All language subtitles for Call.The.Midwife.S13E01.720p.HDTV.x264-ORGANiC

MATURE JENNIFER: Perhaps
it is always best

to start things in the spring,

matching our rhythm to
the Earth's clean beat,

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 War 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 kill 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 war, 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

GUNSHOTS 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
shoot the bolts off.

I need to be able
to answer my phone.

If you put the gun
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 shoot
the bolts off with a gun,

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 gun.

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

Shots have been heard.

Can you confirm they came
from a gun 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...

..I 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

8:11.

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 slingbacks.

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!

Oh! NANCY LAUGHS

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!