Episode 6 Call the Midwife

'Summer was coming to an end.

'The dawns were paler and the mornings cool.

'Yet we had few thoughts of autumn or of harvest

'for we saw the fruits of women's labours every day.'

Good morning. Morning, Fred. Morning.

'The wheel of our year turned slowly. Work was its constant driving force,

'as present yet as changeable as the weather.'

'But time passed in Poplar as it did everywhere, holding mysteries

'and secrets in its net.'

We were nibbling Maraschino cherries

and drinking gin cocktails on the deck of his yacht.

Gosh, I'm sorry, did I sleep through breakfast?

There's something kept warm for you but you need to be quick about it.

And then he said, "Trixie, darling, let me take you to Monaco."

Who did? Rock Hudson.

In a dream she had.

But then I said, "Rock,

"that sounds lovely, but I'm afraid I have to be up early to prep

"and pack for my home visits."

Can you imagine?

I blame Christmas and the long winter nights.

Number of young women due to give birth nine months later.

There's 30 in the next two weeks alone!

And my district patient numbers are spiralling wildly.

I don't know how we're going to get through the next month.

Unless we start home visits an hour earlier.

No, he really wouldn't want me to do that.

Who wouldn't?

Rock Hudson.

Well, the obvious answer is you need to attend to your social life.

It's true.

And it wouldn't have to be terribly glamorous. It wouldn't have to

be a yacht or gin martinis.

Or Rock Hudson.

Thank you, but is he really my type?

She doesn't like the handsome type.

Perhaps he hasn't enough film star charisma for her.

All right. Thank you.

I'm sure the curate's very sweet,

but I dated one once and it has slightly put me off.

BIKE BELLS RING

Good morning. Reverend. Hello.

What do you think? It belongs to an old college friend.

He said we could borrow it if we fix it up.

It ought to be a boon for the Guides and Cubs

if we can actually get it started.

Do you think it might make it all the way to Monaco?

Actually, Nurse Franklin, you might be just the person I need.

Really?

For advice on a matter of style.

I didn't think the church funds would cover a coat of paint

but Fred thinks he can get me some cheap.

I could do you eight gallons of blue for five bob

or some yella.

Well, I'm not quite sure what buses are wearing this season,

but I wouldn't have thought yellow.

Maybe blue will suit. What kind of blue?

It's blue. Fred, have I not taught you anything?

Is it duck egg blue, full of the warmth of summer?

Well, on the tin, it just says...blue.

Fred, I hope you don't think you can leave that thing parked there.

I suggest you leave your money in your pocket.

My experience of Fred's deals is you always regret getting involved.

Received and understood.

We've quite a full list this afternoon,

so you may have to be patient.

Take a seat. Thank you.

Sorry, Sister.

I was helping one of my home visits to breastfeed. Mrs Lloyd again.

Baby just wouldn't latch on.

They only keep you as long as you let them, Nurse Miller.

Now hurry up and make yourself useful.

CHILDREN SCREAM

Don't you think, Sister, especially during these busier periods,

that timed appointments might move things along rather more swiftly?

Hello, Mrs Brindle.

Heavens! What a whopper! Easy to see who baby takes after.

If you could just pop baby on the scales for me, Mrs Brindle.

You registered with us quite close to your due date, Mrs Doyle.

We only just - myself and my husband - we only recently came to London.

It will mean moving things along quite quickly.

We'll set up a home visit for tomorrow.

I see Dr Turner has done routine bloods and a pelvic assessment.

Everything seems to be normal.

I told the doctor I'm worried my baby isn't moving so much.

And I'm sure Dr Turner told you that baby's movements are very varied.

There is no right amount.

You might try drinking a glass of cold water.

That will often get baby to kick.

But you will check? Do tests?

We'll listen in to baby's heart.

But first, we need some details from you.

Let's start with your maiden name.

What would you need to know that for?

We need to get a full picture of your family health history.

Stocks. Phoebe Stocks.

And do you have someone other than your husband to help out?

No, I don't know anyone.

Could all mothers keep their children under control, please?

And once you've been seen by the midwife,

can you please make your way out?

Nurse Mount.

If you think you're here to bawl like a publican...

Hardly, Sister. Certainly loud and clear, but I...

Or upset mothers with unhelpful remarks about their babies,

I think your time would be better spent elsewhere.

Beg your pardon?

Here are your district patients for today.

I know Nurse Noakes will be relieved to have your support.

Sister Julienne, you know that I came to Nonnatus House

specifically to enhance my midwifery.

I do. But needs must.

And, as our most recent addition to the staff,

your transfer will be less of an upheaval for the mothers.

I will admit that midwifery's been quite the dizzying

shift of tempo for me.

But I know that I can learn and adjust to it.

For now, our decision must stand.

There! Did you feel it?

Jesus, he nearly had my hand off!

He'll be playing fly-half for Ulster one day.

He? No. It'll be a girl

and she'll have all the boys after her.

Just like her beautiful mother?

Declan, was it the right thing?

To leave everything and come here?

Not everything. We still have each other.

And we brought this little fella along.

The receipt from the registry office. I paid them today.

It took a fair bite out of my first wage packet, though.

It's what we agreed, Phoebe.

Aye.

In a grim wee room instead of us both at the altar.

Well, it's not our fault neither church will marry us!

I know. I just...

I wish there was a way we could do it right.

Maurice Glennon, get back in that bed!

The nurse'll be here any minute.

Doreen, don't fret! I'll be back at work tomorrow.

It's all very well them saying you need bed rest.

You should've been back at work days ago.

KNOCKING

Let the Nurse in, Gillian.

They won't hold that job for you past this week.

And trying to feed us on the sick club money's worse than

when we used to have the ration book.

Doreen, we'll manage!

We always have, always will.

He's just through here, Nurse.

Mrs Glennon. I'm Nurse Mount.

I hope your husband's been getting plenty of bed rest.

Haven't moved my backside off this mattress, have I, Gillian?

I understand a fall at work gave your back a very nasty jolt.

Yes, off the ladder of his crane, Nurse.

He's been off close to two months.

A fractured "vert-i-bray". It's in his spine.

You've got some competition there.

Gillian says she's going to be a nurse.

Any pain in the back still?

Nothing. I'm fit as a fiddle.

The steroid injections Doctor Turner prescribed your husband seem to be doing their job.

This should be the last.

And then he can get back to work? We hope so.

Mr Glennon, how did you get that? Another accident at work?

A souvenir from me army days.

I hope you've got a better touch than that other nurse.

I've had no complaints so far.

That's a lovely thing, Sister.

Isn't it? An exquisite cartography of the heavens.

I suppose some of these old instruments are a bit

out of date now, what with recent scientific discoveries.

I think you'll find that old instruments,

if they are of good quality, retain their value and purpose.

Neither this reliable globe nor I,

though both old instruments,

are by any means redundant.

Oh, of course not, Sister!

I didn't mean anything against you, Sister Monica Joan!

You look like you're waiting to see the headmaster.

Almost.

I'm waiting to talk to Sister Julienne about arrangements

for the harvest festival.

I have an idea to distribute boxes, like this one,

into which people can place their donations.

The boxes are then collected by a whole team of volunteers

just before the harvest festival celebration...

I'd love to help, but today is terribly busy. And tomorrow.

And then it's my first day off in quite a while, so...

No, I wasn't for a moment trying to recruit you, Nurse Franklin.

Did you plunge headlong into the murky world of Mr Buckle?

Did you buy Fred's dodgy paint?

No. No, I decided to heed your advice. Thank you.

Very wise.

Perhaps I could say a proper thank you, if you'd let me.

Would you care to join me for a lovely day watching some

first-class cricket

on your day off, unless you've plans?

I don't think I know the first thing about cricket.

Isn't it terribly complicated?

It's just a man with a stick trying to hit a ball.

The key ingredients are a splendid picnic hamper,

a clear blue sky and...

Well, one's choice of companion.

I'd love to.

I think it will be rather lovely.

Ladies with the latest millinery,

promenading in the members' enclosure!

Actually, I think you may be confusing it with Ascot.

Sipping long glasses of Pimm's and munching on strawberries.

And Wimbledon.

And I dare say we may hobnob with the great and the good.

Gosh! But what does one wear?

What exactly are you doing, Sister?

Making a sheaf loaf for the harvest festival. Or at least trying.

My mother made it look so terribly easy.

Perhaps you're being just a little too ambitious, Sister Winifred.

But you can't have a harvest festival without a sheaf loaf.

# While I'm far away from you My baby

# I know it's hard for you, my baby

# Because it's hard for me, my baby

# And the darkest hour is just before dawn

# Each night before you go to bed My baby

# Whisper a little prayer for me My baby

# And tell all the stars above

# This is dedicated to the one I love

# This is dedicated to the one I love. #

Peter, it's a minor matter. Just let the curate park his bus here.

It is not a minor matter, Camilla. It is the law.

Yes, but it's not as if anyone killed anyone.

If we let people pick and choose what laws to obey, what do we get?

Anarchy. Yes, I know.

HE COUGHS

Mr Glennon, why are you out of bed?

Just let me have the chitty.

I said we might be able to sign you fit for return to work, but...

You've a high temperature. It's probably close to 100.

There'll be no work for you today.

There'll be none all month if I don't get there and clock in.

Mr Glennon, where's your wife?

Stitching shirts at three shillings a box.

You think I can lay in bed with that going on?

Mr Glennon, on to the bed with you right now!

Gillian, I need you to telephone Dr Turner.

Tell him he must come quickly.

We don't need the doctor coming!

HE COUGHS

It's just a piece of paper to make it legal!

Why is it so important we do it in a church?

Because I want to take my vows under the eyes of God, not just the law!

I cannot see how anyone, raised the way we were,

wouldn't want to turn their back on the whole thing!

It's not just for us. It's for the baby!

You think I'm not thinking about the baby?

But if you want it to stay a bastard, that's fine!

Let's not get ourselves married!

Did you hear everything or would you like me to write it down for you?

I'm the midwife here to see Mrs Doyle.

Well, I didn't think you were Alma Cogan!

I'll be out of your way.

And this is the rubber sheet to cover the bed with

when the time comes.

I thought you might be interested in coming to some of our Mothercraft classes.

There's still time to learn a little about baby

and get to know some other mothers.

That'd be nice.

I'm sorry about earlier.

Declan's not always so unpleasant.

I'm quite sure he's not.

But it's not good for you or for baby to be getting upset

and arguing like that.

We eloped.

Sounded more romantic than this.

I wanted a church wedding, but he's Catholic, I'm Protestant.

The two of us grew up on neighbouring streets in Belfast.

We only met because of work.

Our parents didn't like it at all.

And then you got pregnant.

Back home, a girl like me, pregnant and not married...

..she has to hate herself for the shame she's brought to her family.

And with a boy from the other side?

That's the world we ran away from.

Your father's very stubborn and foolish, Gillian.

What if you'd fallen and damaged your back again?

You've a fever. You're wheezing.

Your heart's banging like a barn door in a hurricane.

What's the matter with him, Nurse?

Feel your father's pulse.

His heart's working too hard and we need to find out why.

KNOCKING

Hello? Go on. Doctor!

Tell him I'm on the mend, Nurse. Please?

That's for the doctor to decide.

Thank you for coming so promptly.

Mr Glennon,

I hope you haven't been getting on the wrong side of Nurse Mount.

I believe we've established who's boss.

# Bringing in the sheaves Bringing in the sheaves

# We shall come rejoicing Bringing in the sheaves. #

Oh! That's interesting.

Old, but reliable.

That's all.

How long have you had this rash?

It's nothing. Just itches a bit is all.

And the chest is crackling.

Possibly a result of you spending so much time in bed.

There you go. I should have been up and about days ago.

I'm going to prescribe you some antibiotics for your chest.

We'll see how it responds.

You'll sign the chitty, though, won't you?

I can send Gillian with word I'll start work tomorrow.

I'm afraid you won't be going back to your job yet, Mr Glennon.

But I've got to! I got a family to feed!

Everyone gets into an awful tangle over this

problem between the Catholics and the Protestants.

Obviously, the district round gives me plenty to get my teeth into.

I've never really understood it.

I mean, they both go to church and pray to the same God.

The point is, Sister Julienne knows I came to Nonnatus House to

gain midwifery experience.

I told Phoebe Doyle she should go and talk to Tom Hereward

and that he was very nice.

And he is.

I don't know why you all thought he wasn't my type.

Think the only one who thought he wasn't was you.

Now the problem is deciding how alluring one should make

oneself for a date with a curate.

Oh!

What a lovely thing.

I have a scarf this would go just perfectly with.

What are you doing?

Well, I was just thinking this would make the perfect accessory and if...

Would you not touch my private things again?

Are we still not getting any post?

None here, and apparently none at the surgery either.

They say the strike could go on another week.

Can I show Colin my Airfix Supermarine Spitfire when he comes?

Do you have any time before your outing?

Have you got your packed lunch?

And who's Colin?

It'll only take a minute. Yes, I have.

And Colin's a new boy at school.

KNOCKING That'll be Colin.

Hello! Come in. He's got his lunch. It's just through here.

This is Colin. Hello, Timothy's mum and dad.

Hello. Hello. No time to see the Spitfire.

Goodbye, Timothy's mum and dad.

Ah, yes. The cricketing jaunt.

I must say, I find Mr Hereward very agreeable.

Yes, so do I.

Perhaps he'll bowl a maiden over!

Excuse me?

Fred tells me it's a cricket joke. Apparently, it's... it's quite funny.

DOORBELL RINGS

Hello. Good morning.

You look lovely. You look very nice.

I've had to make a change or two to the outing I had planned.

A day at Lord's would be splendid,

but the Oval at Vauxhall would be lovely, too.

You see, I have done some homework.

Ah. Actually, we're going to Clacton-on-Sea.

Essex are at home to Warwickshire.

Clacton? And we'll be taking the bus.

Really? Just for the two of us?

Well, I'm afraid their trip to the zoo was cancelled

at terribly short notice. Whose trip?

And we couldn't not give them a treat of some sort.

# I want to be in that number

# When the Saints go marching in. #

WHISTLE BLOWS

That'll be the nine o'clock shift starting.

I'm sorry you lost your job.

It's not just the wages.

I hate seeing Doreen coming home so worn out.

And I miss the work.

Being stuck in here, weeks on end, doing nothing.

I can't stand to be idle, either.

You wouldn't believe the view from the cab of my crane.

Everything so small down below.

Isn't it lonely? Up there all on your own?

Peaceful, I'd call it.

All alone, with your thoughts.

You'll be back up there. I promise you, you will.

It should be a terrific match.

Yes, I'm looking forward to it(!)

If the wicket offers some turn,

then Bill Greensmith's googly ought to be quite a handful.

I'm very sorry,

but you do know I haven't the first idea what any of that means?

Nurse Trixie, Colin Monk's eaten all of his packed lunch

and two spiders for a bet, and now he's been sick all over the floor!

This will, at first, feel like a terribly awkward procedure

but you'll have rather more chances to practise this little skill

than you could ever imagine.

The first objective, if at all possible,

is to avoid jabbing the pin into young sir or,

of course, young madam....

whilst also avoiding injury to oneself.

I pity the poor wee things with us as mothers!

Oh, dear! Are you in a bit of a muddle?

Let's start again.

We won't miss the start of play, though, will we, Reverend?

I managed to mop up most of it,

although the smell's lingering somewhat. How's the patient?

HE RETCHES

Now, I want you all here nice and promptly for our next class, ladies.

We'll be unravelling the mysteries of breastfeeding.

You look like you enjoyed yourself.

I did.

And you look all sweet, like we didn't have a hell of a row.

I'm here to apologise for that.

You're forgiven.

Now, who could have taken things from a charity box?

Who indeed?

Sister Monica Joan, you didn't by any chance...

Ah!

Sister, these things were left as donations.

Yes. Isn't that kind? But I mustn't keep them all to myself.

Mars is very tasty. Please help yourself to Saturn or Jupiter.

HE TRIES TO START ENGINE

It shouldn't take more than an hour to get back to Poplar,

once you get this wreck started again.

You think we should turn back?

Well, yes.

But the cricket!

We'll obviously miss the start of play, but I...

I did promise the boys.

# Wait for me

# I love you only

# Wait for me

# And when you're lonely

# In your dreams I'll walk beside you

# You have my prayers to guide you

# Just say you will wait for me

# Wait for me

# Through all the grey days

# Soon they'll be just faraway days... #

It's no good.

There was a telephone box a mile or two back.

I'll call for a mechanic while you look after the boys.

Really?

Reverend! Reverend! We found the cricket scores on your radio.

Trevor Bailey's 120 not out!

I'll go to the phone box. You listen to the cricket.

# How I long to put my arms around you

# I'm thinking now about you

# Every day, for sure I just love you more and more... #

You may now kiss the bride.

# Wait for me

# I'll be returning

# And the world will soon be learning

# We were born to be together

# Love like ours will last for ever

# If you say you will wait for me. #

What can I say? I am so sorry.

I'm sure it wasn't quite the day either of us had in mind.

Perhaps we could try another outing, just the two of us.

Perhaps when I've had a little time to recover from this one.

I am disturbed by this ghostly apparition.

It is very unsettling.

Oh!

Oh!

Come along, young man. Your dad'll be home soon

and we can't keep him waiting for his dinner.

What is for dinner?

Someone's feeling better!

I have tried to tell him insects aren't good for the digestion.

Never mind. He seems fine now.

And they've had such fun.

Yes. I worry that Colin gets lonely sometimes, as an only child.

I worry for Timothy, too.

Would you have liked another?

He's actually my step-son. Dr Turner was widowed when we met.

My husband and I couldn't have children of our own.

But Colin's mum had died and he'd been put in foster care.

He knows he's adopted.

And we all know we're lucky.

And all the way along, the more love he's needed,

the more love we've found.

We haven't run out yet.

But I will if he doesn't get a move on! Colin!

Perseus and Cassiopeia.

And between the two lies the Perseus Double Cluster. Remarkable!

It's working all right, then?

Oh, it certainly is.

Gillian? You've got to come.

Dad said I wasn't to trouble you, but he's got really bad.

Where's your mother? Out at Mr Goldman's all day now

cos somebody has to put food on the bloody table.

I can feel baby's head's engaged.

I also need to go to the toilet a lot more now.

That's because there's more pressure low down on your bladder.

It all means baby's getting ready to come out and meet the world.

The wee thing must have heard the news.

It's official now.

Congratulations!

Not a church wedding.

Declan would've never've converted to my faith.

So how does it feel to be Mrs Doyle?

I'm married...

..though I'm not sure I really feel it.

Nurse. Mr Doyle.

I should say thank you for pushing Phoebe to go to these classes

and for meeting other girls in her condition. She's full of it.

And spending less time thinking about making her peace with

the Church. I must say,

this whole business seems to bring her more grief than joy.

If it was up to me, I'd shut all the churches.

Turn them into bingo halls. Something useful.

But I know it's important to Phoebe.

Come on, now. Let's have you on your side.

No more pills. They make me worse.

Hold on to him, Gillian.

Why isn't he getting any better?

Sometimes, what's wrong with someone stays

a mystery for quite a while.

Did you get those scars fighting in the Far East, Mr Glennon?

Gillian, why don't you pop next door and put the kettle on for us?

They're scars for the treatment of leg ulcers, aren't they?

Treatment by doctors with no access to proper equipment.

Doctors in a prisoner of war camp.

We were defending an airfield in Java when the Japs came.

Never had a chance.

They sent us up the Straits of Malacca to build the Burma Railway.

260 miles of track.

Eating rats and flies.

Fighting over a grain of rice.

And you decided to act as if none of it had ever happened.

HE COUGHS

My mother,

when there was a storm, she used to be sure to open the front door

and the back door...

..so the thunder and lightning would go straight through.

"Don't let your misfortunes find a home," she'd tell me.

It's about Mr Glennon, Doctor.

Yes? His condition is considerably worse.

He's not responding to the antibiotics?

Not at all. Mr Glennon was a prisoner of war in Burma.

Could it be some kind of tropical disease?

It would be an extremely long incubation period.

16 years.

Sister Monica Joan, have you seen this? You have to look.

It's proper fascinating!

The American satellite they sent up

has taken the first ever photographs of planet Earth from space.

What could be more fascinating than a first-hand

account of Halley's Comet in 240 BC?

I want nothing to do with it!

But Sister...

Do you not recall the catastrophe

when the Gorgon saw herself in the mirror?

Or how Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt?

Well, yeah, but... I'm disappointed in you, Fred.

I don't understand how you can't see that this is an abomination!

Yes, yes. I think we have what we need.

Goodbye.

What did they say, Doctor?

According to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in St Pancras,

the time delay between contracting the disease

and the appearance of symptoms isn't atypical.

Do they know what it could be?

They think that what's causing the infections and sepsis

in Mr Glennon's body is... Ah!

Strongyoides Stercoralis.

What on earth is that?

A roundworm.

Its larva enters through the sole of the naked foot,

then migrates through the circulation system to the lungs,

crawling up the respiratory tract to be swallowed

and make its home in the small intestine.

But why is it active now?

The steroid I prescribed.

I'm told that there are cases where the injection has woken

the worm and caused it to replicate.

It's remarkable that you spotted it, Nurse Mount.

What put you onto the right track?

I must have read something in a medical magazine.

You know how these things stick in the mind.

I fear the worst should I look upon that unholy image.

Absolutely, Sister.

And yet, my crime, if crime it be...

..is my weakness.

I can resist no more.

This is our Earth?

How ridiculous!

Mr Glennon,

we think the problem is something you picked up in Burma

and it's lead to you developing pneumonia.

We'll need to take you to hospital for tests and observation.

He never told me a thing about his time in a prison camp.

It's not an uncommon thing

for someone to keep an experience like this to themselves.

And there's me been pushing him to be getting back to work.

I can't help thinking this is all my fault.

No. It's not, is it, Nurse Patsy?

It's not Mum. It's the infection making him sick.

That's right.

And that's why your dad is going to need a lot of help to make him better.

Help from both of us.

HE SINGS TO HIMSELF

Spitfires weren't bombers, Tim. They were fighter planes!

Pedant!

Somebody's expanding their vocabulary.

I made a new friend yesterday.

Did you? Jean Monk, Colin's mother.

Colin?

Cub Colin. Ah, yes.

Jean was telling me that Colin is adopted.

Really?

You know what I'm going to say, don't you?

I know how much you want a baby

and I think you know how much I'd like one, too.

I really don't believe I'd have to carry

a child inside my body for it to feel like ours.

If I felt that, it would mean that loving Timothy has taught me nothing!

Shelagh, if you want to adopt, we can look into adopting.

Really? Really.

I know as little about this from a parent's perspective as you do.

But we can work it out together.

First time for both of us.

Just hope Timothy agrees.

People have responded

so generously with donations for the harvest festival.

Mr Hereward is a breath of fresh air, isn't he?

Yes. He's quite a chap.

He's very good at making more work for us in our busiest times.

His harvest festival parcels aren't going to wrap themselves.

Sister Monica Joan, I think Fred rather thinks he's upset you again.

Something about a photograph.

Oh, no. No.

Fred has the foolish idea that the mystery of the stars

and planets is a fragile thing.

PHONE RINGS

We have to realise that we have nothing at all to fear from science.

PHONE RINGS

Patsy? We thought you were coming back for pudding.

Sister Monica Joan is starting to chew the cutlery!

Telephone call. It was about Mr Glennon.

The chap you thought had some sort of tropical disease?

And I was right.

Only Dr Turner says the recovery rates aren't at all high.

But you gave him a chance. And that's the thing to remember.

How did you even know to consider such an exotic thing?

Because of the scars on his legs.

I've seen them before.

Until I was nine-years-old,

I was living a life of privilege in Singapore.

Two weeks later, my mother, sister and I were separated from my father

and put in a Japanese internment camp.

We were beaten and tortured for the slightest misdemeanours.

I have so few things to remember my family by.

They took everything from us.

There was a makeshift hospital. Just another hut.

I was still a child but I felt drawn to it, helped where I could.

You never forget what dreadful cruelty people are capable of.

War leaves us all a lot poorer than it finds us, doesn't it?

Everyone has their story.

But we can't let it affect our work.

We have to rise above it.

Why? Why must I rise above it?

Oh, Patsy, come down and...

I saw my sister and mother die of disease and malnutrition!

Patsy, I had no idea. I'm so sorry.

And I'm sorry if everyone thinks that I lack compassion.

They know you don't.

But sometimes patients need to see that you care.

In the hell I grew up in, what was important was what we did,

not some great show of sentiment and emotion.

So, fire away.

If you did adopt a little sister or brother,

would I have to share my bedroom?

Do you want to? No.

Would I still get the same pocket money? I wouldn't get half?

No. You wouldn't get half.

Could they play piano at the choir practice

so I could play cricket instead?

I think that's a possibility.

So, what's the verdict?

I think...it would be good.

Good morning!

Wherever she was going, she seemed in a terrific hurry.

Who's that?

Nurse Mount.

She's been gone for several hours now.

She hasn't cleared her rota or told anyone when she might return.

Patsy was up and out first thing and nobody's heard from her since.

It means that Chummy's single-handed again on the district rota

and having to cover for her.

She was in a prison camp.

And at nine-years-old.

It must have been unimaginably awful.

We had a bit of a set-to.

She seemed to think none of us really understood her.

And now nobody knows where she's gone.

Do you fear that she might have left Nonnatus House altogether?

I did. But all of her clothes are still in her wardrobe.

PHONE RINGS

Yes. You just need to calm down a little and...

Mr Doyle...

Mr Doyle, could you just tell me,

have your wife's waters actually broken?

Heart rate's nice and steady.

Baby's obviously ready to come and see the world.

Breathe deeply.

Push a little. Not too hard.

SHE SCREAMS

SHE SCREAMS

I can't do it any more.

You can. A small gentle push for me, Phoebe.

SHE SCREAMS

Ahh... help me!

You're doing wonderfully.

Just keep calm and breathe.

It won't be long now.

SHE SCREAMS

Here comes your baby, Phoebe.

Gently now. Gently.

SHE SCREAMS

And the head's out! Shoulders are coming.

SHE SCREAMS

It's a boy!

Hello, wee fella!

We just need to wait for the placenta now, Phoebe.

Would you like to meet your son, Mr Doyle?

Mr Doyle, just one moment, please.

Isn't he beautiful?

He's the best thing I ever saw.

Cynthia...

..baby's not pinking up quite as much as he should.

Oh.

I'll try the mucus extractor.

Is something wrong?

Baby's breathing is a little laboured.

What does that mean?

It's all right, Phoebe.

Nurse Franklin just needs to help baby get his breathing started properly.

Declan, didn't I say about him not kicking?

Shh. Settle now. The midwives know what they're doing.

I'm just going to rub his back for a few moments.

Declan!

I'm scared we're going to lose him.

Oh, God! And I feared for his soul!

Declan!

Mr Doyle, your wife needs you here!

Please tell me he'll be all right!

Sometimes, baby needs a little encouragement

when he comes into the world.

Let me hold him, please?

I need to hold him.

I need to wrap him in another blanket to keep him nice and warm.

Don't hold him too tightly. We have to let him breathe.

Your little boy may need the help of a specialist baby unit.

I'll let Doctor know and telephone for an ambulance.

Reverend!

Reverend!

Reverend, please!

You have to come. It's my baby! Of course.

Come on!

The ambulance will be here very soon

and the hospital will do everything that they can.

Reverend Hereward?

Nurse Franklin.

I brought the priest, Phoebe. How is he?

They want to take him to the hospital.

But I can't let him go.

Not yet, Reverend.

Not yet.

Would you like me to christen your son, Mrs Doyle?

Would you do that?

With your permission, Nurse.

You have a beautiful baby, Mrs Doyle. Do you have a name for him?

James Declan.

James Declan...

..I baptise thee in the name of the Father...

..and of the Son...

..and of the Holy Ghost.

Amen.

We humbly beseech thee to grant, that as he is now made partaker

in the death of thy Son, that he may be also of his resurrection.

And finally, with the residue of the Saints,

that he may inherit thine everlasting Kingdom,

through the same, thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen. Amen.

BABY CRIES SOFTLY

The ambulance is here.

I've made what enquiries I could at the station about Nurse Mount.

I... I dropped in at the London

to see if she'd gone to see Maurice Glennon.

We must remember that some of the most brusque amongst us

are also the most kind-hearted.

No accident involving a nurse has been reported.

She's very capable. I hope we're all worrying about nothing.

She has no right to make us feel frantic like this.

Honestly, I could give her a slap!

Sister, please!

Nurse Mount!

Are you all right?

Where've you been?

I set off first thing for the Hospital of Tropical Diseases

at St Pancras. And they told me there was

a doctor who'd written a paper on Strongyloidiasis.

Didn't you think to tell anyone where you'd gone?

So I tracked him down and he said there was a specialist

trialling a new drug at the Liverpool School of Tropical Disease.

But because of the postal strike, I thought

I should go up there and get the medication myself. To Liverpool?

Fortunately I had my emergency five pound note in my purse.

The medication is American. Dithiazanine.

I need to get these to Maurice Glennon.

No, you do not. You need to rest after the day you've had.

I can take those.

Thank you.

What you need is a nice, long bath.

I'll go and get that sorted right away.

Busy day?

A landmark day!

We are now completely up to date with the polio vaccination programme.

That's wonderful, Patrick. Well done.

Meanwhile, I haven't been entirely idle.

I called in at the Church Of England Children's Society,

asking about the possibility of adoption.

And? And I was made extremely welcome!

Tea in a china pot and some very superior biscuits.

I think they quite like the idea of us - a GP and a retired midwife!

As a first step, we have to fill in all of these forms,

then, if all's well, we'll progress to interview.

We'll be filling these in for a week!

Quite right, too.

As the lady said, the children have already got off to a sorry start in life.

They need the very best parents the agency can find them.

I don't know why they need to know half of this stuff.

I've never seen so many questions.

Quite.

No, I'm sorry, Shelagh. You've rushed into this.

There are plenty of adoption charities

and we should talk to them all,

find out what conditions they impose.

No-one's imposing any conditions.

They just want to know who we are.

Well, it's perfectly obvious who we are!

Patrick, we're filling these forms in tonight!

Some babies are slow to take the deep breaths they need.

They have to be given oxygen for a while.

And is that all that's wrong with the baby?

Well, we have to hope there's no serious cardiac problem.

But quite often, the problem sorts itself out.

Really? How?

Once a baby has to breathe on its own, the heart can heal itself.

And what about grown-ups?

Can their hearts heal themselves, too, Nurse Franklin?

I think so. Trixie. Please.

Tom.

Very glad to meet you. Pleased to meet you.

Oh, look at that.

The harvest moon.

KNOCKING

Am I forgiven?

What on earth for?

Everyone's being awfully careful around me all of a sudden.

Well, the last time I saw you, you were rather angry with me.

Only cos you were right.

There's nothing worse than having an argument with someone who's right.

I think it's time for an Advocaat. Don't you?

For you. It's a harvest festival parcel.

We need to build you up and get you back to work.

You've given me enough.

One of the nuns came. Big woman.

She told me what happened to you as a girl.

I didn't suffer any more than you.

Don't let it eat you up for the rest of your life.

Remember what I said. Next time there's a storm...

..you need to leave open both doors.

Don't let your misfortunes find a home.

'History needn't be a trap.

'We can escape its web and shake off its weight of pain.

'We can change our minds

'and open up our hearts.

'We can let forgiveness speak and allow it to be heard...

'..let friendship flourish and let love in...

'..so it might feed and sustain us all our days.'

THEY CLAP

# Shine on

# Shine on, harvest moon

# Up in the sky

# I ain't had no loving since January... #

I miss the East End.

Hello, stranger!

Mater!

Oh, Camilla!

You always were a stomper.

You... You ain't supposed to come here.

Mrs Saint, whatever are you doing? I have to clean her.

I have to sterilise everything.

You're embarrassed by our home?

Trixie can have the pick of any man she wants. I have two left feet.

I won't live with this between us, Patrick.

I saw you. With Tom.

# I ain't had no loving since January, February, June or July

# Snow time ain't no time to stay outdoors and spoon

# So shine on

# Shine on, harvest moon For me and my gal

# I was planning on a wedding in June... #