Call the Midwife s14e99 Episode Script

1
SHELAGH GIGGLES
PATRICK LAUGHS
Thank you for coming
in time for Christmas.
Hello! Guess who?
Is this where we live now?
- Would you come out with me?
- Things are a bit busy.
Have you seen the time?
Reggie will be waiting.
- Is this Poplar?
- Poplar's miles away.
SHOUTS: Reggie!
With angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem
Hark! The herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King. ♪
OPERATOR: Police, fire or ambulance?
Er, police.
I need to report a missing person.
FRIENDLY CHATTER
Hello. Do you come here often?
I might be a repeat offender, yes.
Are you a nun?
Do I look like a nun?
Nuns are all mod these days.
I'm sorry, if I seemed
..offhand when
When I asked you out?
Ah, you're all right.
I thought it was worth a try.
It was.
And it would be again
..if you asked again.
Now?
Yeah.
- Great. Come on, then.
- Ooh!
- What?
- Pictures or funfair?
Funfair.
Give me two minutes, and I'll be back.
FRUSTRATED GRUNTS
BANGING ON DOOR
HE GROANS
WOMAN: Who's in there?
HE GRUNTS
If you don't open up, Mr Sarwar
is calling the police.
Get out!
Oh!
Nonnatus House, midwife speaking.
Nurse Crane, have you seen Violet?
I've been trying to get her
on the phone. Is she at the carols?
No, she's gone on to the Seamen's
Mission with the brass band, Fred.
Is something amiss?
Hmm.
I think she needs more colour
in her cheeks.
Fairground lights can be
quite unflattering.
Mm, you're right.
- She's very pale.
- Hmm.
I'm Irish. So is he.
He'll be used to going out with
girls who look like milk bottles.
Oh, lacquer!
If he takes her on that Ferris
wheel, it's going to be windy.
Do you think it matters that
I didn't tell him I had
to organise a baby-sitter?
No! What matters is that you go
and have a lovely time.
We'll be waiting up and wanting to
hear all about it over a Bournvita.
Go.
SHE COUGHS
FATHER GROANS, BABY CRIES
Are you all right, Mum?
I'm fine. I reckon it's just a touch
of what your dad's got.
FATHER GROANS
MOANING WEAKLY: No I'm fine.
CRYING CONTINUES
Thanks.
You haven't had any tea.
There's a tin of corned beef
over there. Can you open it?
Hey!
Where's Poplar?
Trixie has already gone
to the Seamen's Mission
to inform Mrs Buckle
and to escort her home.
The assumption is that Reggie
tried to make his own way
back from the coach station and has
either lost his way or
..otherwise
..otherwise come to grief.
Do you think he might have
wandered off with someone?
He's awfully trusting.
He's also quite confident
if he gets an idea in his head.
I've marked out his likely
routes back to Poplar
from the coach station,
which is five miles away.
Nurse Crane and I will each
take one of the routes by car.
Others should use bicycles
or go on foot, as seems appropriate.
FAIRGROUND MUSIC
NANCY LAUGHS
Ah, Jesus, will you let me
take over the steering?
SHE LAUGHS
Where do we go to claim danger money?
I offered you the choice
of the pictures or the funfair.
- You made your choice.
- Come on.
NANCY SQUEALS
BOTH LAUGH
Reggie?!
HE PANTS
Excuse me, I'm looking for a friend.
A young man who really shouldn't be
out in the dark on his own.
You shouldn't be
out in the dark on your own.
HE GROANS
Come on, dozy duckling.
BABY FUSSES
You won't grow big and strong
if you don't drink your milk.
Have you seen our friend Reggie?
We are concerned that he may have
got waylaid
trying to make his way home.
Oi, Sid! Have you seen this lad?
Mr Curran! How are Alma and the baby?
Oh, I just left them
all tucked up in the caravan.
I thought they went home to Kent?
You should be having
daily visits from midwives.
I'll make sure somebody calls round.
And I'll look out for this fella.
No-one ought to be lost or in
trouble, not at this time of year.
ROSALIND: Hello?
DOOR OPENS
Get out.
No. I'm a nurse and you are bleeding.
He has red hair, which may be
concealed by a blue bobble hat.
And he always wears spectacles.
If you see him, please,
please telephone the police,
or one of the numbers
on this piece of paper.
Of course, love.
I carry a bag, usually,
full of antiseptic
and all sorts of handy things.
But this needs a bandage
and possibly stitches.
What we can do is press on the wound
very hard to see if it helps.
- I can do that.
- All right.
Where did you get these?
From my mother's home.
Gertie Torrance was your mother?
Was?
Did you not know she had died?
I'd wondered.
But you do a lot of wondering
when you don't see someone
year after year.
HE CRIES
I once read about a survey
by a Paris perfume company
in which 1,000 men were asked
what their favourite smell was.
And 83% of them said fried onions.
What did the other 17% say?
I'd put my money on bacon.
SHE LAUGHS
Reggie!
Stop.
Eating or walking?
- Both.
- Why?
Because at some point
in the course of this evening,
I am going to kiss you.
Possibly more than once.
And it might as well be now.
Thank you.
That was lovely.
It'll get even better.
HE GRUNTS
HE GROANS
CYRIL: Rosalind?
I'm over here!
DOOR OPENS
This is Jock.
He has an injured hand,
And he's just learnt
that he's been bereaved.
I'm sorry, my friend.
You're in need of help. I can see that.
Jock says he won't go to hospital.
But there's blood everywhere.
We need something we can cut up
and use as a bandage.
Is this a prison shirt?
Yes, it is.
I don't know who you are, but
I know where you've come from!
- Cyril!
- I'm making a citizen's arrest!
Stop with the pigging drama!
I broke out of jail,
but I escaped nothing!
And I'm tired.
You can take me where you want.
Hand me over to who you want.
Just let me open
my Christmas present first.
I forgot, living in America,
how absolutely vital tea can be
in a crisis.
Tea when babies are born.
Tea when elderly people die.
Tea when there's a burglary
or a road accident.
SHE SOBS
Oh, Violet.
I'm sorry.
Should I just shut up?
Or even go?
No. No, no. I'm
I'm glad of the company.
It's just that all I can think about
is that,
if Reggie was here,
he'd be the one making the tea.
You know, it's what he does when he
wants to show that he cares,
when he wants to play his part,
when he wants to join in.
None of these things are easy for him,
because of the way he is, but
..when he makes tea,
it's like he grows taller.
It's a tie.
A smart one,
like a businessman would wear.
She never gave up hope.
I don't want to get blood on it.
Now take me
..and turn me in.
Is Reggie with you?
I've got his bag. It's got all his
warm clothes in it, Vi.
His wallet, with his spends.
I thought he might have
rung you or something.
You know he can't use
a phone box without help, Fred!
Yeah, I know, I know.
I told the police that.
What are they going to do, Fred?
They said they were going to revisit
the situation in the morning.
What?!
VIOLET GASPS
Officer?
Officer!
Can I help you, madam?
Yes, I believe you can
..by locating someone
who is extremely vulnerable
and may come to grave harm overnight
if you don't make every attempt
to locate him.
May I ask for your name
and address, madam?
My name is Lady Aylward,
currently staying with friends
at Nonnatus House, Wick Street.
More pertinently, Reggie Jackson,
who is currently logged
with you as a missing person,
calls the Mayor of Tower Hamlets Mum.
That wasn't mentioned.
It shouldn't have to be!
But I have contacts at a number
of newspapers and BBC Radio,
and they'd be extremely
interested to hear about this.
If I'd been a better criminal,
I might have more to show for it.
I'm sure you did your best.
I had this notion
I'd turn up in a fancy car one day
and hand her a big mink coat,
because she felt the cold so bad.
And when she met a man
and married him and came to England,
I wanted to prove myself all the more.
I ended up getting three year
for burglary.
Then out.
Then 18 months.
Then out.
And then five.
Did your mother know you
were in prison?
She was widowed again.
She didn't need bad news.
I wrote and told her
I was in the merchant Navy
..and she didn't argue.
Are we nearly there?
My shoes are letting the wet in.
DOOR OPENS, CAT MEOWS
Harry!
Oh!
I wasn't expecting you
till Christmas Eve!
I was looking forward
to seeing you so much.
And then I thought,
"Why wait when I don't have to?"
Oh
Can you believe that actually happened?
We handed him over
and gave our statements,
and he was taken to the cells.
The police want to question him
about the shop burglaries
and the post office hold-up.
I hope they won't treat him unkindly.
Let's go and retrieve your bike.
And I'll walk you home.
That was the longest queue
in X-ray I've ever seen in my life.
We had a grand game of I-spy, though.
SHE CHUCKLES
HE WINCES
- Is it hurting?
- On and off.
It's only a sprain.
Well, at least I persuaded them
to give you pethidine.
No, this is on me.
Bye.
Thank you for everything.
N-A-M-A-S
G-I-E-T-O-I-M-L.
Have you not had enough
of I-spy for one night?
Nicest and most appropriately
skilled girl
I ever took out in my life.
SHE GIGGLES
SHE LAUGHS
HUMS SOFTLY
I told Nurse Clifford she
can have an extra hour in bed
after last night's adventures,
which I am still struggling to digest.
I think we all are.
I shall have to send
Sister Julienne out
on the domiciliary visits this morning.
- Nurse Crane?
- Hmm?
May I talk to you
about a Mrs Alma Curran?
I delivered her baby at the hospital.
RADIO: John "Jock" McKechnie,
the last of the four escaped
prisoners to be apprehended,
was held in custody overnight.
Meanwhile, the police have,
this morning, issued an alert
regarding 26-year-old Reginald Jackson,
from east London, who is missing.
Thank God they're doing something!
Reginald disappeared
after taking a coach
from his residential home in Sussex
to visit family for Christmas.
He is 5'7" in height,
wears spectacles and has auburn hair.
If anyone knows
of Reginald's whereabouts
Oh, Patrick. He's been out all night.
..as he's a vulnerable young
adult with Down's syndrome.
I'm so glad you came.
Everyone says you need
to get them into a routine,
but I wouldn't know where to start.
We'll be visiting every day now,
until things are more settled.
Sister, he's either crying
and not feeding
or just sleeping and sleeping,
and twitching like
he's having nightmares.
May I see him?
BABY FUSSES
Baby is very, very jaundiced, Alma.
He's much more yellow
than he was last night.
He looked like a normal colour
until this morning.
Is that the twitching you described?
He started doing it last night.
I think baby may be fitting.
Mr Curran, do you have access
to a motor vehicle?
I want Richard to see a doctor
as soon as possible,
and it will be quicker if we go to him.
SHE COUGHS
Andrea's hungry.
She doesn't like corned beef.
You'll have to go to the shops
for some bread.
CHILD CRIES
And candles. Something's
happened to the candles.
I think it was the rats.
I heard them in the night.
CHILD CRIES
DOG BARKS
BABY CRIES
He's having full-blown convulsions.
Get the incubator ready
and send for an ambulance.
I think we may be dealing with
fulminant undiagnosed jaundice.
That can lead to brain damage
and even death.
This is what happens when babies are
discharged too early.
SHE SIGHS
Put that down, love!
Love, is your name Reginald?
Reggie.
I haven't had a minute's peace since
I heard about you on the wireless.
We're going to get you
back to your mum.
Pass me that bag, Sharon.
Do you like mince pies?
No. But please can I have one?
Mum wants candles.
I shall be absent over the lunch hour
as I need to feed my grandson.
Please be advised
he will be calling me Auntie
in any given public setting.
It's a general term
of respect in India,
and many overseas students
have guardians.
I understand.
Is that coffee?
No, it's honey and hot lemon,
with a Beechams powder
in it for good measure.
Oh. A thermometer is not required.
I'm postponing all your appointments
for this afternoon
and sending you home.
DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES
I'm hungry.
Shoulders back, Angela.
And, May, remember you've got
to make sure your voice
gets right to the back of the church.
Love came down at Christmas
Love, all lovely Love divine
Love was born at Christmas
Star and angels gave the sign.
I don't think you're quite loud enough.
I'm going to go to the back
and listen from there.
Carry on reading.
Worship we the Godhead
Love Incarnate Love Divine
Worship we our Jesus
But wherewith for sacred sign?
Louder!
BOTH: Love shall be our token
Love be yours and love be mine
SHELAGH JOINS IN:
..Love to God and all men
Love for plea and gift and sign.
Karen?
Whatever are you doing, Karen?
Don't shout.
No. I won't shout.
But you must tell me what is happening.
The happiest Christmas
Is a homecoming Christmas
With the snow fluttering down
Till the world seems new
Bright candles burning ♪
- Reggie!
- ..Old friends returning
The wishes of children
coming true ♪
Reggie
..And the happiest wishes
Are just old-fashioned wishes
May your days be merry ♪
- These are for you.
- ..Your sorrows be small
May the ones you love be near you
That's the happiest
Christmas of all. ♪
I'm sorry if the paediatrician
spoke so bluntly,
but he is an expert in his field
and he will do everything
within his powers
to bring about a good result
for Richard.
A good result will be if he lives.
They aren't promising us
more than that, are they?
They aren't promising us anything.
Have they started
the blood transfusion yet?
Yes.
Will it stop his brain
from getting damaged?
We hope so. Very much.
I'll see if I can find you some tea.
I keep thinking about
how your life started.
With your mother walking out
of the hospital and leaving you.
His is going to start
with us going nowhere.
I'd sit here for a year, if I had to.
I'd sit here for ever.
SHE SOBS
LABOURED BREATHING
Pain's in my side.
Can't can't breathe in.
I think you may have pneumonia.
I'm going to send for an ambulance.
When is your baby due?
I've always just said Christmas,
like Santa Claus is going to bring it.
I thought you'd come to
arrest me again.
I'm here in my capacity
as a minister of religion.
Minister of religion?
HE EXHALES
You're a dark horse.
No offence.
HE CHUCKLES
It was the only way
I could get through the door.
THEY LAUGH
Your mother's funeral
is taking place quite soon.
All the arrangements
have been made by the council.
I want to say I can do better
for her than that,
I can see her buried
with dignity and honour
..but I can't. A religious ceremony
won't cost money.
I can vouch for that myself.
Would they let me go to her?
Just see her before they take
me back up north?
All I wanted was to visit her
for Christmas.
At least that way
I can finish what I started.
I think your temperature's gone down.
Ooh! Thank you, Nurse Turner.
Do you need anything?
Only Sellotape.
We're wrapping up
all the broken Dinky cars
and old bits of metal for Blue Peter.
Better late than never.
HE COUGHS
WEAKLY: Fetch me a mince pie.
BOTH LAUGH
This is like the labours of Sisyphus.
Every time I turn around,
there's another mound
of apples and tomatoes
that need a seeing to.
Thank the Lord for the cooking brandy.
- Do you want some more?
- Oh, no
Well, I'll compromise.
Put it on a spoon
and pretend it's medicine.
THEY LAUGH
Ooh!
I'm not even supposed to open my mouth
to speak after compline,
never mind put alcohol in it!
- God will forgive you.
- Oh.
Because the Order can now give
savoury Yuletide favours
to all of its associates.
You do lift our spirits when
you come to visit, Mr Franklin.
You always seem so
..happy.
I take a certain pride
in my performance
in the ordinary world, but when
I'm at Nonnatus House, I
..often find I'm I'm quite
sincere in my contentment.
Perhaps it's because
I'm with other spinsters.
Or maybe it's simply because
..I feel at home.
We are all spinsters, aren't we?
I know I'm the bride of Christ,
but it comes to the same thing.
I keep putting this thing to the test
by asking it if I'll ever get married.
But it always says no.
HE SIGHS
You skin, Sister.
I'll slice. Rrr!
Are you going to the surgery?
You have the flu!
I've woken up feeling fine.
Look, have you seen my car keys?
I've got a list of cases as long
as your arm this morning.
Can you use the spare set?
Timothy took the spare set
up to Edinburgh by accident.
I put mine on the table when I came in.
I'm going to have to go.
I'll have to find another means
of transport.
You go. I'll keep on looking.
Oh! Can you post this on the way?
It's the children's parcel
for Blue Peter.
I need to go and see Pete.
I don't care if the hospital
say that he's turning a corner,
I need to go and see him.
Not until you've shaken off this flu.
Think of this as the beginning
of a plan of action.
First and foremost, we must get
the whole family signed up
with our local GP practice,
for Karen's sake most of all.
When she was born,
they said I'd never rear her.
I was only 16.
But I done all right, didn't I?
Dilys, I take my hat off to you.
I had a show this morning.
Great big clump of it.
Have you been having any pains?
A few.
It doesn't look to me as though
you've come to any harm, Reggie.
Sometimes, in life, things go wrong,
but we survive, and all we can
do is learn from them.
Mm.
I've learned not to get on
the wrong bus.
ALL CHUCKLE
How are you feeling about it all now?
Sad, because I was hungry.
Well, you've already made up for that
with half a tin of shortbread Santas.
Some people are hungry all the time.
It hurts your stomach and your heart.
And it's Christmas.
PHONE RINGS
Nonnatus House, mid
Do you need to speak to a midwife?
I think I just need to speak
to anyone who's free
to come and help at a home delivery.
The mother's circumstances
are absolutely pitiful.
WHISPERS: Ow.
DOORBELL RINGS
Hello.
Hello.
Would I be able to speak to
Nurse Nancy Corrigan, please?
Are those flowers because
you're a grateful patient?
Sort of. She's about to go back
to work for the afternoon.
Mummy!
Mummy, a man brought you flowers.
So I see.
Nancy
Please. Come and have
a cup of coffee with me.
I'm working.
And like I said in the first place,
Christmas is a very busy time.
HE GROANS
Hello, Daddy.
Angela?
What are you three up to?
What postbox did you
put the Blue Peter parcel in?
Why do you want to know?
May put my best Dinky car in it.
It was an accident.
And your car keys.
That was an accident, too.
HE SIGHS
- Oi!
- Oh!
Just a cup of coffee, Nancy.
And if you don't want coffee,
I'll take you for an ice cream.
- Ice cream?! It's flamin' December.
- Nancy, sooner or later,
I am going to tell you that I love you.
I thought I might as well
give advance notice.
In the grand tradition of warning me
of romantic developments?
I thought it might change your mind
about the coffee/ice cream situation.
Oh, tell your man
to pull over, and I'll stop.
Pull over, mate.
KNOCK AT DOOR
Pastor Robinson has arrived.
And Sister Monica Joan says
the chapel's ready.
I'm afraid I shall have to
leave immediately afterwards.
I have an appointment
with the Board of Health.
My bottom's cold.
I hate Blue Peter.
Mum gets cross when we say "hate".
Not as cross as Dad got
about the car keys.
What time is the postman coming?
SHE SIGHS
SHE SIGHS
HE SIGHS
CHAINS RATTLE
You are welcome in our home.
Which has been your mother's also.
Erm thank you
..for your kindness.
JOCK HESITATES
Come on, lad.
Do her proud.
TODDLER GURGLES
How long does it take
for a baby to be born?
Nobody knows, sweetie.
That's all part of the fun.
But all the time,
all the way through it,
we know we're all going to get
a present at the end.
What sort of present?
Well, a baby. What do you want most?
A little brother or a little sister?
A sister, Cos we've only
got girls' clothes.
I did not know Gertie
during her time on Earth,
but I had the privilege
of being with her
after she departed it,
and in doing so, I met a woman
who was dignified
..and principled and
..steadfast.
Therefore, I respect and mourn her.
I wish our paths had crossed sooner.
This might have been a different tale.
I will remember this day.
I will remember it
like I remember her -
peeling potatoes,
with her wedding ring shining
in the muddy water.
And her tearing a strip off the teacher
when I got caned at school,
and crying when I took coal home to her
because it was midwinter
and we had no fire.
I thought then she was crying
..because she was happy.
Now, I think she knew I nicked it.
ALL CHUCKLE
But we were warm for a while.
Loving my mother was the only
decent thing I ever did.
And I did it from further
and further away.
We used to joke that we'd
forget each other's names.
But we never did.
I never will.
CHAINS RATTLE
I'm glad you found good people
in the end, Ma.
You deserve them.
Guess who.
GROANS AND STRAINS
Please, please, can I have gas
with the next one?
Gas doesn't go well
with the candles, sweetie.
And you're doing
wonderfully well without it.
We need you to concentrate now,
Dilys, and push as hard as you can.
Baby's slipping back a little
between contractions.
I think we might have to ask
gravity for a helping hand.
Gravity's what they talk about
in space.
I'm not a ruddy astronaut!
You won't be doing it
on your own, Dilys.
I'll cover the floor.
DILYS GROANS
As you can see,
we are now in full possession
of the deeds of Nonnatus House.
And?
And this marks the end
of our relationship
with a really quite remarkable
and very generous benefactor.
Hmm. He was probably glad
to be rid of it.
The building is under
a compulsory purchase order.
Which is yet to be enacted.
Meanwhile, our domiciliary
and district services
are more essential than ever.
Have you come to ask
for an increase in fees?
I will, next June, when our
arrangements are reviewed.
For now, I simply need money
to see to the wet and dry rot,
and our roof.
The building is scarcely fit
for any purpose,
let alone as medical premises.
Its primary purpose seems
to be as a house of religion.
Yes. That has been the case since 1864.
Which is why your presence
in this community is
wholly inappropriate in 1969.
Women don't want nuns
delivering sex education,
contraception, or treatment
for venereal disease.
And they don't want to ask them
for abortions.
We don't provide abortions.
You won't be providing anything
if I have my way.
You can ask for as much money
as you like
when your review comes up,
but I warn you now, we will be
discussing other matters.
I'm scared I'm giving you germs.
Oh, that's the last thing you should
be worrying about, sweetie.
Just hang onto me
and do as Mrs Turner says.
This is the best thing you could
possibly have done, Dilys.
Baby is almost with us.
Catch it. Catch it!
Promise me you'll catch it.
SHE GRUNTS
BABY CRIES
It's a little boy, Dilys!
A boy!
A boy, after all them girls!
When did I get so lucky?
BABY CRIES
Me mopping up sick is funny.
Me being useless on the dodgems
..is funny.
Me telling you all about the orphanage
and doing all the nuns' voices,
I can make that funny, too.
But becoming a mother at 16
..is the biggest
and the most serious thing
that's ever happened to me.
I can never make that into a joke,
so I didn't tell you.
Were you scared of what I'd think?
I was scared I'd scare you off.
The only thing that would scare me off
is if you expected me
to keep laughing all the time.
Because that wouldn't be normal
or genuine or
..real.
And I I want this to be
real, Nancy.
All of it.
Everything I've felt ever since
I first clapped eyes on you
and thought you were Miss Higgins.
SHE CHUCKLES
Cos it's been like I'm dreaming.
Or on drugs or something.
And you'd know all about that,
being a pharmaceuticals salesman.
HE CHUCKLES
Do you think that this is all
happening quite fast?
Yeah.
But I think it's meant to.
Yeah.
Me, too.
Introduce me to your daughter.
Let me take you both out.
To the funfair again.
Or the pictures.
Make it the pictures.
Less dangerous.
Away in a manger
No crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus
Lay down his sweet head
ALL JOIN IN:
The stars in the bright sky
Look down where he lay
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay. ♪
What are you playing at?
I'm playing Everything
Is Really Something Else,
And he's Baby Jesus.
He's going to look a devil
in all that pink!
ALL CHUCKLE
CARPET SWEEPER ROLLS
Jock was taken straight back to prison.
SHE SIGHS
I went with Gertie as far as
the grave in the council cemetery.
I took note of her position,
so one day he can go
and put flowers there.
Or we can.
She couldn't have flowers
in here because of Advent.
There's always one more thing
that can be done
to make a hurt better, isn't there?
Always.
DOOR OPENS
KEYS JANGLE
Put them on the desk.
HE LAUGHS
ALL LAUGH
A quick visit to the dodgems
before we all go home?
- Yeah!
- Yeah!
LAUGHTER
The Shaughnessys are on our books now,
and Sister Veronica's books.
After Christmas,
they can apply to be rehoused.
Oh, and how long is that going to take?
I suppose it might help
that little Karen's so poorly,
but they're in for a wait.
Oh I'm accustomed to seeing poverty,
but we're led to suppose
that squalor is dying out,
that we're poised on the brink of 1970
and the whole world
is on the up-and-up.
But the sad fact is,
the world is on the up-and-up,
and too many people are being
left behind.
Mm-hm.
If I said I walk down Fifth Avenue
dreaming about testing urine,
I'd be fibbing!
If I said I lie next to my
husband at night
dreaming about riding my bike
on the cobblestones in heavy rain,
I'd probably go to hell because
I'd be lying my head off!
But
..today wasn't a dream.
The squalor of the room,
the pain of the mother,
the paraffin smell
of those cheap candles were all
..completely real.
And everything that came out
of her labour and our work
..was absolutely
..beautiful.
And true.
I can't stop wanting that.
I don't know that I can get back to it.
I belonged in that room.
Just as I belong in this one.
I've learned to be good at not
craving things that hurt me.
But I can't stop craving
the things that make me whole.
Having no particularly gainful
employment to attend to
between now and Christmas Day itself,
I'm entirely happy to spearhead
the whole enterprise.
Oh!
Well, you're the only man
I know who knows
one end of an oven
glove from the other!
LAUGHTER
And there are so many
lonely people out there,
all the lonelier because
they won't admit to it.
How did loneliness ever come
to be a source of shame?
Hmm.
Because it's a kind of hunger.
And one way or another, hunger
is always seen as a failure.
Not this Christmas.
And not here.
Then this is how I propose
that we proceed.
We've been offered access
to five domestic kitchens.
Nonnatus House is kitchen number one,
our esteemed Mayor, Mrs Buckle,
has offered kitchen number two,
Turner residence, kitchen number three,
Miss Higgins' cottage furnishes
us with kitchen four,
and bringing up the rear,
Pastor Robinson is kitchen five.
Each to roast one large,
donated turkey,
accompaniments to be assigned.
And here comes Harry
with the invitations,
fresh from the Roneo at the library.
The bit where it says,
"Please bring your own chair,"
hasn't come out very clearly.
I might have to go over that in pen.
Well, do it quickly. We need to get
these out this afternoon.
Well, let me do that. I'll be flying
back tomorrow morning
and missing all the fun.
Pen.
Your uterus is reducing nicely.
You can take Epsom salts if
you wish, to dry up your milk.
Or we can try and keep things going,
until he comes home
from hospital. I'm hoping to see
another improvement in him
when we go in later.
Have they given you any
indications about his future?
Only that there are no guarantees.
They said he might be disabled.
I've never heard of that before,
but they said it's the same
as handicapped?
So often when newborn babies
have problems,
only time can tell whether they
will be permanently injured.
Time can tell us what it likes.
Richard is our baby,
and we're going to love him,
no matter what.
Most mothers would say exactly that.
But not all.
Hmm. I know that all too well.
And that's why there will never
be anything wrong
with my child in my eyes.
As long as he's happy.
And lo, the great Poplar
Christmas Comestible Heist
has borne fruit, somewhat literally,
and in the most spectacular way.
PHONE SLAMS
Ugh!
Good! Because you'll need
to be setting an extra place
at the table. My flight to
New York has been cancelled.
Thank you, freezing fog, and
thank you, industrial action.
Oh!
THEY LAUGH
Your turn now.
Let's see if you can do better.
That's enough.
Don't try too hard.
I'm going to refer her
to a different specialist
at Imperial Hospital.
They've been developing
a new type of surgery there
called a Potts shunt.
The idea is to bypass the hole,
even if it can't be closed.
Do you think that's worth a try?
Of course you may stay for Christmas.
To have you with us would mean
a very great deal,
as long as your husband can spare you?
Well, he has no choice but to spare me.
But I'll be home by bedtime
on Boxing Day.
Home?
Well, home won't be England
for another year or so.
The business is doing well,
but getting in the way.
Do you intend to resume
midwifery when you return?
I never intended to stop.
It takes ages to get registered
in America,
with different exams
in different states.
And I'm worried my skills will
decline if I stay away too long.
You must come back to us.
For a short time, at least.
I don't want you to have
to find work for me to do!
For as long as the Order is
able to stay in Poplar,
there will be work for all of us to do.
We may have to present
ourselves a little differently.
I will explain more in due course.
You're doing
a most meticulous job, Harry.
I am pretending they are teeth.
Dentists need to develop
manual dexterity.
Thank you for introducing me
to Christmas.
We've had quite a few
introductions, haven't we?
A few months ago, we hadn't even met.
But we were always family,
we just didn't know.
BELLS PEAL
What's that sound?
It's the Christmas bells!
It must be midnight!
BELLS RING
Do they do this everywhere?!
My father would have loved this!
I love it now!
MATURE JENNIFER: Not everyone
is where they ought to be
at Christmas.
Children unwrap their futures
and their gifts,
and the years will whisk them all away.
Nothing stands still.
Not time, not life on Earth,
or in the heavens.
And so, we must give each other
what we can,
and whilst we may.
Warmth. Safety. Love.
Hope. Laughter.
Give it all.
The wrapping should not matter,
but if there are ribbons,
make them red.
Some dreams come true at Christmas.
But not all. The season can be
shaped by things we lost.
Or lacked or yearned for.
But then, if we're lucky,
remembered for the blessings
that we found instead.
The reaching out, the meeting of needs,
the pulling together
that makes the magic spark.
Home will forever shift and change,
like the moon or a star.
Home circles on its axis,
marking our days,
and the miles we must travel.
But its core remains constant,
the one fixed point
on our fragile human map.
CHATTER AND LAUGHTER
Home is the chamber of the heart
that we constantly revisit,
and Christmas beats inside it
year after year after year.
Perennial and steadfast
and enduring.
There it is again!
The open door, the extra chairs,
the nearness of each other
and the dark made distant.
Time will pass and much will pass away,
but this will always be the same,
because here, at home for Christmas,
we can relish all we share
and cherish all that we receive.
Find all that we love
and know to be eternal.
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