A harvest marks a moment of arrival.
Something fresh has been prised from the earth.
Something new has been given or begun.
And we marvel at what has been delivered,
not thinking yet of all that is to come,
or must again be worked for.
This is the moment to wrap up in ribbons.
A time to savour,
without sowing seeds of doubt.
ICE CREAM VAN MUSIC PLAYS
- Ooh! - Whoa!
Can I help you, honey?
She's about to have the baby.
We think. I just keep getting this...
Oh, here it comes again!
We'll get you inside in a moment.
The blood samples were sent in two weeks ago.
Sister Monica Joan, OSRN.
Also known as Antonia Keville, Miss.
Very well! We shall do the tests again.
The level of disregard for the comfort and convenience
of an elderly patient is unforgivable.
ICE CREAM VAN MUSIC CONTINUES
I don't know what that ice cream van's doing...
Mrs Bianchi's having some strong pains.
- - Ooh!
We're going to get her settled and take a look at her.
Oh, they're lasting a minute each.
And how often are they coming?
Well, I dunno.
Am I meant to write 'em all down?
Is that, by any chance, your ice cream van
parked outside, Mr Bianchi?
Yes, it is. I only got it last summer.
Best ice cream in Poplar. Guaranteed.
I'm sure it is. But at the present moment,
we're more interested in delivering babies
than ice cream.
Would you mind turning off the music?
Oh! Sorry.
What do you want me to do with these, then?
Mm-hm!
I'll take the runner beans.
We can have those with the chops I've planned.
Everything else can go to the Harvest Festival.
What? Even the marrows?
They would have won first prize in the Horticultural Show
if I'd have been ready in time.
They're bigger than toddlers' legs, Fred!
And I haven't the time to be stuffing them with mince
and making a white sauce.
I'll take them to Nonnatus House, then.
The children will march from there to the church
in a procession.
Your produce will be widely admired.
You're not in labour just yet, honey.
These are just what we call Braxton Hicks contractions.
It's your body rehearsing for the real thing.
Mm... I feel a bit of a fool now.
And it's taken Tony away from his van.
That van's our whole livelihood now I've stopped working.
DOOR OPENS
- Have I missed it? - Oh, it's all right,
- you're safe. - It... It was a false alarm.
Good job we never told no-one.
I'd get me leg pulled something rotten.
Is there anything you need taking to the post office,
- Sister? - Thank you.
I'm rather more concerned about a letter
I took to the post office two weeks ago.
The one you wrote to the Board of Health?
Yes.
Telling them we would close Nonnatus House
if we were no longer allowed
to work as Christian missionaries.
I expected a response from them, at the very least!
It's entirely likely that they're playing games.
Keeping you waiting, because you kept them waiting.
One would hope they were above such pettiness,
when there is so much at stake.
INDISTINCT LIVELY CHAT
LAUGHTER - - Come on, this way.
Idiot. You took her in too early.
Hey, bruv. Are you coming to football tonight?
I don't know, Matteo, I'm not really in the mood.
You stopped coming to football, you stopped coming swimming.
You need to make the most of your freedom
while you've got it, huh? Come on, let's go.
- Have you got everything? - See you, baby brother.
You got the bag? Come on, let's go.
I do not have unlimited quantities
of corpuscular matter in my veins!
Sister, you're a nurse.
You know as well as I do that blood replenishes itself.
And we need to get to the bottom of what ails you.
We all know what ails me.
I am merely ancient.
And presumed frail as a consequence.
Sister, I have five minutes before I leave on my rounds.
Would you like me to move the television into your room?
Do you suppose I am at the point of expiry?
There is no reason to treat me as an invalid.
As the analysis of my blood
will testify.
- - Ladies and gentlemen,
the doors to tonight's wrestling in the Main Hall
will open in five minutes.
SHE GRUNTS
D'you tap? D'you give up?
AUDIENCE SHRIEK
In one! In two!
It's two. It's only a two. It's only a two.
Come on! Whoo! CHEERING
I've learned so much about deferment
since I gave up drink.
I've learned you can bear anything,
if you pretend it's forever.
I can postpone.
I can wait.
But putting things off until tomorrow doesn't always work.
Because... what if tomorrow never comes?
I've been...
...postponing a decision...
...for a long time now.
- Come on! - Come on. - Yeah!
In one! In two!
In three!
She's out! Ring the bell.
FIGHT BELL DINGS
- - Come on! - You all right, love?
Harmony?
It's not a decision about drink.
It's a decision about work.
And work is my other addiction.
Is there a doctor in here? Anyone?
I'm a nurse.
That'll do. It's a concussion.
- - If you're staging sporting events,
you're legally obliged
to have medical help on the premises.
Don't know nothing about no legal obligations.
Erm, this is her, Harmony Savage.
Hello, Harmony. I'm a nurse.
I'm sorry you've been hurt.
SHE SIGHS Occupational hazard.
Did you lose consciousness,
or did you remain aware of your surroundings?
I never went out. I was just...
...putting on a bit of a show. Punters like it.
I've got to go back out and finish the job.
Oh, you were out cold.
I did the count. It's over.
Brenda the Butcher won fair and square.
He'll have gone to give her the prize money.
If you can't be absolutely sure that you weren't knocked out,
I really think you ought to go to the Casualty department.
I want to go home to bed.
Oh, hello, sweetie.
- Who's this? - Carl.
My boy. He comes to all my fights.
Come on, let's pack up and get you in the van.
You really must not drive after blacking out,
however briefly.
Any better ideas?
I know it was a false alarm today, but...
HE EXHALES
...it made me think how... real all this is.
How we've... made a proper grown-up life.
You do go on.
It's like being the baby of the family
gave you a great big chip on your shoulder.
It wasn't that.
It was being the one who was no good at all the things the others did.
It's not your fault you weren't cut out
for the tiling trade. Besides...
...I'd rather have a bit of soft scoop
than 100 yards of mosaic flooring.
- Come on, lights out. - Oh!
- What's that? - Oh... nothing.
Tony, there's blood on your singlet.
What is it? Show me.
Ooh!
How long have you had this?
A while.
I'll put a plaster on it.
You will not. In the morning, I'm ringing the doctor.
- - Out we get.
Wrestling was all I knew, even as a little girl.
My dad was Bert Savage, the Lambeth Panther. God rest him.
I used to watch him every time he fought.
It's rather wonderful that you followed in his footsteps.
It'd be even more wonderful if it were legal.
There's a whole ladies' circuit up north,
just as legitimate as the men's. But... in London we're outlaws.
I really would like you to be seen by a doctor
if at all possible, Harmony.
Oh, my real name's Gwen.
Thanks for seeing us home.
Come on, little 'un.
TONY WINCES
Oh!
I've given up doing sports and everything.
It's so unsightly.
I probably just banged it.
HE GROANS
It looks like a sebaceous cyst to me.
Antibiotics will take the edge off it,
but I think it needs to be removed.
Oh, I've got a baby due any day.
All the more reason to get it out of the way.
I'll call St Cuthbert's myself.
FRED WHISTLES
Now that is a birdsong
I can easily identify.
The lesser spotted Buckle.
Ah, Sister, how are you keeping?
I'm keeping on.
If a little more desiccated with every week that passes.
Perhaps I should not linger...
...lest you sweep me up with all the other dead leaves.
I've got a bag of doughnuts in my shed.
Would they cheer you up a bit?
Are they jam-filled?
Mm, no, they're the ones with the holes in.
Then I will forgo them.
Do you detect a chill in the breeze today?
I reckon I felt the first nip.
I like it when the seasons start to turn, though.
"That time of year thou mayst in me behold
"When yellow leaves,
"or none, or few...
"...do hang
"Upon those boughs that shake with cold.
"Bare ruin'd choirs...
"...where late the sweet birds sang.
"In me
"thou see'st the twilight of such day...
"...As after sunset fadeth in the west...
"...Which by and by black night doth take away,
"Death's second self...
"...that seals up all in rest."
Sister Monica Joan...
...what's brought this on?
Time, Mr Buckle.
Its passage and its sheer...
...weary accumulation.
Would you like a cup of tea?
If you will sit and take one with me.
Well, Miss Savage,
I'm not seeing anything that needs further tests.
Any other bumps or bruises you'd like me to look at?
I've got a rash keeps coming up, sort of on the back of my shoulder.
If you just slip your blouse off, dear.
I don't believe I've ever met a lady wrestler before.
I imagine it's quite physically taxing.
I ache all over sometimes, fight or no fight.
Hmm.
I think I know what this is.
It's a skin virus called herpes gladiatorum.
Gladiator like in Spartacus?
I love a bit of Kirk Douglas.
Don't we all?
I'm afraid this comes from
grazing your skin on grubby canvas in the ring.
Your best bet is to wash it daily
with medicated soap
and bathe the blisters in salt water.
Can I do that with my hips and my knees?
Do you have a rash there as well?
No, they just hurt all the time.
Miss Savage, are you able
to take a break from your work for a while?
No. I've got mouths to feed.
Mine and my little boy's.
Oh...
I've been looking forward to this moment all day!
I popped to the market and bought myself
a new pair of slippers for the winter.
I never knew you could love a bit of sheepskin on your feet
till I came to live in England.
Me neither.
Oh, I'm sorry, child.
You all wrapped up in something?
I'm trying to work out exactly when I started taking the pill.
Calculated against the number of actual pills
you have to take before it protects you.
And why is that?
I've never missed a single one.
I'm wondering if it's thrown my hormones out of whack.
I mean, it can do that, can't it?
Child, the whole point of the pill
is to throw your hormones out of whack.
That's how it stops you getting pregnant.
Are you late?
I've been late before.
And things just sort of...
...corrected themselves.
That would have been before you had a boyfriend?
Do you think you need to do a test?
No. Not yet.
CHEERING AND GRUNTING
- Argh! - Do you want to tap? Do you want to give up?
- No. - Are you sure?
Referee, she can't do that!
- Hey! Hey! - Yes!
Was that a closed fist?
SHE GROANS
- - The winner is
Demolition Debbie!
FIGHT BELL DINGS
CHEERING AND BOOING
ALARM RINGS
Are you feeling sick?
This is not good, honey.
But we're going to do a test.
I'll help you.
I don't want anyone to know.
They won't.
Morning, Miss Higgins.
Have the samples gone off to the laboratory yet?
They will be dispatched very shortly.
But if you wish to add any to the list,
I'm afraid you must see to the paperwork yourself.
ROTARY PHONE WHIRS
- Nurse? - Good morning, Gwen.
Dr Turner remembered an iodine preparation
he thought might help with your skin condition.
I told him I'd drop it off.
Have you been in another fight?
Yes. And I didn't win that one, either.
No school today, old chap?
I overslept again.
And he don't like going in late cos he gets told off.
Oh, I imagine you're exhausted after a match.
I'm always exhausted, but... I'm a mum, aren't I?
And it's just me.
If I weren't tired, it would mean I was slacking.
I'm a stepmother to a little boy of Carl's age.
It certainly keeps one on one's toes.
I hope he talks like you do.
You got a lovely way of putting things.
Can I make you a cuppa?
A cuppa would actually be extremely welcome,
but I should be making you one.
BANGING ON DOOR
I'm sorry, I'll... I'll have to get that.
This is all I've got this time.
I'll... I'll give you the full amount next week.
I've heard that before.
And more than once. I am not a charity!
Now there ain't nothing in there but feathers.
I'm officially skint.
Do you keep your money in a cushion cover?
I don't trust banks.
At least this way, I know where my money is,
even when I got none.
Sorry, I've...
...gone all dizzy.
Mr Bianchi? I'm Mr Penwarden.
I'll be removing this cyst for you.
Er, do you mind if I take a look?
Don't want to go hacking away on the wrong side.
Hmm, could just drain this.
But I'm leaning on the side of getting the whole thing out.
Your bloods may come back perfectly normal.
But I strongly suspect that if you'd've almost passed out
in front of Dr Turner, he'd want to check your iron levels.
Maybe I just need a tonic.
Maybe you do.
I just think that,
as another woman who's often had to stand on her own two feet,
you need to be in better condition than this.
Are you on your own with your kiddie?
No.
But I was very much on my own for a long time,
before he and his father came into my life.
I know what it feels like
to be fighting an invisible opponent.
I fight visible ones an' all.
And I've no doubt you're extremely good at it.
But you need someone more than a wrestling promoter
in your corner.
Let us help find out what's causing your malaise.
Nurse Clifford's gone out to the cinema.
But Nurse Highland says
we can have the box her new slippers came in.
Could there be a more perfect showcase
for nature's bounty?
Oh!
We can do a lot with ribbon and crepe paper.
And that's before we start tying bows round marrows.
Oh! These lamentable scissors.
They... They wouldn't cut butter.
Shall I see if I can find a sharper pair?
What we really need
is Sister Veronica and her magic pinking shears.
How long has she gone to the Mother House for?
"A lengthy retreat."
I wasn't allowed to ask.
It's her private spiritual business.
Do you suppose she took her pinking shears?
I would settle for her implements, if we can't have her.
Poor Sister Monica Joan.
I was hoping it was something that could be treated.
But chronic kidney disease is just...
Something that takes old people gently, but kindly.
But it takes them.
How long has she been ill with this?
I suspect not long.
How long does she have?
The same.
Unless we can persuade her to accept what treatment there is,
she'll progress to end-stage renal failure fairly quickly.
Till that day comes,
we'll just have to love her as we always have.
But a bit more carefully.
You look happy.
Today is a happy day.
I got a letter from the solicitor.
The decree absolute?
I'm officially a single man.
Everything we do now is ours.
Our choice to make.
The Board of Health requested a meeting.
I told them your diary was full,
but they were most insistent.
It's in your diary for Friday.
Thank you.
I anticipate the usual fun and games.
SHE EXHALES
I need to see Anthony Bianchi.
I've just had his histopathology results
through from the hospital.
Should I make an appointment for him?
No. I'll call in on him today.
We told you the truth. Sister Veronica is on retreat.
You told us she had gone on retreat
to the Mother House.
She would need her cross in the Mother House.
She would need her shoes.
Our Sister needed our discretion,
and I gave that willingly, and with love. I'm sorry
if you feel that you should have been informed.
I'm sorry if...
...I have been arrogant in thinking
I deserved an explanation.
I can't tell you everything.
Too much of it is personal to her.
But I can say she is struggling with her vows
and has been given leave of absence for a while.
She's staying at the Olivet Christian Retreat Centre
at Gravesend.
Alone?
Without anyone she knows or...
...any friends to support her?
Sister...
...out of all of us,
Sister Veronica emits the most love.
She needs the most love.
She does not know what she needs or wants.
And that is why she has had to go away.
Morning.
Have you come to see Tina?
Mr Bianchi, we've come to see you.
I can't have breast cancer.
It's a women's disease.
We know all about that, because his mum died of it.
I know.
She was a lovely lady.
And even in the five years since she passed away,
we've learned so much about it.
But I can't have it.
I'm a man.
It is rare in men,
especially for someone of your age,
but it's not unheard of.
Everyone has breast tissue, Tony.
Men and women.
We have less of it,
but it only takes a couple of cells to go rogue
and a tumour can start to develop.
I have had some specialist training.
And there are new treatments, and new approaches to surgery.
Should I have done something sooner, when I first felt the lump?
We are going to focus on the future now, Tony.
And we are going to be with you every step of the way.
- - I don't care whereabouts in your body it is.
You've got the big C.
We have to face up to it.
We can face up to it together.
Without telling people.
Oh, what is that going to achieve, Tony?
You need help.
You need love.
Tina.
I need...
...dignity.
I need to feel like a man.
There's a bike for sale.
Maybe for your birthday, eh?
If you win your next fight.
Come on.
Yes.
Doctor...
...Gweneth Savage's records arrived from her previous practice.
She's been suffering with tiredness and joint pain
for five years.
Did the blood tests we did show anything?
Nothing at all conclusive.
Just markers for minor inflammation,
slightly low white blood count.
Could the pain relate to the wrestling?
I saw her in the ring, and it's incredibly physical.
But an impact injury would be on one side, not both.
It's as though we're missing something.
I never like that.
They said those Braxton Hicks pains
was my body tuning up for the baby to be born.
I got used to 'em.
But they've got worse since I found out Tony isn't well.
You've an immense amount to contend with at the moment.
But Baby's head is engaged, Tina.
I really don't think you'll have very long to wait.
Oh, this reading
is just a little bit higher than I'd like.
We can't have anything else go wrong.
Nothing is going to go wrong.
But I do want you to come over to the maternity home with me,
so Dr Turner can take a look at you.
KNOCK ON VAN
Any chance of a 99? I've an elderly friend
might like a bit of a pick-me-up.
What's the matter, pal?
Bryan?
You ain't put me down for a single match?
I can't afford to promote wrestlers who keep losing.
I can raise my game.
My dad used to say, "Aim up, things will look up."
Your dad was one of the best there ever was.
The Lambeth Panther was revered.
Look, all I can offer you right now
is the Adult Fixtures.
Oh, no. No. Adult Fixtures
is one step away from stripping, Bryan.
I keep it clean.
There's a place down Deptford where they roll about in jelly.
- Girls earn 30 quid a bout. - 30 quid?
I pay 20.
Bring your own bikini.
Usually Tina reads stuff for me, but...
...I don't want to worry her with this.
There's going to be further surgery.
And...
...a "radio-ography" assessment.
I'm going to have to stop working.
Won't be for long.
And you've got family to support you.
I've only just proved to them that I'm a man.
Making a go of the van, earning my own living.
And now I've got a woman's disease.
And I can't provide.
I'm telling them nothing.
PHONE RINGS
Geoffrey Franklin.
Mr Franklin, it's Sister Catherine, from Nonnatus House.
It's about Sister Veronica.
And...
...I'm calling you in confidence.
I see.
I don't like leaving you on your own, Tony.
Don't be daft.
I'm fine.
Hey. Look.
Got my appointment through already.
Nothing to be done till then.
It's you and the baby we need to think about now.
All right.
Just promise me...
...you'll tell your brothers.
I promise.
You'll need to take these diuretics first thing in the morning,
as you don't want to be up all hours of the night.
We can bring the commode into your room.
The commode will not be entertained.
You may come to revise that opinion.
Your tone is brisk, given that my days are numbered.
Everybody's days are numbered, Sister.
Mine as well as yours, one way and another.
But you may be going on for quite a long time.
Possibly feeling slightly better than you have done,
given that we know what ails you now.
Maybe I do not care to go on for...
..."quite a long time."
Let's see how we do, shall we?
With these diuretics.
Carl?
We'll proceed with a full mastectomy of your right breast.
We'll remove the breast tissue along with the lymph nodes
and the pectoralis major muscle.
I don't... I don't want to do this.
I promise you, scarring will be minimal.
And at least you won't be having to deal with foam rubber falsies,
like my lady patients.
Come on, Carl, where are you?
- Can I help you? - I'm Carl Savage's mum.
Is he here? Because if he's not, I...
Carl Savage?
I've just checked every member of his class for head lice,
including him.
Oh, thank God! thank God.
Do you want to go in and speak with him?
Gwen? What's happened?
I couldn't wake up this morning.
Carl took himself to school.
It's the worst I've ever felt.
What's this on your face, Gwen?
It's like this all the time. I cover it with Pan Stik usually.
HE SIGHS
You waiting for your wife? My husband says
he can't stand the smell of this place.
Drops me at the door and waits in the pub.
- - Mr Bianchi?
Is this ever itchy or sore?
No.
And it's never all blisters, like the one on my back.
It's more like a sunburn.
But you've been covering it up with Pan Stik
because it's such a strange shape.
Like a butterfly.
That herpes gladiatorum on your back
was a complete red herring.
This is what leads us to your diagnosis.
Have you ever heard of a condition called lupus?
Nobody in your family's ever had it, or mentioned it?
No. Do you think that's what I've got?
This rash is so distinctive,
I'd put money on it as a diagnosis.
How long will it take to get rid of it?
It's going to be about management, rather than cure.
But I promise you, we can get you feeling better.
It can't be cured?
But I need to win matches again.
Gwen, you are too unwell to fight.
LINE RINGS
Tony? thank God, I've been worried sick.
- How'd it go at the hospital? - It was all fine.
Doctor's very pleased with me.
Oh. Really?
So, erm, what happens next?
What treatment are they giving you?
So many pills, I'll be rattling.
The important thing is that you are getting some rest.
- Not worrying yourself silly. - I'm not now I've heard your voice.
- I love your voice. We hardly ever get to talk on the phone. - Hey!
Because we're together all the time.
And we'll be together again soon.
HE SNIFFS
KNOCK ON DOOR
- - Tony?
Tony? We're going down the pub, you coming?
Tony?
I give up. Come on, let's go.
INDISTINCT CHAT OUTSIDE
Beryl Borrows, as I live and breathe.
Do tell me you're en route to a Harvest Festival
with that dreary swag.
Because at the very least it would provoke
a degree of fellow feeling in me.
I'm on potato-peeling duty.
There's a rota in the retreat house.
Stop, stop. Before you completely break my heart.
I come here almost every day.
Sometimes I have an eclair.
And when the fancy takes me, I have a cream split.
You get a cherry on a cream split,
and there's this little burst of flavour
when you bite it.
Tell me you've eaten fish and chips in the street, too.
- In broad daylight. - Twice.
HE LAUGHS
Although sometimes it feels as though
it's the things I don't do
that tell me more about where I am now,
or where I might go next.
What don't you do?
I don't pray.
I came here to pray,
or at least to decide what I ought to be praying for.
But I can't.
And do you know why?
It's not different enough to the convent, Beryl.
And all the snatched patisserie in the world
can't disguise the fact that you are still living
the same sort of half-life,
trapped underneath a similar godly... bell jar.
And how do you propose I change that?
- Come and stay with me. - Geoffrey!
I am still technically a nun!
I can't live with a man!
You could... lodge with a kindly confirmed bachelor.
You've missed two appointments at the hospital, Tony.
Do you have anyone to talk to?
Your brothers, perhaps?
I can't.
Not with it being, you know, breast cancer.
It's so humiliating.
I can hear 'em now.
"Typical Tony."
Dr Turner and I delivered a baby at the maternity home last week,
and the mother asked if the older brother could come in and meet him.
We placed the baby in his little arms,
and he was awestruck.
This was his brother.
He promised right then and there to teach him everything he knew.
All his best fighting moves?
A cap gun was mentioned.
And something about
which jelly babies tasted best.
Green ones.
According to Enzo.
He always gave me the green ones.
Brothers look after each other, Tony.
I've seen it with my own boys.
Right now, I shouldn't be moaning about me.
I should be looking after Tina.
Dr Turner says she can come home, if you're feeling up to it.
Course I'm feeling up to it.
Something Tells Me by Cilla Black
♪ Something tells me something's gonna happen tonight
♪ I read in the papers that Gemini people will make it tonight
♪ Stars will be shining, my sign is aligning with love
♪ So come on and make it
♪ Let's take everything that we've been dreaming of
♪ Something tells me something's gonna happen to you
♪ The smile on my face is the smile you will wear in a moment or two
♪ So get it together, you see it's gonna be all right
♪ Something tells me something's gonna happen tonight... ♪
You stay in the dressing room tonight.
- Promise? - Promise.
And if I win... You'll get that bike.
My precious boy.
You keeping up with those peppermints, child?
I'm first on call tonight, and I still feel quite queasy.
But it's not just in the morning.
Maybe the pill itself doesn't agree with me.
I popped into the surgery when no-one was there
to check on your results.
I think we need to have a talk.
Uh! I can't seem to get comfortable.
My back is killing me.
Tony, the sheets are wet.
Do you think your waters have broken?
I thought there'd be more of a whoosh.
Oh, I don't feel right, Tony.
Oh...!
Oh!
TINA WAILS
Joyce, what am I going to do?
The pill was supposed to be foolproof.
Oh, honey, the pill was invented by man and is taken by women.
It's always going to be subject to human error.
I will lose my job.
I will have to tell my parents, and I hardly speak to them as it is
because they don't approve of Cyril.
Well, I approve of Cyril.
He's a good man and he will support you,
whatever you choose to do.
Choose to do?
Joyce, I'm not even going to consider an abortion.
That's why it's so hard!
- That's why I'm going to get the sack! - Oh...
Talk to Cyril. You've got time
before you have to tell anybody else.
And I will cover for you in any way I can.
PHONE RINGS
Thank you.
You have another peppermint and wash your face.
- - Gentlemen, please take your seats
for tonight's teeny-weeny steamy bikini
extravaganza of a fight.
PHONE RINGS
Nonnatus House.
Midwife speaking.
I'm ringing up about Tina Bianchi. We think
she's gone into labour.
I've been timing them. They're two minutes apart.
TINA WAILS
Rosalind?
Rosalind, come quickly!
...15, 20. As promised.
Put on a good show for the gents, will you, girls?
They like a bit of hair-pulling.
Hair-pulling's an illegal move.
This ain't a legal game, though, is it, Gwen?
Who's gonna complain?
Don't do this, Gwen. Please.
- What're you doing here? - You're putting yourself in real danger
if you fight tonight. Your body is severely weakened from lupus
and your chances of getting injured are high.
And what would Carl do then?
Look, if you're not gonna fight, you can hand that money back right now.
SHE SIGHS
- - A midwife is on her way,
and I'm going to stay with you on the end of this phone
until she gets there.
TINA GROANS
She... She... She keeps saying she wants to push.
Tell her to blow.
Tell her to blow as if she is blowing out candles.
Tina, don't push. Blow.
TINA GROANS Blow.
HE EXHALES Blow.
Yeah, that's it.
Do it with me. HE EXHALES
SHE GROANS AND EXHALES
- - Oi! Oi, oi, oi!
Are you punch...? I said no punching!
One! Two!
SHE STRAINS
Do you want to tap? Do you want to give up?
SHE STRAINS
Tony, I need you to describe exactly what you can see.
I dunno what I can see.
TINA BREATHES HEAVILY
Whoa, I think it might be the baby's head.
TINA GROANS
SHE GRUNTS
Oh!
Come on!
Argh!
Come on!
Can you hear me?
Gwen? Gwen?
Call for an ambulance.
Quickly!
Mr Bianchi, you need to get ready to deliver this baby
yourself, but you must not hang up, do you hear me?
SHE SCREAMS
SHE GROANS
SHE PANTS
Oh, I can see... I can see the head.
It's... It's sort of moving around.
I can see its face.
Good. Now, very gently place your hands under its head.
Wait for the next big contraction and guide the body out.
Don't pull.
Er, there's something blue wrapped around its neck.
- Is that supposed to be there? - It's the cord. All you have to do
is slip your finger underneath it and lift it
over the baby's head.
It should slide off quite easily.
SHE PANTS
Have you managed to move it?
It worked! It's off!
Gently now...
TINA GROANS
TINA SCREAMS
HE LAUGHS SHAKILY
TINA PANTS
It's a boy, Tina.
BABY CRIES
We got a little boy.
SHE EXHALES
Oh...
You did it, Tony.
You delivered our son.
Just look at him.
Well, someone was in a hurry to get into the world.
HE LAUGHS
Wait till we tell all your uncles about this.
- There she is. - Mum!
There's my boy.
You were lucky you didn't cause any more damage to your body.
At least I got the rent money out of it.
Gwen, the hospital are asking who'll be looking after Carl
whilst you're in here.
They're willing to talk to Social Services.
I bet they are.
Social Services will take him off me.
I'm sure that isn't the case.
But, Gwen, you're treading a dangerous path in London,
even if your health allowed you to keep on fighting.
There are alternatives, just as there's alternatives
to keeping your money in a cushion cover.
And are you going to tell me what they are?
Cos I'd listen to you.
You've told me you know what it is to find things hard.
Another one for the footy team.
- A striker. - My turn now, my turn.
Oh, careful. SPEAKS QUIETLY IN ITALIAN
Mrs Turner's just helping Tina to freshen up.
And then Master Bianchi needs to have his lunch.
The neo papa did a good job on his own, then, doctor?
Not many people could deliver their own son single-handed.
But Tony did.
BROTHERS LAUGH Yeah!
This man, hmm? He's a proper man.
He certainly is.
And I salute him.
Bravo!
Lads.
Something's come up...
...that I'm...
...not going to be able to do single-handed.
I've got cancer.
Breast cancer.
- - Oh, Tony.
I wish Mama was here.
Hey.
You are the best of us, little brother.
And we... will not let you go.
BIKE BELL TINGS
I spoke to the surgery, Gwen.
All your records will be sent to the new GP
we found for you up north.
Thanks, Nurse.
I've got to start looking after myself now, haven't I?
She's not going to be a wrestler any more.
I know. Would you like a hand putting that in the van?
Or are you planning on pedalling
- all the way to Blackpool? - Thanks, Nurse.
And thanks for the advice.
Feels like a bold move, taking a job in a gym,
training other women.
But it's legal in Lancashire, Gwen,
and you won't be exploited.
It will give your body time to recover.
And my dad would like it.
Good old Lambeth Panther and his contacts.
SHE PUFFS
KNOCK ON DOOR
Oh, I came home for my lunch hour.
- Do you want to go for a walk? - No.
I'm afraid I don't.
It seems you've made a decent fist
at moving your weekly clinic onto hospital premises.
Yes.
Um... there was some grumbling from patients about bus fares,
but I think we're on an even keel.
Good. Because, speaking scientist to scientist,
and to paraphrase our friend Charles Darwin,
it is not necessarily the strongest
or most intelligent of any given species that survives.
It's the one most adaptable to change.
I know that.
And I know I can't look after my patients properly
- if I don't adapt. - A very good attitude to have.
Which is why we're placing you front and centre of our plans.
And closing you down.
Closing us down?
Er, not as a GP, although you'll probably want to join forces
with someone else now.
There are real incentives for group practices.
But the council are not going to renew the licence
for the maternity home.
But... the licence runs out in a matter of weeks.
It's always been renewed as a formality.
This is the brave new world, Turner.
There is no "always" any more.
There isn't even an "always" for me.
The council will have to hand everything over
to the National Health.
But while you still have power, you're doing this?
To us and to Nonnatus House.
Oh!
Nonnatus House.
They were forever outliers and... eccentric.
Threapwood, what is the logic in all of this?
How is it going to benefit the patients?
I knew you'd say that.
And it's why we chose to put you at the vanguard.
No matter what goes on
somewhere far away in the offices of Whitehall,
there will always be patients.
HE SIGHS
And you say that as though it's a problem.
SHE SOBS I'm so sorry, Cyril.
You wanted to take responsibility,
but I was absolutely certain that nothing could be better
than this magnificent wonder-drug
that gave me control over my own body.
We both agreed it was what we wanted.
That it would let us have other things we wanted...
...and wanted very much.
We just didn't want this, did we?
I think...
...that it's something that has happened
a little out of order.
But I wouldn't have taken you to bed if I didn't mean to marry you.
And I always meant to marry you...
...and build a life with you.
And building a life with you...
...means more than just rings and mortgages
and bricks and mortar.
Did you ever close your eyes and try to see our children?
I see our children every day, with my eyes wide open.
I see them crossing the street in Poplar,
or swinging on a swing down at the Rec.
And I think...
..."We could have a little boy like that one,"
or, "That little girl has a smile like hers."
THEY LAUGH
I thought I'd have to be patient.
And I'm not very good at being patient.
SHE LAUGHS TEARFULLY
I would not say patience has been our distinguishing characteristic.
And now it doesn't have to be.
That's it, girls.
There is no good harvest
if there's been no rain.
The earth requires it, and so do we.
For how else does the heart grow?
Not through relentless sunshine,
nor under a cloudless sky.
Life expands not in spite of the weather but because of it.
Thus, we are nourished,
we take root,
we are taught how to endure.
But there are times when the soul is hungry,
when fruit falls to the ground
and we cannot tell if it's a blessing or temptation.
There are times when we know nothing.
Nothing at all.
Not yet.
And so it seems that, if we go down...
...we all go down together.
The council have written to me,
confirming that the maternity home will close,
and assuming that we, too, will now cease operations.
Do we have any say in this?
At present, it seems not.
Sometimes, change is for the better.
What do you mean, "Mayor turned midwife"?
We need to cause alarm.
And now our maternity home is closing down.
Susan was affected by thalidomide.
The council are not going to give Nonnatus House
any more money.
- But the treatment is working. - It is not treatment.
It is merely postponing all that is to come.