film.

Oh! My chain's jamming again.

Cyril, can you do the honours
with a bit more oil?

This is awfully good of you,
but I'm worried

it's going to make you late for work.

Punctuality is important,
but so is safety.

You'll be familiar
with most of the equipment

in your bags from hospital work,

though things don't always work
in quite the same way.

For example, we always carry
a razor and enema equipment,

but these days, in the home setting,

the rate of patient compliance
is very low.

And the language used can be
extremely... educational.

CHUCKLING
PHONE RINGS

Perfect.

A timely opportunity
to demonstrate our phone drill.

As I approach the desk,
I glance up at the board

to see who is first on call.

It's Nurse Aylward.

And then I check
that the logbook is in situ

before picking up the phone
and answering thus...

Nonnatus House, midwife speaking.

How may I help?

GROANING
My wife's in labour.

Can a midwife come?

DOOR OPENS

Miss Challis!

I really must apologise.

Young Mr Turner shouldn't
have booked you in

for a surgery appointment.

Doctor always comes to see you
at home because of our staircase.

I need to see him in private.

Don't suppose you've got
a plaster, have you?

I've scraped my leg
pulling the wheelchair up.

I've got a urine sample.

Do I give it to you?

Take it in when you go to see Doctor.

In the meantime,
I will get the first-aid box.

I'm sorry, sweetie.

There really is no sign just yet
that you're starting labour.

I've been having pains on and off
since last night.

I know. Mother Nature can be a bit of
a tease at this stage of the game.

You should try to get some fresh air.

Perhaps have a potter down to the swings

with your little boy.

It's getting rough
down those swings, Nurse.

Dog dirt everywhere and teenagers...

I'll be glad when we move to Chigwell.

- When's that?
- When they've built the house.

We put a deposit down, but
when we last went to look,

- the walls were only up to my knees.
- Snap!

We're buying a place
in the new Barbican Estate.

That's only up to my ankles,

and our apartment's going
to be on the fourth floor.

Will you be happy in a flat, Nurse?

I most certainly will.

It's so convenient for my work,

and it's a very exclusive development.

Growing up round here,
I've always thought

you've not got anywhere in life
till you've got your own staircase.

CHUCKLES

We'll need to check her urine
and then take some bloods.

GROANING

Also, Doreen's records
only go back to 1952,

when the family registered with us.

She would have been about eight.

- We'll need to speak to Miss Higgins.
- Yes, Doctor.

SOFTLY: Talk about a carry-on.

You were right about
being pregnant, Doreen.

And you were right to bring
a urine sample.

But...

Will it show if there's anything wrong?

You said "but".

But what?

But I think you may have
miscalculated your dates.

When I was feeling your tummy,

I was checking for the height
of what we call the fundus,

the top edge of your womb.

From that, it seems to me

that you're due to have this baby

in the next two or three weeks.

SHE GASPS
Well...

I messed that up.

I thought I had longer.

We're out of time, Doreen.

We're going to have to tell Mum.

Everything feels better
after a cup of tea.

And I've a Mars bar
in the pocket of my cape,

if you need a proper pick-me-up.

Mum doesn't even know
about Graham, Doreen.

She would have gone mad.

She'll go even madder now.

Music club was the only thing
you ever left the house for.

She trusted us...

to sit and listen to a bit
of Beethoven and drink tea.

- She trusted you.
- No.

She didn't think anyone would look at me.

It's not the same.

And I hate Beethoven.

- Do you need to use the telephone?
- Yes.

I need to ring my boyfriend.

Really hard, concealing a
pregnancy for nearly nine months.

Doreen's sister has to help
her with everything.

She's obviously helped her with that too.

It's easier to hide an expectant
tummy if you're sitting down.

The wheelchair could have been
to her advantage.

I suspect the wheelchair
was to her advantage

because nobody expects to see
a pregnant woman IN one.

JOYCE: But why should that be?

I mean, not every part of
the anatomy is affected.

Every part of her life is affected.

I've seen Doreen Challis
out and about with her mother.

The whole family revolves around her.

Once, a child such as she
would have been consigned

to an institution to be cleaned and fed,

to watch the world through a window,

to be a stranger to her family...

...and to love.

Doreen's mother clearly made
an extraordinary choice.

I, for one, admire her greatly for it.

Doreen, you can't be in the family way.

You can't.

You never go anywhere,

only to that club
for musical appreciation.

The father goes there, too.

He's a piano tuner.

The piano tuner who comes here...

- ...and tunes your dad's piano?
- The one you make me play.

His name is Graham.

Did YOU know about this?

Is that why you've been
helping her get dressed,

helping in the lav and the bath?

Yes.
SHE SIGHS

And I thought you were pushing me away

because you were growing up.

I grew up years ago!

I was more scared to tell you that

than I was to tell you this.

You're not well, Doreen.
You were born not well.

You need looking after, not...

...molesting.

Graham did not molest me.

He loved me.

And he loves me now.

He's waiting out the back, Mum.

DOREEN GASPS

How could you? How could you?!

That girl's been my life's work,
and you've destroyed her!

- Mum, stop it. Leave him alone.
- He should have left HER alone!

I'm going nowhere, Mrs Challis.

SOFTLY: Hey...

Did you hear that?

I'm going nowhere.

Neither am I.

SHE SOBS
It's OK. It's OK.

It's OK.

So... this is recreation.

The opportunity to enjoy
one another's company

and to create things of worth
via the medium of handicrafts.

Jigsaws are not things of worth.

I would also venture to suggest

that they are not handicrafts.

Well, they still make
a very productive alternative

to watching television.

Do either of you knit?

- I'm quite good at Airfix models.
- Mm!

Les? What are you doing?

Go back to bed, Iris.

- You just got in?
- Yes.

And I'm about to go out again.

It's 2:00 in the morning.

I've got things to do.

People to speak to...

...and pay.

Before the whole ruddy thing
goes up in flames.

I thought it already went up in flames...

when the lads got sent down.

Some fires have only just started.

INDISTINCT CHATTER

BABY CRIES

BABY CRIES

Are your bowels normal
and regular, Mrs Melia?

They're all right.

And you're managing to sleep well?

I wake up sometimes,

- but you do when you're this size.
- Of course.

Now, if you could just slip
your arm out of that sleeve,

I'll have a little look
at your blood pressure.

I'll take over, Nurse Highland.

Could you run to Miss Higgins

and see if Mrs Melia's
co-op card needs updating?

Off you pop.

The tempo we strive for
in clinic is a quickstep,

not a slow fox.

What's all this, lass?

My husband's been having
some bother at work.

It's made him a bit short-tempered.

It's you who we're concerned
with here, Iris.

The mother-to-be.

And we never pry...

...but we do listen.

I'm not sure there's anything to say.

He works funny hours in places
where he's never taken me.

He's a good provider.

Doreen Challis.

This way, please.

I'm going to walk.

Are you sure?

There'll be no room
in there for the chair.

Would you like to stay with Doreen?

No, thanks.

I don't need him fainting.
THEY CHUCKLE

No problems there.

Strong and steady.

And at the moment, young sir
or madam seems to be head down.

Is that good?

I haven't been to any classes.

We can arrange for a midwife
to come and see you at home

to help you to prepare.

I have to get it right.

I am the way I am

because of lack of oxygen at birth.

Where were you born, Doreen?

Neptune Street.

Lying-In Hospital.

That was a rough old place.

I don't think anybody got
the best of care there.

I've never, ever seen an expectant mother

with such a degree of brain damage.

She strikes me as being extremely bright

and sensible.

She is.

I'm torn between wondering
what went on in that room

when she was born and...

...what will happen
when she gives birth herself.

ENGINE STARTS

Nurse Crane,

I feel I didn't give
the best account of myself

with Iris Melia this afternoon.

I should have noticed
how subdued she was.

You'll get the hang of it.

In hospital, you deal with cases.

On the district, you deal with people.

When mothers come to us,

they bring everything they are with them,

even their shopping or their washing

if they've been to the market
or the laundry.

I saw Miss Higgins
refusing entry to an Alsatian

this afternoon.

And sometimes
they bring us their problems.

Oh, Nurse Crane,
I hope we're not interrupting.

Not at all.

Ladies, this is Councillor Buckle

and her young relation, Reggie,

both very good friends of Nonnatus House.

How do you do, Councillor Buckle?

Very pleased to meet you both.

Hello, Reggie.

Are you new?

Brand-new. We've got a lot to learn.

What can I do to help you,
Councillor Buckle?

Reggie, give the leaflets to the nurses.

Thank you.

Oh!

A decorated pram competition?
That's tremendous.

Who thought that up?

Me. Yeah, it's for Easter Monday.

NURSE CRANE: People will have a lot
of fun with this, Reggie.

I dare say Nonnatus House
can come up with something.

And it will help you two
with your handicrafts.

THEY CHUCKLE

So the long and short of it is

Doreen will have to give birth
at St Cuthbert's,

but I am going to be her deliverer

under the new scheme.

I can't help wishing our first case there

wasn't quite so sensitive.

I could hardly engage
the consultant's interest.

You've piccalilli on your face.

Any luck at the records repository?

One never has luck
at the records repository.

One succeeds
through diligent application,

or one fails through lack of it.

I succeeded.

Doreen's mother was unmarried
when she was born,

and she and Doreen both went
by the surname Waterlow.

When she registered with us,
she was married

and the whole family
went by the name of Challis.

These look a bit of a mess.

Do not touch them.

Doreen was diagnosed with cerebral palsy

at the age of 14 months.

Her clavicle had been broken at birth,

indicating traumatic delivery.

And there is an additional
piece of information

of which I feel you ought to be apprised.

What is it?

Doreen was born in Neptune Street
Lying-In Home.

But she was delivered by Sister Julienne.

CAT MEOWS

You haven't found another home
for that cat yet?

I keep trying, but he keeps coming back.

Maybe he just likes hearing
the word of the Lord.

Having that animal in here is ungodly,

rubbing round people's legs
all through the choruses.

There are no cats in the Bible.

I think the problem isn't
so much that Nigel is a cat

as that this flat is trying
to be a church.

There are services almost every evening,

but we can't fit people in.

We're growing all the time,

and we either have to find new premises

or stop evangelising.

No, Pastor Robinson,
we keep spreading the word...

or we die.

Do you suppose smoking
counts as recreation?

If so, we could do it every night

and call it handicrafts.

- These smell nice.
- Mm.

They're mentholated.

My grandma got me onto them in Trinidad.

She used to smoke them for her asthma.

Greetings, ladies.

I am Mrs Wallace from
the Shining Tabernacle Church.

And I have brought you a list
of our services and meetings,

in case you want to come
and join us, praising Jesus.

Oh. That's kind.

We always serve a bit of food afterwards.

Prayer fills the heart,

but there's no harm
in filling the belly, too.

Thank you, Mrs Wallace,
but I don't go to church.

Well, if you change your mind,
you know where to come.

Upstairs, above Buckles' paper shop.

Gosh. You REALLY don't go
to church, do you?

I delivered Doreen Challis?

I have no memory of it.

It would seem her handicap
wasn't identified

until after her first birthday.

And the family still lived in Mile End

for a few years after that,

so by the time they moved
to Poplar, with a new surname,

you simply wouldn't have made
the connection.

But I delivered her.

July the 11th, 1944,

The notes are scanty, but you signed.

JULIENNE: "Sister Julienne."

"OSRF."

How could I not have remembered?

How could I not recall
a birth so difficult

it left an infant maimed?

Because you have delivered
more than 1,000 babies.

In a cohort that size,
complications get forgotten.

Cords around the neck,

inhalation of meconium,
delayed second stage,

they all get forgotten.

Doreen can't forget.

Sister,

no-one can ever be entirely sure

what causes a condition like Doreen's.

Her mother may have tripped and fallen

while Doreen was in utero,
causing the injury that way.

Medical notes say her clavicle
was broken at birth.

That indicates problems during delivery.

Whatever happened, whatever I did,

and failed to recall...

...Doreen has had to live
with the results

every day of her life.

Doreen is also loved.

She will marry.

She's going to be a mother.

But none of that has been or will be easy

because she is injured,

and... I must be the one
who has injured her.

♪ Thank you for the days

♪ Those endless days,
those sacred days you gave me

♪ I'm thinking of the days

♪ I won't forget a single day, believe me

♪ I bless the light

♪ I bless the light that lights on
you, believe me

♪ And though you're gone

♪ You're with me every single day,
believe me

♪ Days I'll remember all my life

♪ Days when you can't see
wrong from right

♪ You took my life

♪ But then I knew that very soon
you'd leave me

♪ But it's all right

♪ Now I'm not frightened
of this world, believe me

♪ I wish today

♪ Could be tomorrow

♪ The night is dark... ♪
CAR HORN TOOTS

♪ It just brings sorrow, let it wait... ♪

You have spent so long
in conversation with the Lord,

I fear you will have little left
to say to him at compline.

I have plenty to say to the Lord,

and questions to ask

that he has yet to answer.

Sometimes prayers do not suffice

and we are obliged
to be our own detectives.

I have done well enough.

The date tells me that Doreen was born

at the height of the doodlebug raids.

I recollect days when we had
to walk to our deliveries...

...when there was so much broken glass,

we could not use our bicycles.

And I recollect the misery of...

...births in buildings where
the windows were boarded up,

the squalor of Neptune Street,

and the chaos of the Salvation Army home.

I just wish I could remember her.

We went where God sent us.

Even when we could not divine his will,

we did his work.

I know.

But Sister, tell me...

...did we do it well?

ROSALIND:
Ta-da! Handicrafts incoming.

Fred had this round the back of a shed.

There was a spider in it
as big as my shoe...

Did you k*ll it?

I helped it to escape
with an ice-lolly stick,

and then I scrubbed
the whole pram out with Vim.

I just ran in to Napoli
and got us some macaroons.

Would you like one?

Mm! Now you're talking.

That'll keep you going
while you do your handicrafts.

Aren't you going to join in, Joyce?

You do your cutting and sticking.

I'll read out loud from the Nursing Times

and feed our minds.

Can I just play my new record first?

That's the third time I've
heard that since yesterday.

NURSE NANCY LAUGHS
POP MUSIC STARTS

NURSE TRIXIE SIGHS
MUSIC CONTINUES

MUFFLED LAUGHTER

- Are you staying the night?
- Yes.

I'm first on call again.

I think my mummy's gone
into the students' bedroom.

I think she has.

Go back to bed, sweetie.
Let her have some fun.

MUFFLED LAUGHTER

DOOR CLOSES

"Voting members
of the Royal College of Nursing

"have this week given their approval

"to the new Raise the Roof campaign,

"which aims to improve
nurses' wages by up to 50%."

- Did you know about this?
- Yes.

And I'm fully in favour
of organised protest.

Other professions do it.
Well, other industries.

And let's face it,

our salaries really are
a bit on the paltry side.

Aren't they just?

I trained for four years
and still can't afford

to provide a home
for myself and my daughter.

Mm.

For me, it's not just the money.

It's about respect.

My ambition is to be a hospital matron,

and I will want a wage

that reflects how hard I'm going to work.

PHONE RINGS

Nonnatus House, midwife speaking.

PAINED GROANING

It's Iris Melia.

Don't think it's a false alarm this time.

Oh...

I would have been entirely
happy to see Mrs Challis -

and, indeed, Doreen - alone.

I need to talk to the whole family

about the medical
and social services plans

we've put in place for Doreen.

And I don't want you
to be without support.

Morning, Mr Melia.

She's upstairs.

And tell her, if anybody rings the flat,

I'm to be informed.

LABOURED BREATHING
I asked him to take Kevin

to my mum's last night cos
I reckoned things were hotting up,

and he did, but he didn't get
home till 6:00 this morning,

and he is in that much of a temper

I don't know what he's going to do next.

Sweetie, what we're going to do next

is get you out of this wet nightie

and into what they'd refer to
as something more comfortable

in a musical revue.

I don't want Les coming anywhere near.

Ooh...

It's not too late to transfer you

to the maternity home, Iris.

Ooh...

There's bolts inside the front door,

top and bottom.
IRIS GROANS

BOLTS THUD

I had Doreen in Neptune Street.

My mum said
I couldn't give birth at home.

There were nine of us
living in two rooms.

She said a woman needs her dignity.

The East End was full of tiny hospitals

before national health.

And during the w*r, the Order
helped wherever it could.

I never knew it was a nun
who delivered her.

I just thought it was a lady in white.

It was me, Ada.

You?

Yes.

We had a hard time of it,
didn't we, Sister?

I...

I think we did.

You told me her shoulder was stuck.

You moved me around on the bed.

You had your hand inside me.

It was like a fight.

I am sorry.

I believed in you.
INHALES SHARPLY

EXHALES

And I was right.

I already knew I was right
when I first came in...

...and you made that little joke
about my name.

Waterlow.

Because of the mains
being burst down the street

by the doodlebug

and hardly anything
coming out of the taps.

"Low water...

"..for Miss Waterlow."

Yes.

SISTER JULIENNE CHUCKLES SOFTLY
We laughed, didn't we?

CHUCKLING: We did.

I...

I remember thinking
how very young you looked.

SISTER JULIENNE SIGHS

Seems a bit daft buying
a whole packet of needles

and a reel of thread
just to sew on one button.

You can always pop round to me
with a bit of mending.

Oh, that's very kind, Violet.

But I looked after myself
before I got married,

and there's no harm
in brushing up my skills,

now I'm living on my own.

That'll be two and 11.
I did knock a bit off.

Oh, Violet, do you know anything

about this Sharing
Of Church Buildings bill

that's going through Parliament?

Sharing of Church Buildings?
VIOLET CLEARS THROAT

It does ring a faint bell.

Excuse the pun.

Shining Tabernacle needs to expand,

but, um, we can't afford
proper premises of our own.

I just thought it might be
worth investigating.

Oh!

VIOLET CHUCKLES
We've got a visitor.

CYRIL: Aw! Look who's come to play!

CYRIL: Is that baby rabbit?

He's getting to be a proper big boy.

- Hey!
- Fred, bring the pushchair in.

How are we going to work out
how to decorate it

if you leave it in the street?

We're going to be
in the pram competition.

- Is that right?
- ANTHONY: Yes.

Hey! Mm.

For years, I kept thinking...

...what did I do wrong?

Did I not push hard enough?

Did I not listen
to what the midwife said?

I'm quite sure that
you did everything I said.

One of the hardest ways
for a baby to enter this world

is with its shoulder trapped.

SIGHS

Doreen never did make it
easy for herself.

Thank you for my daughter, Sister.

I mean it, thank you.

Thank you for saving her.

Thank you for putting her in my arms.

Thank you for letting me walk out of
Neptune Street with her, because...

...I walked out a mother.

And into a whole new world.

I even met a good, good man
because of her.

- Your husband?
- Mm.

The East End was full of bad men.

Men who'd drink all the housekeeping

on a Friday night.

Men who'd give you a black eye
as soon as look at you.

No bad man was ever gonna love Doreen...

or me because...

...I loved her first and foremost.

And Harry wasn't a bad man.

Harry was the best.

Hello, love. Where have you been?

Down the registry office.

The wedding's in four weeks -
all booked and paid for.

You're a decent lad.

My Harry would've liked him.

IRIS GROANS
No!

No, no, no!

Iris. Iris, try to stay calm.

Nurse Aylward will have the gas
ready for you in just a jiffy.

Ugh!

Absolutely kaput, I'm afraid.
It can't be.

- It can't be!
- I'm going to coach you

through some breathing exercises instead.

You're having me on!

IRIS WAILS

I don't want to talk

about my birth any more,

and I don't want anyone to see me

as something broken,

because I'm not.

I break things...

sometimes cups,

sometimes promises...

and now I break people's ideas

of what a girl like me

can do, or have...

...or be.

Doreen,

if ever I saw you as less than you are...

...I know better now.

So do I.

You look washed out, love.

She's been like this
on and off all morning.

Doreen, I think Sister Julienne
should take a look at you.

What does it feel like

when you're in labour?

I think it feels very like this.

This is my home!
BANGING ON DOOR

Denying me entry is a criminal offence!

Mr Melia, Iris has work to do

and she needs peace and quiet!

PHONE RINGS

Nonnatus House, health visitor speaking.

All things considered, Sister,
this mother is not coping well.

Pain relief would really help
keep her on an even keel.

Understood.

I'll pop round on my scooter
with a canister of gas.

Just be aware,
Mr Melia is on the doorstep.

He's being very difficult.

IRIS MOANS
I'm too hot.

It's like I can't catch my breath.

And I need the gas.
The gas. I need the gas!

Oh, I'm going to be sick.

MOANING AND RETCHING
PHONE RINGS

I'll get it. It might be Nonnatus House.

BANGING ON DOOR

Let me in. I need to answer that phone!

MAN: Les?

I'm terribly sorry,

but I'm afraid Mr Melia
isn't here at the moment.

LINE GOES DEAD

g*nshots
NURSE GASPS

- What?!
- NURSE TRIXIE: Iris.

- Iris, just breathe.
- IRIS: Les?! What's he up to?

Mr Melia, did you do that?

Just breathe.

LES: I tried to sh**t the bolts off.

I need to be able to answer my phone.

If you put the g*n away,
I will let you in.

But you are to sit by the telephone

and do not move.

Do you hear me?

DESPERATELY: Yes.
IRIS MOANS

MOANING CONTINUES

Your wife is having a baby,

and we are all too busy
for a lot of theatricals.

IRIS WAILS

Did I just hear what I thought I heard?

Mr Melia tried to sh**t
the bolts off with a g*n,

so I let him in.

- No!
- Everything is fine.

He only wants to use the phone.

PANICKED MOANING
NURSE TRIXIE SHUSHES

Miss Higgins, it would appear
Doreen Challis is in labour.

Sister Julienne is with her now,

and I'm about to arrange an ambulance.

I will inform Dr Turner
and advise St Cuthbert's.

As it's our first delivery
under the new system,

Timothy will be in attendance
to supervise the paperwork.

Move! I need to call the police.

There's a man with a g*n.

Promise me somebody's
coming with the gas.

One of our most reliable
and senior midwives

is bringing it by moped.

HEAVY SCRAPING
STRAINING

MR MELIA GRUNTS

SIREN APPROACHES

CLAMOURING

It's the police. They've come for Les.

Be that as it may,
you have work to do, Iris.

He was running with the Kray twins.

It was only a matter of time
once they got sent down.

IRIS GROANS

We're going to breathe
this pain away, Iris.

Breathe it away.

BANGING ON DOOR
LES: Stay in the bedroom.

Do you hear me? Don't come out.

We have no intention of doing
anything else, Mr Melia.

Your wife is having a baby.

IRIS GROANS

Nurse on call.

I require ingress to number 26, flat two,

if you would be so kind.

I'm afraid this cordon is here
for a reason.

A man at that address
is resisting arrest,

- and he appears to be armed.
- That's not convenient.

There's a lady in labour
in that building.

IRIS EXHALES

You're doing tremendously well, Iris.

With every push, I can see

a little bit more of Baby's head.

I keep thinking it's slipping back.

Not at all. Keep this up,

and we'll be celebrating in no time.

MEGAPHONE SQUEAKS
OFFICER: Mr Melia...

SIRENS APPROACH

sh*ts have been heard.

Can you confirm they came
from a g*n in your possession?

Yes, but I'm not coming down.

Is anyone on the premises
in need of medical attention?

- No!
- For pity's sake!

His wife's having a baby.

There are two midwives with her.

It would be in the best interests
of all concerned

if you gave yourself up.

I hardly think that's going
to make him change his tack.

See, I told you.

Baby's head is resting in my hand

and has the sweetest mop
of thick, dark hair.

Has it? Has it really?

It most certainly has.

ROSALIND:
Which is just as well, really.

Nobody loves a bald baby.

Just rest now.

You'll feel the head turning
in just a moment.

I remember that from last time.

Sergeant, I'm sorry,

but your intentions are misplaced.

Never mind trying to get him
to come down here,

you need to get me up there
with this gas and air.

Sister, this is what is referred to

as an entrenched situation.

Do you mean a stalemate?

Because stalemates need to be broken.

I'll take that. Thank you.

OVER MEGAPHONE:
Mr Melia...

my name is Sister Monica Joan...
IRIS GRUNTS

Success! You have a little girl, Iris.

Nurse Aylward,

the cord is really, really short.

Rub her. We need to get her breathing.

You can hold the police at bay, Mr Melia.

You can even hold me at bay,

but if I were to hand you over
to the women

standing here in this street,

and tell them that you refuse

to let your wife have pain relief...

...would not give tuppence
ha'penny for your chances.

WOMEN SHOUT

Breathe, poppet. Please. Please breathe.

Give her to me.

ROSALIND: Is this
because of the cord?

TRIXIE: Quite likely.

SUCTIONS

I don't doubt you have regrets
about the path you've taken

and the things you've done to get here.

This isn't the way to negotiate.

But what you do today
can be a new beginning.

Your wife is about to bring your
child into the world, Mr Melia.

Do you not owe it to them
to do what's right?

BABY CRIES

IRIS GASPS AND SOBS

I think I can feel the afterbirth.

BABY CRIES

I think it's born! I can hear it crying.

Just a little push, Iris.

IRIS EXHALES

Am I... weeing myself?

No.

You're just... bleeding.

Syntometrine, Nurse.

Mr Melia...

...Iris has given birth to a daughter...

...and I don't know which of them
has had the harder time.

The little one had problems
with her cord.

We think she may have
haemorrhaged into it,

and now her mother is bleeding...

very badly.

But you're here, the two of you.

There's another one down there,
with the gas.

That's good, isn't it?

No, it is not good!

It's far too late for the gas

to be any good to your poor wife.

And both she and her baby
need specialist attention...

in a hospital!

Are you a man, Mr Melia, or an animal?!

How will I know when it's time

for me to push?

I've never met a mother yet
who couldn't tell me

exactly when she felt the urge.

There's no reason to suppose
you'll be any different

from anyone else in that regard.

I love you, Iris!

Do I have to answer him?

No.

In.

I can't get used to Doreen
doing things on her own.

She'll need us afterwards.

The baby will need us afterwards.

Baby is going to have two parents.

Baby HAS two parents now.

Families change shape, Mum.

Families take flight.

The contractions are strong
and she's fully dilated,

but she's struggling
to co-ordinate her pushes.

Her problems aren't obstetric,

they're physiological.

You're as equipped to deal
with them as I am.

What do you suggest?

Ventouse.

I favour forceps usually,

but there's no need to correct
the position of the head.

Are they talking about me?

Have a few breaths of fresh air.

Soon we're going to have to concentrate.

Thank you for waiting.

Well, it's not every day

you end a shift at the police station.

TRIXIE SIGHS

It's happened before and it
will probably happen again.

Nurse Crane's already collected
poor Rosalind

and taken her back
to Nonnatus for a lie-down.

The phrase "baptism of fire"
springs to mind.

It isn't funny, Trixie.

And I wasn't joking.

Today may have been exceptional
in many ways,

but we work with patients

who are in extremis all the time.

I just don't want you
putting yourself at risk.

Can't you go back to work
at the Lady Emily?

It's a private clinic. It's safe.

It's not even that far from our flat.

I work here, Matthew.

It's what I do and what I love doing.

And please don't ask me to stop.

Never.

DOREEN GROANS

Come on, Doreen.

Bear down now.

DOREEN GROANS
As hard as you can, now.

Dr Turner is pulling...

...and you must push.

DR TURNER GRUNTS

You nearly had it then.

Come on. One more massive
push with the next pain.

This is it. Come on now,
Doreen. Hard as you can.

Give it everything you've got.

DOREEN PANTS

Eleven minutes past eight

Am I a mum?

Yes.

To a beautiful...

...beautiful baby boy.

In a moment, you'll hear him crying.

BABY CRIES

Listen to him, Doreen.

That's your son.

I did it!

I got it right!

Put your slippers on, child.

You don't want pneumonia.

When someone haemorrhages
on a maternity ward,

it's all so beautifully managed.

An orderly comes with a mop,

and in a few minutes

it's as though no blood was shed at all.

But this...

I was walking it into the carpet.

I could wring it out of the towels.
DOOR CLICKS OPENS

Nurse Crane has scrubbed your shoes.

They're stuffed with paper now

and drying on the draining board.

I hope they'll be all right by tomorrow.

Don't really want to go
on duty in my slippers.

Or my party sling backs.

Oh, is that tea?

Tea...

...with a drop of rum in it.
THEY CHUCKLE

I've never actually had rum.

Except in cakes.

Oh!

That's marvellous.

NANCY LAUGHS
There's plenty more in the bottle.

You want some?

Oh, go on.

I've had a terrible day too, obviously.

Oh, and we've still got
a flaming pram to decorate!

NANCY LAUGHS
Oh!

I thought they'd keep me in
St Cuthbert's with the baby.

It's purely a precaution.

She needs a bit of extra
looking after for a few days.

As do you.

I'm not ready to go home...

...even if Les has been
remanded in custody.

I know, lass.

QUIETLY: I wanted to get ahead
with the incubator

in case Little Miss Melia still needs it

when they send her here.

Meanwhile, it'll be Epsom salts
for the poor mother.

She's too upset to even consider pumping

once her milk comes in.

SIGHS

The pair of them are lucky to be alive.

You could say the same
about Trixie and Rosalind.

I think the National Health need to
pay us danger money sometimes.

Or they could just pay us
better, full stop.

I hope you're not referring
to this new wage campaign.

I am, as a matter of fact.

Nurses do an impossible job

for money that's impossible to live on.

It isn't fair, and it isn't right.

Our vocation is to care
for others, Nancy.

And that is a privilege money cannot buy.

I don't want to hear
anything more about it.

MATURE JENNIFER:
In the spring of 1969,

no-one at Nonnatus House
knew what the future held.

They knew only that the future had begun.

Seeds had been sown and sap was rising.

There would be growth.

There would be opportunity.

There was so much hope.

They knew spring would turn
to summer, and to autumn.

That leaves would brighten
and fade to brown

and snow would fall
and everything would change.

But at Easter, everyone was flying.

Come on, come on.

The sky shone with promise

and they could see forever.

Perhaps you might need to allow
a little extra time

for your journey.

There may be more people joining us

on our journey of faith,

but we've still got people
falling off the bus.

Bet you do a roaring trade.

No-one can ever have too many shoes.

That's what I said!

Why didn't you send for us sooner?

I was at work!