Gold Star Holby City

I can give you and the baby the best possible odds.

-You sure about that?

-Positive.

As of tomorrow, I no longer work on Darwin.

AAU is short-staffed and I'll be filling a gap down there.

Are you really sure this is what you want?

I'm taking a leap.

This is the start of the way back. Yeah?

Yeah.

If there's any way I can show my appreciation...

That won't be necessary, Mrs Thompson.

Call me Birdie.

No, thank you.

Hello, beautiful. Another quick one today, I'm afraid.

BABY GURGLES

You know, one day, you'll grow up and you'll have questions

and maybe you'll ask me, why do I do it?

And I'll say because I love to help people.

Because I want you to see what your mummy can do.

Because I want you to have the very best in life.

That's good enough, isn't it?

Yeah!

Morning.

Morning!

-Here, let me.

-Oh, thank you.

A portable ultrasound, is it?

-It's a theremin, actually.

-Ah.

You're familiar, are you?

Er... It's a spacey-instrument type thing.

I thought you played the tuba.

Sousaphone. But then one's never too old to expand one's repertoire.

Morning all.

Morning, Ms Effanga.

Ready to get stuck into the blood and guts?

You know, I am.

"Cardio-Trauma".

The complexity of cardiothoracics with the urgency of...of AAU...

Actually, sorry, I... I'd better go.

Excuse me.

-Go get 'em, tiger. Make us proud!

-Yeah!

Well, I'm with you today, Ms Effanga.

Conducting my biannual patient care satisfaction survey.

Starting at the top, with Darwin.

Top in every sense of the word.

NURSERY RHYME TUNE PLAYS

Right?

Oh...

Ah, my lord!

Oh, Mr Valentine. Perfect timing. With me.

-Yes.

-RTC. Hit a milk float, by all accounts. He's yours.

Oh, OK. Ah, right, I've got a penetrating chest wound.

-Let's get do a CT, please...

-No. This is trauma, Ollie, come on.

Yes. Let's get him into theatre and open him up.

Better. Go.

SHE SIGHS

-Problem?

-Mr Phibbs thinks I sneered at him.

Sneered?

I mean, if he really wants to see disdain, I could just go and...

-Oh, actually, about that...

-Morning.

Morning.

As Ms Effanga has no doubt explained,

I'm here today to talk to your patients.

Now, I will endeavour not to be a distraction to any of you.

And I'd be grateful if you would extend to me

the same courtesy, that would be ideal.

Ignore you?

Er...yes, please.

Right...

Sorry, did you know about this?

OK, listen. I'm not having our ward coming second best to anyone.

So, today, you guys are proper ambassadors, all right? Saints.

Fluff pillows. Pay compliments.

"And the emergency exits are located here and here."

Today, nice, quiet, helpful. No exceptions.

Even Mr Phibbs.

Sorry. Mo, Mo?

It's Mum. She's had some sort of attack.

-BREATHLESS:

-I told you, I'm fine.

Let's get her into a bed, give her a check over.

It's all right, Mum. It's all right.

-Deep breath. In and out.

-DERWOOD BREATHES IN

-Not you, Derwood.

-Sorry, yes.

OK, good.

-What's this?

-A median sternotomy.

I thought you meant a proper trauma thoracotomy.

I've done thousands of medians before. I'm quicker than you think.

MONITOR BEEPS

Step aside, Mr Valentine, but be ready if I need you.

I took one look at her I just knew this...

It's a lot of fuss over nothing.

No, she was as white as a ghost, Mo.

Oof...

Mum. You see? You are unwell and you know it.

I'll give you some pain relief

and do a lung-function test while we're at it.

Sorry.

-Derwood?

-Yes?

Did you grab my library book?

Er...

No, I'm sorry, I forgot. I panicked.

All the times I remembered your piano music...

You were right to come in.

It probably is just asthma,

but we'll do some tests just to be on the safe side.

Derwood?

You didn't say anything about tonight, did you?

No, I didn't, but...

The minute she finds out it's just you and me,

she's going to be all over me about abandoning Hector.

Oh, come on, she's not like that, Mo.

Look, I'll treat her, send her home, and then you and me

can still have that silky, sexy, honeymoon suite all to ourselves.

But it has to be our secret.

She cannot know we're leaving him overnight. Trust me.

For you, my love. Anything.

Good. So, where are we with that baby-sitter?

All right, he's out of danger.

Do you want to close up, Mr Valentine?

Sure. 2-0 vicryl, please.

Don't beat yourself up. In here, it's simple - keep them alive.

-Old habits.

-Shake them off and we'll get along fine.

Well, Mrs Atherton seemed happy. She said you had lovely hands.

Where are we with Mr Phibbs?

-We bump him.

-What?

Get him into theatre first. Get him out, before Hanssen comes round.

Henry?

Henry!

Am I missing something?

They met at the wedding that wasn't.

Cupid hit a bull's-eye with Nanna T,

-but his arrow completely missed Hanssen.

-Really?

Don't go getting any ideas.

I know the perfect recipe for that.

It's for Mo, actually.

-Thanks, Trixie.

-I wanted to say thanks. You know, for last time.

Flowers would've been fine.

Here, be a gent - pop that in the fridge.

So how you been since the procedure?

-Pregnant.

-Right.

A bit of dizziness and palpitations but that's all part of it, right?

WHEEZING COUGH

Right, let's get you settled in.

I'll be along to do a check-up in a minute.

-We'll try and make it quick.

-Thanks.

WHEEZING COUGH

No, I feel fresh as a daisy. Five years younger.

Mind you, I was red-raw when I came out.

Listen, you should come with me next time.

Ah. No, no. I... I wouldn't want to cramp your style.

Oh, don't be daft. Come on. I'll tell you who's good.

Good at what?

-I'm just saying Raf should come for a shvitz.

-Pardon?

It's a steam and a massage.

Ah, right. Of course.

I didn't know you were the steam room sort.

Healthy body. Healthy mind.

Are you using therapy as an excuse for a spa day?

Well, let's just say it does wonders for my mood chart.

I like it.

This is Raina Caulfield.

She's been brought in with severe back pain and swelling in her legs.

Rae?

Rae Rawlings?!

With the Great Gower Getaway of '79.

I got your hair caught in my stunt kite.

Sacha! Little Sacha Levy!

Yes, that's me. Yes!

You fell into those stinging nettles,

and my mum had to rub Vaseline all over your...

Yes, how could I forget!

He was such a little Romeo in his day.

Oh, you'll have to tell me all about it.

So Elsie, huh?

Elsie-Rose. I'd like to say she's going to be named after my nan.

But really she's named after the boat that's named after my nan.

So you must really love that boat.

I guess I have to, all the blood and sweat I've put into her.

Even if I were having another boy, they'd make me name him Elsie.

Who's "they", then?

The crew. The whole village. We're the last crabber out there.

They've all got a stake in her, and me.

Well, as you can see, Elsie is looking really rather well.

OK, I'm going to put this on your finger

so we can check your blood oxygen levels.

I'm also going to do an echocardiogram just to make sure

that balloon valve is doing its job.

You think there's something wrong? Aren't the palpitations normal?

It's more than likely just the baby.

But since you brought me a lobster,

I'm going to give you the full VIP MOT.

No, I don't have an hourly rate, Derwood, because...

because I'm not a baby-sitter.

-FLETCH CHUCKLES

-Sorry.

You're in the servants' quarters now, mate.

They will phone you for just about anything down here.

Ah. Carson! My good man.

So what does that make you? Seventh Earl of Darwin?

At least I'm not "Cousin Matthew".

Well, my concern is available beds.

I can see how you want to take things at

a more leisurely pace at your age, but as far as I'm concerned...

-At my age?

-What is it?

-Just looking for Mr Griffin.

-Oh, suit yourself.

-How's it going?

-In general, or with Bernie?

Well, you are on her turf now.

Meaning she has doubts.

I think it's just a case of seeing what you can do.

See whether you're as smart as you act.

LIFT PINGS 'Doors opening. Lift going up.'

-Sorry.

-Ah, Mr Valentine.

-Ms Wolfe.

-Dr Shorley.

Oh, it's common practice to call surgeons "Mr" or "Ms" -

-not "Doctor".

-I know that. I'm saying my name.

Dr Harris Shorley.

Right.

It's just for one night, and he really is as good as gold.

Yes, but I'm not. I'm sorry.

Mr Hanssen.

I was wondering. This survey...

is there a prize for the best ward?

-No.

-Henry. There you are.

Oh, Mrs Thompson.

I've told you. Call me Birdie.

Are you always this stiff, Henry? Come on, take me to bed.

No, I'm sure there's a porter who'd be happy to oblige.

Mum. You're supposed to be in bed.

Here, let me.

You could ask Raf to babysit.

Oh...it's a good baby-sitting suggestion, isn't it?

-We would ask you to babysit but...

-It's fine.

SHE COUGHS

I'm sure you have your reasons.

If you could excuse me, I have the hospital to...

Well, come on, then. You've got something to say. Spit it out.

SHE RETCHES

Mum!

It was the very first date I'd ever been on. We were...?

13.

13. Sacha asked me to the cinema.

But that meant Ma Levy driving us to the cinema,

sitting three rows behind us while we watched Tarka The Otter.

Yes, Mum wouldn't let me see Moonraker.

Do you remember you wrote me a poem?

Did I?

Wow. Well, let's just say I'm glad that's lost to the ages.

How did it go?

"Something warm and gentle touch, something-something very much?"

SHE LAUGHS AND WINCES

Is that chest pain recent or has it always been a symptom?

It's recent.

Right, let's get someone up from Darwin to take a look.

And let's get you on some painkillers

before you dig further into my romantic past.

Parker?

You're supposed to be on the SS Great Britain!

Oh, you don't know?

Know what?

I've been sent home.

Why?

Been suspended.

This definitely isn't asthma.

The bleeding could be due to an infection or swelling.

What sort of infection? How bad is it?

I've coughed up blood, Derwood. I'd say fairly bad, wouldn't you?

I'll order a CT scan now.

Don't worry, we will get to the bottom of this.

Hey. Sorry. Could you lend me a hand with Mr Phibbs?

Sure. Need anything else, just call me.

I'll be sure to.

So...

why exactly do you need a baby-sitter?

Right, what do we have here?

Dr Harris Shorley.

Now, are you a doctor-doctor like us, or...

A professor doctor. Still like you in many respects, I'm sure.

Maths?

Correct. Statistical analysis. Pattern recognition.

P-values, that sort of thing.

I think pee-values means a very different thing on our ward,

-doesn't it?

-SHE LAUGHS AWKWARDLY

Thank you.

It's anything from the odds of three redheads in a room,

to the chances of dying in a train crash.

OK. Do you mind if I have a look? Thank you.

Ooh. How did you do that?

I, er...passed out. On my bicycle.

Ran into a bottle bank and did a full somersault, by all accounts.

-Ow.

-Right in front of the entire sport sciences department.

How often do you faint?

It's irregular. I don't want to make a habit of it.

-Students find that sort of thing funny.

-OK.

Just going to have a quick listen to your chest, if that's all right.

Can you breathe in for me?

HE BREATHES DEEPLY

Good. And out.

HE EXHALES

In again for me.

OK. There's a bit of a murmur there.

We'll run an FBC for the arm. Excuse us.

I'd like to run a CT, chest X-ray and an echo for the chest.

How are you going to get all that done before theatre?

Who says I have to?

You've got to admit it was a really stupid thing to do.

Well, you're here now. I'll have to ring school after my shift.

I'm going to get a drink.

Hey.

So what happened?

Apparently someone on the school trip was picking on him,

so he threw their phone and bag into the docks.

Wow.

You're impressed?

Yeah, it's good to stick up for yourself.

Says Mr Pushover McSofty.

I gave Jolyon Ford what for, once.

-Who's he?

-He broke my Chopper.

My bike. Ran it into an ice cream van.

You're not helping.

Look, I don't want to be a tiger mum,

but he's not going to get kicked out of school.

Not on my watch.

-You all right?

-Got a headache.

Do you want something for it?

It's all right. I packed him off with every medicine under the sun.

Look, do you think I'm doing too much

of the mum thing, or not enough?

I mean, surely this is a failure on the school's part.

I mean, who was watching them?

-Essie.

-And I've never understood how suspension is a punishment anyway.

-No school...

-Essie.

-What?

Those aren't painkillers.

Oh!

Buy some campofilone pasta, fresh tomatoes...

get the lobster and then...

Forget that. Bread, butter,

mayo and hot sauce. Boom!

Barbarian.

PAGER BEEPS

Keller.

-WOMAN:

-Ow!

Where's it hurt?

Felt like a kick in the ribs.

OK.

Hello. I heard an "Ow".

Might just be Elsie pushing against your diaphragm.

-May I?

-Yeah.

OK.

-HE CHUCKLES

-She's having a bit of a wiggle.

That may well be it.

This feels different.

I'll order a CT scan, just to be sure.

Silly tradition. We knock on the boat for luck.

It's a bit big for this ward, so I'll make do with a photo instead.

Aw, is that your grandad?

Yeah. Ever since I moved back, we've been keeping each other afloat.

Ha! "Afloat".

He lost Nan - Elsie Rose.

He was going to sell the boat, he was so cut up about it.

So I came back and took it on and gave him a bit of a project.

I bet he loves you for it.

Yeah.

Back in a bit.

Mo, before you go in and see Mum...

..we didn't get away with it. She knows everything.

-Derwood!

-I'm sorry! It's my mum.

She has a way.

Oh, Dr Harris Shorley, you pushed his surgery back?

I'd like to run some scans.

He has a murmur, and combined with fainting,

I think there could be a chance of heart disease.

Well, thinking with your cardio head's good but I'd prefer it

if you checked with the anaesthetist, and if he's happy,

go ahead with the tendon repair, and take him up to Darwin after.

If he's worried about the heart as well, then it's Darwin first.

Keep things quick. Nice idea, though.

-Dr Shorley's slot in theatre is still free.

-No.

But Bernie just said that...

Technically, Ms Wolfe said what she'd prefer.

That's not an order, that's advice.

You don't let that sort of thing stop you, do you?

We on the move?

Radiology. Page me if you need me.

Hey, no, I'll come along. Hold the doors open.

Keep you company, eh?

Anyone would think you were trying to make up for something.

He's just trying to help.

Then he should have fetched my Barbara Cartland from the lav.

You know he is very worried about you.

He frets too much. You both do.

No wonder you think you need a night off from everything.

Oh, everyone deserves a break, right?

You've got to make the most of these things.

Because it'll all be snatched away before you know it.

'Doors closing.'

Why come to me with this - why can't Bernie deal with it?

Oh, she wants him off the ward.

Her focus is the immediate, the injury.

Trauma teams - it's hard-wired into them.

Still, I think you're pushing your luck with all these scans.

Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

Yeah, all right, fine, but don't tell Mum.

So what happens when Bernie finds out?

If there's one thing I've learned on Darwin,

the results, they speak for themselves.

SHE COUGHS

Your blood tests show that your creatinine

and your urea levels are raised,

but that doesn't explain these chest pains.

Sorry. I'm in a right state.

No, no, not at all! I mean, you look...

..well.

Well, I don't feel it. The kids I teach always have bugs.

It could just be something I caught from them.

It's not serious, is it?

I'm going to chase up that cardio consult just to be on the safe side.

I'm going to have to say something, aren't I?

You can't punish him for taking precautions. He's being smart.

It could be stupid. He's still a child, he's underage.

Oh I'm going to have to have "the talk" -

you know, birds and the bees.

Teenage boys, they know it all by now.

-Really?

-Yeah.

I didn't have the talk. Did you have the talk?

No. I just watched Grease 2 and worked it all out for myself.

There you go, you see? You've got to give Parker some credit.

We're not all complete numpties.

Fights. Sex.

Can't we just pause it all until he's at least, I don't know, 30?

Ah, you see, hormones - you can't fight 'em.

And what am I going to do about the condoms?

OK. Maybe I'll come back later.

I'm just saying - I know you see him as a kid,

but at that age, you're a man of the world.

Trust me.

I feel like I'm in trouble. Am I in trouble?

I've got Trixie's results. The TOE shows an aortic regurgitation.

Add that to the bicuspid valve

and the aortic stenosis from last time...

What does that mean for today?

Well, ideally, I-I'd perform a valve repair,

maybe even a replacement.

But with the baby...

Exactly. It's more risk than it should be.

Well, why not reduce the risk to the baby and perform a C-section?

Oh, would that reduce the risk, though? Being this premature?

She's 30 weeks. It's early, but it's not impossible.

What?

I persuaded her to have the valvuloplasty.

Told her that she'd get to carry the baby to full term.

Yeah, but that's not your fault, is it?

Do you want me to speak to her? I can talk her through the delivery.

No. It's OK. I'll go and break it to her.

I know babies can come early - but she can't be strong enough, can she?

The neonatal team here are the best...

-You said I'd be able to carry her to full-term.

-Unfortunately,

this was an unlikely complication following your previous procedure.

Your aortic valve is leaking, which means that your heart

is having to work a lot harder than it should.

Combined with being pregnant,

it puts both you and the baby in jeopardy.

Giving birth so early, that's a risk.

You have to think about the both of you.

This was meant to be routine.

We couldn't predict that your heart would have further problems.

Then how can you predict that any of this

will be good for me and my baby?

All right.

Trying to keep myself occupied.

What are you working on?

It started off as the probability distribution

of accidents in my life.

Now it's turned into a distracting formula -

my chances of surviving in here.

-That's a bit morbid.

-Actually, the idea is to reassure myself.

So I know the odds are in my favour.

-Right, let's just...

-Oh, let me grab them.

Thank you, Dr Digby.

Big chunk of your work has to be probability, doesn't it?

Yes. In a sense.

The likelihood of symptoms and circumstance - what they could mean.

Well, it's less of an equation. More instinct.

Of course. Experience counts in everything.

You looked at my injury, my innocent murmur,

and came up with a hypothesis.

"Innocent murmur"?

You gave my heart a listen earlier. Got you thinking.

Yes, I didn't say innocent murmur, did you?

Pretty sure that's the name they gave it.

-Who?

-St James's. I was there last year.

Sorry, I thought you knew these things.

Did St James's say anything about heart disease?

No. They just said I should maybe go easy on the old bicycle.

Why? What does the scan say?

That you don't have heart disease,

and that I've been barking up the wrong tree. Thank you.

Right, let's go.

What if I don't want the op or the C-section?

I really wouldn't recommend...

I want to know my options.

We'd keep you in for observation, give you medication, furosemide.

And we'd put you on oxygen.

For how long?

You'd be here for weeks.

And as to how much it actually reduces the risks...

well, you could still have a heart attack while you're pregnant.

Or I could sign up for this.

You take my baby out and she dies.

We deliver babies this early all the time and they survive.

Keller are still chasing that consult,

and you wanted Mrs Thompson's CT results.

I said only if they were urgent.

They are.

OK, so we missed your original slot, but you're all booked in now.

I suppose things are in the wrong place now. There's an anomaly.

Oh, it's just a blip. It's easily fixed.

More than half of all deaths occur in hospital. High stakes already.

What's the mortality rate for this place?

So HSMR's really are not an exact science at all...

Mr Valentine. Would you care to update me?

I wonder if I shouldn't just go home.

So you've had the tendon repair already?

No, he hasn't. So I booked him for an echo...

It's just these things come in threes, don't they?

We discussed this. Theatre first, then Darwin.

I faint. I crash my bike...

Ric gave me the go ahead.

I'd hate for the third to happen in theatre.

-MONITOR BEEPS

-Pardon me, pardon me, Dr Shorley,

but if you go home now without having the surgery,

you run the risk of losing the use of your right hand altogether.

Would you excuse us one moment?

You ought at the very least be able to keep a patient in bed.

Right, let's start at the top. Why was Ric even across this?

Your CT scan shows that you have what we call granulomas.

They're often a result of infection, or foreign materials.

Do we know what's causing it?

Not yet. We need to schedule you for a surgical biopsy.

-Cancer.

-That's what we're hoping to rule out.

Or confirm.

Oh, please don't let your sister plan the funeral.

She made a total hash of my 70th.

Mum, come on, don't be morbid, please.

Well, it doesn't sound like I have a choice.

We don't know what the causes are and we wouldn't like to guess.

There are plenty of other things that it could be.

Well, I can see why you didn't want me looking after Hector.

Can't have him getting attached, can we?

I won't be able to perform the surgery,

what with you being Hector's grandmother.

But I will try and oversee as much as I can.

PAGER BEEPS

Problem, Ms Effanga?

I need to get you a collar with a bell.

You seem a little tense.

I'm fine. I'm just late for a consult on Keller.

I don't suppose you could keep Birdie

on her perch while I'm gone?

Ah...

"Warmth, sympathy and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife" -

you ever hear that?

-Do you have anything to say, Mr Valentine?

-Oh, no, no, no,

you don't get to stand on this side of the line with me.

I'm cross with you too.

I went to Mr Griffin for a second opinion. I...understood that...

..you'd given me advice...

I've worked in war zones, Mr Valentine.

I brought up two teenage children.

I've been round the dance floor before,

please spare me the clever-clever shtick.

So, did the echocardiogram confirm the valvular heart disease?

Dr Shorley neglected to tell us that he'd already been diagnosed

with an innocent murmur.

It's a simple tendon repair.

An innocent murmur is nothing the anaesthetist can't deal with.

It doesn't need this sort of subterfuge.

Oh, now hold on.

From you, either.

Look, you want me to delegate, Ric?

OK, here you go - sort him out.

Snitch.

Hi, Raina. This is Ms Effanga, one of our cardiothoracic consultants.

This is Ms Effanga,

who wants to hear about Sacha the little lover-man.

-Oh. I don't want to tell tales out of school.

-Oh, go on.

Right, lean forward for me.

So lower chest pain. Any breathing difficulties?

Yeah.

Anything else?

Right, breathe in for me.

And out.

OK.

So you and Sacha go way back, huh?

My family, his, and another - we'd all holiday together.

Off in a car to the coast for the summer.

Over those three summers,

Sacha went from an 11-year-old boy obsessed with Chewbacca...

To a teenager obsessed with you? So what did he do?

Mix-tape? Tattoo?

He wrote her a poem.

Oh, I remembered more of it.

After "warm and gentle touch" there was a bit that went

"I really hope that you like me, as much as I like you..."

Aww.

-Hi.

-Hi.

Causing trouble, are we?

No. Not like you, I hear.

What's been said?

Nothing.

OK, it's about the water slide.

I genuinely didn't realise my trunks had come off.

And they were enormous because they were Uncle Joe's hand-me-downs.

-OK, um...

-SHE LAUGHS

Let's start with a chest X-ray.

Right, you'll come back and check on her, won't you?

Yeah, all right. Keep your trunks on.

So it's only a small operation, right?

It's probably even a bit boring for you chaps.

My odds are still good.

It's straightforward. It's the perfect way to ease me back in.

-Back in?

-It's his first day.

It's my first day back.

So this isn't usual for you?

I've worked on AAU before.

But not for a while?

I can promise you that I am fully qualified,

even more so, in fact, than most people here.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

There are some things you just don't do.

Statistics tell you these things.

Never choose the chap on his first day.

Dr Shorley, is there a problem?

Sorry, I just... I don't fancy the new fellow.

Right, well, any objection to Dr Digby and myself?

Veterans?

In more ways than one.

Then, no.

Good. Good. See you in theatre.

See you in theatre.

Her creatinine and urea levels are raised.

Any other symptoms? She's passing urine often?

I don't think so.

OK. Let's get a bronchoscopy, get cytology to test.

I have a hunch it's endometriosis.

She didn't mention any gynae issues.

That's not really the first thing she'd say to an ex-boyfriend.

Plus, she probably still sees you as a teenager with a crush

and, let's face it, you guys never really grow up.

Well, I grew up. Eventually.

-Hm.

-Mo. Before you go.

-Were you ever given "the talk"?

-Oh, not this again.

I'm having problems with my teenage boy.

No. Not really. I just got an older boyfriend and we worked it out.

You see? We know what we're doing.

Warm and gentle touch, eh, Sacha?

Parker.

Am I supposed to be doing school work?

No, no, listen. Right, you're at an age now

where your body's going through some changes...

It's not just your body,

it's all these hormones that are changing how you feel.

-I've got to go to the...

-No, no, just hear me out, OK?

You're probably going to start to feel attracted to the people

around you - and what you do about that, it can be really confusing

and you're going to get these...urges.

Please stop.

Before I throw up.

Parker! I found a whole box of contraceptives in your bag.

So we are discussing this.

You have got it so wrong.

HE GRUNTS

Labour dystocia?

No, it's the last of the Whippy Whirls, hanging there.

Sounds like your afternoon's going as well as mine.

Well, the grapevine in this place never ceases to astound me.

One can barely sneeze without the news of it

being transmitted from ward to ward.

You should try having an actual romance.

Oh, no. Sorry. Not Birdie...

Mrs Thompson.

My afternoon is fine. Thank you.

Apart from...

Oh, well, thank you very much. 41, please.

COIN DROPS

SELECTION PAD BEEPS

SUSTAINED BEEP

-So, er...how is your afternoon progressing?

-Oh. It is...

..fine too, actually. Thank you.

Well, I...

I would have thought that your new masters

would be a walk in the park after Ms Naylor.

I suspect she and the Major have been swapping notes.

I'm reminded of the legend of Baldur,

the god who became so obsessed with his own demise

he ended up inviting it.

Excuse me.

Ah!

Your past mistakes are not epochs, Mr Valentine.

Everything can be made right.

-Hi.

-You coming to see us?

-Yes, I thought about it.

-Ollie, you've only been at school one day,

you can't come home just yet.

I just thought if I came and saw you guys, I might get my spark back.

Yeah, that sounds like an Ollie wallow.

-We're both too busy for that.

-Sorry.

How's your day going?

Turns out Derwood's mum is really sick

-and I've managed to sour things between them.

-Oh.

Yeah. Of course, this is on the day that Hanssen's up here asking

the patients on a scale of 1-10 how much they love being ill.

Thank you. I don't miss it any more.

You made the right decision, you know.

This is a good move for you.

Well, I don't want to prove Jac right, do I?

How about you stop defining yourself against other people?

This isn't about you and Jac, or you and Zosia, or Tara, or your sister.

Go back to AAU and find out what Ollie's all about.

Just you.

You know, you're a better motivational speaker than Hanssen.

He compared me to a dead god.

Don't suppose you fancy a cheeky move to AAU, do you?

Nah, I've got enough apron strings going on around here

without you tugging on them.

Go on. Scram. You don't need me.

Oh, everyone needs you, Mo. That's what makes you so brilliant.

-OK!

-Um...

I haven't got a silver platter to serve them on, sir.

I do apologise, it won't happen again.

Yes. The half dozen pointless scans I ordered for Dr Shorley.

Might as well chuck these in the...bin.

Well, if you're at a loose end I've got a list as long as your arm.

I could do with the help...

Charming. OK, I'll talk to meself.

Mo. We need to talk.

Yeah, listen, I'm sorry about the whole baby-sitting thing

-and obviously tonight's cancelled...

-No, no, it's about work.

-Oh.

-You see, I can't reassure Mum on any of this.

I'm not an expert on nodules or granulomas or any of it.

-OK.

-But I am an expert on babies and pregnancy.

-Mm-hm.

-OK?

So I think that I should be with Trixie,

at least until she's made up her mind.

No, look, you are the cardio megastar, aren't you, right? And...

right now, my mum needs you a lot more than she needs me.

And I can see that you blame yourself for Trixie's situation,

but it's really not helping her right now.

So...

let me talk to Trixie, OK? And you...

..please help my mum.

I will.

He's got air in his mediastinum.

When he crashed his bike, he must have injured his oesophagus.

-Are you sure?

-Yeah. It's on the contrast CT. Here.

If any saliva has escaped into his mediastinum, we're risking sepsis.

-Well, that could kill him.

-Yeah.

Right, we do the tendon repair and the thoracotomy at the same time.

Dr Digby, let Mr Valentine take your place. You can assist, though.

-He did say...

-He said he didn't want "the new fellow". Are you new?

-No.

-Right, scrub in.

You going to go in and talk to her?

Oh, no, no, I don't think so. I wouldn't want to interrupt.

And, er...

I think I've left something in my office.

Wimp.

I think we need to get something...

Off our chest?

Mine might be cancer.

Poor start, Mo.

Honestly, would you have kept quiet

if you'd known that we were going to leave Hector overnight?

I didn't spend a night away from Derwood

until he was 12 years old.

There you go. See what I mean?

I'm sorry I made Derwood go behind your back.

Well, at first I thought you were spending more time with your child.

It turns out you were just outsourcing.

You weren't even keeping it in the family!

Well, who else was Derwood going to ask today?

The lady in the canteen? One of the patients?

Anyone but his own mother!

You started doing stuff I didn't like.

Swaddling him in towels so he looked like a nappy with a head.

Well, did you talk to me about it?

No.

You talked my own son into this cloak-and-dagger nonsense,

and here we are.

At the risk of sounding dramatic, I'm at death's door.

And as much as it might prove my point, I do not want to die,

thank you very much. I want to be Nanna T.

I want to be more involved.

OK.

Where shall we start?

So, thanks to our amazing CT consult, and our wizard lab nerds,

we've finally found the source of your pain.

It's endometriosis.

It's caused all that pain?

You knew? Well, why didn't you say?

I wasn't expecting to see my first boyfriend today

and discuss the state of my womb.

So there is tissue in your lungs, which is causing the cough.

And there is more of it between the bladder and your kidneys,

which is what's causing the block.

So we're going to perform a nephrostomy,

and then we can discuss any treatment plan for the long-term.

Good. So I'll book you into theatre now.

Good thing I brought my marking.

HE LAUGHS

See you in a bit.

And Derwood says that sometimes you let Hector play with your phone,

and I just despair.

I mean, where's the culture?

I read to Derwood.

We'd listen to Prokofiev.

You aren't with Hector all the time.

It seems almost as if this place is...

is more important to you.

-You just won't compromise.

-That's not true.

But I would love to have all that again.

I-I really looked forward to having a grandchild.

And I just didn't bank on losing my own son as a part of the bargain.

Oh, Nanna T, come on.

BIRDIE SOBS AND GASPS

Nurse!

Tension pneumothorax. Angiocath, quickly.

You just stabbed my mum.

Wasn't as much fun as it sounds.

So you got yourself into theatre in the end.

Why was he so uptight about you?

For all his expertise in...

..odds and outcomes,

he was just terrified of bad luck.

Happens to the best of us, bad luck.

Is that how you ended up with me?

Eyes on the patient, Mr Valentine.

There. That should take some of the pressure off.

It's all right, Mum. It's all going to be all right.

No, no, no, save your breath.

Stop pawing me.

-Matteo!

-Yes?

I need a surgical biopsy.

Can you move your schedule around a bit?

I get the lobster?

Right. Where are we with Trixie?

You never needed the... "the talk", did you?

Talk?

Yeah, the birds and the bees.

Oh, right.

Nah. Nah, we're boys, aren't we? We just know.

Honestly?

I had no clue what I was doing.

I cringe now when I think back.

My first girlfriend,

she was a photography student from Aberdeen.

I could not believe my luck.

I was growing a 'tache at the time, living off fish and chips.

She said it was like kissing a bag of salt and vinegar crisps.

That's a bit harsh.

"Be a man." That's all anyone ever tells you.

Meanwhile, I'm kissing a girl so badly, she moves to another country.

Well, everyone makes mistakes from the start.

You grow up and you get it right.

It feels like it takes a lifetime to get it right.

Or maybe that's just me?

I've heard the science and the statistics.

I get what it looks like to you doctors but, honestly,

as a mum, if you were where I am now,

would you have the kid this early?

Yeah, I would.

Thank you.

I'll do it.

Is there any way I can take this in with me?

-Yeah, I'll keep it next door so we all can see it.

-OK.

Let's get her prepped for theatre.

I just don't know if it's the best use of my skills.

I was rather hoping for more commitment, Mr Valentine.

Well, we're not even at the end of your first day.

Now, do you know anything of the history of this instrument?

Can't say I do.

Well, it's something of a happy accident.

It was part of a Soviet effort to build proximity sensors,

you know, mine detectors, that sort of thing.

Since when it's had a much richer existence as a musical instrument.

The remarkable thing is...

in the right place, you can recreate pitch-perfect notes.

ELECTRONIC WHIRRING

Well, practice, and perseverance, are the key, of course.

It's really just a question of wanting to learn.

I don't think Bernie wants me there to learn.

She wants me there to do.

Well, surely you can complement one another.

Ms Wolfe is nothing if not practical. You're cerebral.

-What's wrong with being "hands-on"?

-WHIRRING

Time to get out of that head, Mr Valentine.

-Be ready with the suction, please.

-I'm on it.

How do you think Matteo's getting on?

I think he's got Vivaldi going

and your mum's getting the most cultured surgery of her life.

Hey. I need my expert. You can do this.

Right. OK. Make the incision now, OK.

All right.

OK, fundal pressure, please, Mo.

Right, here we go.

Come on. Out you come.

Baby's out.

Forceps, thank you.

Right.

Now, Mo, would you like to do the honours?

Oh.

-OK, let's get her closed up.

-BABY CRIES

How's the baby doing, Derwood?

Alive and kicking and absolutely beautiful.

Right. Let's do this bypass.

Hey.

I take it back.

Teenage boys need all the help they can get.

What does that mean?

You see, you have to remember -

girls always, always seem much cooler than us.

Always.

And when you were talking earlier on about me on my holidays,

-you know, it brought it all back.

-Oh, Sacha. We were only kidding.

I know, I know, I know.

But suddenly, I'm back there in my T-shirt and shorts,

and I'm pulling this face at Rae.

You know, and four decades on, I'm still cringing about it.

You see, you can't ask girls what to do because they might laugh.

And you can't ask boys what to do because, believe you me,

they WILL laugh and it's such a lonely, lonely time.

And you spend most of the rest of your life

before you can even talk about it.

Well, you've still got a few years left to get it right.

-I know, but all I'm saying is...

-Just keep trying?

Exactly! Cos do you know what?

Parker will thank you in the long run.

OK. We're to open the pericardium.

MONITOR BEEPS

She's in VF. Starting cardiac massage.

Come on, Trixie. Come on.

Elsie needs you.

BEEPING STOPS

OK. Right, A-game from everybody, OK?

Call it a happy accident.

In investigating your heart murmur,

we discovered a tear to your oesophagus,

which, had it gone unnoticed, could have caused a serious infection.

How serious?

Best not to dwell on it.

-We repaired it.

-You repaired it?

Cardiothoracics is my forte.

Hmm...

So the...the anomaly meant good luck instead of bad, eh?

That's fascinating.

Everything in its right place!

Lots of scarring.

Lots of fibrous tissue.

Touch wood...

..I think we don't have to replace the valve, we can just repair it.

It's looking good, guys.

Ah, Mr Phibbs.

I've just brought Mrs Thompson out of theatre,

and I'm curious how the experience was for her.

I'm sure she would welcome your company.

Yes, this is a survey, Mr Rossini. I'm not a gentleman caller.

People come to Darwin when they're breathless,

when their hearts need repair.

Why else are you here, now, today?

It's fate.

Well, I suppose we all have our Ragnarok.

Mrs Thompson.

I was wondering if you might spare me a minute of your time.

I've been conducting a survey on the ward here today amongst the patients

regarding their satisfaction with the care that they've received.

I thought I had cancer, Henry.

And I've been so petty about things.

Trying to stake a claim on my family.

I've always had him, had my boy.

Even when he was with that Swedish trollop,

I knew he'd still be looking after me.

But with Mo...

He really loves her.

Um, might I make a suggestion?

You say that you want looking after,

and you already have that with Ms Effanga.

She is a wonderful, gifted, generous individual

and she is now part of your family.

Forgive me if I'm over-simplifying things, but...

it seems to me you've gained company, not lost it.

Is she really that good?

Exceptional.

I'm loath to imagine this place without her.

What a lovely thing to say.

-Hey.

-Hi.

Well, surgery went very well.

And the long-term plan is we're going to redirect your ureter.

In the short-term, we're going to give you a course of hormones.

So get some rest and I'll see you in a bit.

-OK.

-OK.

-I've remembered the whole thing.

-Oh, go on.

"Summer's day, lovely Rae" - that's me - "of sunshine in my mind

"I miss your warm and gentle touch, I miss your face so very much

"I really hope that you like me as much as I like you

"I hope to see lots more of you

"I really, really do."

LOTS more of you?

I don't think he meant it like that.

I'd never have said it at the time, of course, but I thought it

was the most romantic thing anyone had ever done.

He really was my first love.

So, what sort of man is he now?

Stronger than he knows.

Right, this'll have to be quick.

Are you divorcing us, Mr Valentine?

I just want to apologise to you both.

Well, that definitely sounds like a break up.

If I'm getting in the way...

-Well, that's a shame, but I'll get on to HR.

-Er...

Oh. It was a bluff, was it?

I mean, really.

It wasn't even that bad a day at work.

It's going to get a lot worse than this, I assure you.

You've been...

Conniving.

-Cocksure.

-Entitled. A little melodramatic.

And all this running to Mum and Dad to see if they'll take

the difficult decisions for you. I expect better.

It's very basic, Mr Valentine.

I've got a sternal fracture scheduled for tomorrow.

I could do with a cardio specialist in theatre.

-Are we done?

-I think so.

Right, well, I'll let you get back to your afternoon nap.

Yeah, I'm just going to get back as well, to...

Oh, this came in handy.

Valve's repaired. Everything's looking good.

Are you ready to meet her?

Yeah.

Congratulations.

Hello there, beautiful.

-She's so tiny!

-Yeah.

Hello, Elsie.

She's doing well, is she?

Yeah, yeah. She's strong and stubborn.

Just like her mum.

Oh, shut up.

-How are you feeling?

-Um...

Headache. Bit groggy.

But, oh...look at her.

I reckon I can put up with a bit of a hangover for this one.

Thank you.

It's our job.

I should call Grandad.

Thanks.

Come on.

LINE RINGS

Matteo tells me it's sarcoidosis, not cancer.

No.

Just a course of steroids and some rest.

I think I owe you an apology.

Sorry if I took you for granted,

and haven't involved you as Nanna T more.

That's going to change.

Good.

Well, change within reason.

Mo is Hector's mum. I am Hector's dad.

And we know best, OK?

And we get to make our own choices.

Well, when have I ever said you can't?

You sent me to school wearing shorts every day until I was 14!

Well, that hardly merits a revolution.

And you never let me watch Rentaghost.

Television is common.

And you never let me bath on my own!

Or...or pour in my own bubbles!

Derwood.

I am more than happy to be whatever Nanna T you need.

But I think it's high-time that I put my attentions

on someone else as well, don't you?

Time for another man in my life.

Oh?

So who is she?

The girl that's broken your heart?

I wasn't going to rush or anything.

Nothing wrong with that.

She copped off with this guy, Adam.

So you threw his bag in the river?

He was saying stuff he shouldn't.

She's really cool.

Well, maybe this girl...

Mahalia.

..Mahalia needs to make her own mistakes.

Hardly anyone your age knows what they're doing.

It's just a lot of posing right now.

So, the contraceptives?

They were giving them out in Social Sciences.

Take your time.

Girls will really appreciate that.

Come on.

Just give us a minute.

Right, thank you, Cathy.

-Hey.

-Hey.

You're still in her heart, you know?

Decades on, and Sacha Levy is still a girl's favourite memory.

Not everyone can light up a life like that, you know?

You going to go over and help Teacher with her marking?

Well, I wouldn't know where to start.

What does she teach? Poetry?

No, PSHE.

What?! She teaches sex education?

Oh, so you didn't know?

Hey.

I don't suppose you could give me a copy of that poem?

Yeah!

What happened to Mr Phibbs?

Mr...? Oh. You missed him.

Septal myectomy. He was in and out.

It's a shame, really.

Well, probably for the best.

Why's that?

Our paths crossed in the lavatory this morning.

He must have mistaken me for an Anglo-Saxon.

Kept telling me his theories about the country being "too full",

-amongst other things.

-Did he now?

Yes, if you don't mind me saying so - rather an obnoxious man.

Between you and me, I've been looking for any excuse

not to have to speak to him again all day.

Anyway, keep up the good work.

That was a waste of time.

Ready?

Yeah. All right, get some sleep, you two.

Can't stop looking at her.

Get some sleep.

-Night, Zosia.

-Night.

-Night.

Hey, what do you reckon to you, me, Hector and a four cheese pizza?

Wow, that's better than some silly hotel, isn't it?

Oh, no, we're still getting the hotel. Just not tonight.

Yeah? Well, deal, then.

Go on, go and get your lobster, go get it!

MONITOR BEEPS

Having fun on AAU?

"I hope to see more of them, I really, really do."

What?

-How do you know about that?

-You might want to check your phone,

your e-mail and the notice board at Pulses.

Ollie!

Ah, Mr Valentine. Nice of you to join us.

Oh, mine's a Scotch, please. Neat.

Pint, please, M'Lord.

And I would love another rum and ginger, please.

None of that.

We're doing shots.

-We are?

-Unless you don't think you can keep up?

Oh, do your worst.

You heard her.

Or would you like to back out?

I lived in Juarez, Ric.

-We drank mezcal like it was apple juice.

-Ha!

Don't worry. We'll make sure you get to bed on time.

One day, you'll grow up and you'll have questions

and maybe you'll ask me, why did I do it?

And all I can say is...

..I thought I was right.

But that's not good enough, is it?

Mo.

It's Ms Colfox's grandfather.

I can talk to him.

No. Let me.

No.

It's OK. I'll do it.

It's my job.