Call the Midwife

Sometimes an experience begins in ruins.

Flesh is torn, blood is spilt.

Everything hurts, and nothing is as we planned it

or we hoped for.

And yet not everything is lost.

The pleasure is only postponed.

The joy will come.

First we must mend, and then heal.

Oh! Welcome home, Reggie.

Give us a kiss.

Oh, your cheeks are cold.

We were having a chat

about the Jane situation on the way home.

I'm sorry Jane's gone to live in Ireland, Reggie.

I know she was very special to you.

- Yes. Very special. - But how lovely is it

that she's going to be with her parents?

Next week I have to go to a wedding.

You love Nancy, and you love Roger.

And nothing is going to stop you from celebrating with them.

When can I see that vase that you've been making for them

- in your art class? - Er, that's another tale.

Wasn't back from the kiln this morning,

so it's going to have to be posted.

Well, it will get here in plenty of time for the wedding.

Oh, now, guess what I have made for your afters tonight.

Rice pudding?

Got it in one!

And that, my dear sister, is that.

Now, you are about to take your vows.

Do you feel ready?

Spiritually, I feel as ready as I can be,

thanks to your guidance.

Personally, the fact that my sister is coming

feels just right.

Otherwise, I just keep worrying about what I'm going to wear.

Oh! (chuckles)

Sister Hilda assures me that once we get to the Mother House,

there will be an extensive selection of bridal gowns

for you and Sister Elizabeth to choose from.

I'm glad Mother Mildred has revived that custom.

It's certainly the only wedding dress

I'll ever get to walk down an aisle in.

I'm only sad Mother Mildred won't be there to see it.

Who knows what mysterious work is afoot in India?

But if the Lord called her there, there must be a reason.

I'm sorry I missed tea.

Poor Mrs Shah tore so badly, we had to get Dr Turner in.

She ended up with more stitches than a Victorian sampler.

We've left you a Wensleydale sandwich

and a tea cake on the side.

That is music to my ears.

Stop!

- Bag on the table? - Sorry!

- Sorry. - And no comestibles

in the clinical room!

Mm-hmm!

Does anyone know what time

Nancy and Colette are arriving tomorrow?

She's cut everything very fine

in terms of preparing for her wedding.

I don't blame her if she has.

She watched me preparing for mine and received a masterclass

in the futility of forward planning.

Your wedding was very enjoyable... in the end.

It's such a shame you're missing Nancy's.

She was your bridesmaid!

I know, but I'm a bridesmaid at Matthew's partner's wedding.

There's 14 of us, all in sugared-almond shades

with a pure lace trim, and it would cause

such offence to decline the honour.

That's what comes of living life on two sides of the ocean.

You can't be everywhere at once.

There has been a serious blaze

at a council-run mother-and-baby home in Essex.

Fire engines were called to Arbury House...

Patrick!

Patrick!

There's been a fire at Arbury House.

With mothers-to-be there, and babies!

Numbers are confirmed.

There are four girls on their way to us...

two close to term, two recently delivered.

Thank goodness they all escaped.

Are their babies still with them?

One aged six days, one aged three weeks.

Adoptions pending.

They were all referred from our practice,

so it falls to us to take them in and sort them out.

Come on.

Keep babies wrapped up.

There we go.

Come on.

Hello, again, Paula.

Come on, honey. Let's get you inside.

There we are.

It hurts when I walk.

My hamsters are still in the car.

Almost done. Good boy.

Well, his temperature's normal,

which, given that you were all turfed out of doors

at dawn on a freezing morning, isn't bad at all.

Being bonny probably helped.

Have you been bottle-feeding him?

I would have tried the other way, but...

...nobody else was doing it.

Matron said it's best not to bother if you're going to give them away.

You've cared for him beautifully, Janine.

That's given him a really good start in life.

When were you 14, Paula?

In August.

And have you been able to keep up with your schoolwork

while you've been at the home?

I get booklets in the post and fill 'em in and send 'em off.

Do you get good marks?

I don't get marks.

They just send more booklets.

Paula, I think this low-down tummy ache

is caused by an infection in your bladder.

And you may have what we call anaemia...

...which means very low iron in your blood.

I think we need to take you to the maternity home

- for a few days. - Is that a hospital?

If it's a hospital, I won't be able to take the hamsters.

Oh, Sister Monica Joan will mind them.

She has a soft spot for rodents.

As long as it isn't for long.

St Blaise home is full, as well.

Mr Robinson is also trying to help, but the best I've been able to find

is two beds only at Temple Bank.

And that's never been an establishment

that's impressed me.

The mother-and-baby homes seem busier than ever.

There are more unmarried mothers willing to go it alone these days.

But I think it's the rise in the so-called "gymslip mums."

And the younger the girl, the more she's at the mercy

of her family's views.

Love seldom proves more powerful than shame.

I've so often wished it could be otherwise.

I can't eat this marmalade.

I'm sorry. Do you have any golden syrup?

Right, ladies, we have a plan.

Paula is going straight to the maternity home

so that her urine infection and anaemia can be dealt with.

Until we work out who's going to Temple Bank,

Maggie will have the guest room,

and I'm taking Nurse Crane's spare bed

so that Sandra and Janine can have the bed-sitter with their babies.

Well, what about Nancy and Colette? They're meant to be

in the bed-sitter from today until the wedding.

Mm. How about a tent on the allotment?

They're going to stay with Miss Higgins.

- Hello. - Mrs Cunningham?

I need to talk to you about Paula.

I'm on my way to the latest prayer circle at the chapel.

Mrs Cunningham, there's been a fire...

...at the place where your daughter was accommodated.

It's no longer possible for her to stay there.

Has she had the child yet?

No, but she is unwell

and has had to be moved to the maternity home.

If you're looking for us to take her in, the answer's no.

We signed Paula over to council care until nature has taken its course.

After that, our door is open, and she can start again.

I'm sure that, as a woman of God, you understand our position.

Mr Robinson, Paula's social worker, and I

were hoping that you might reconsider.

My husband and I are completely in agreement.

- (Millicent gasps) - (laughs)

Come in, come in!

Master suite for the bride-to-be.

Boxroom for the maid of honour.

And the studio couch for yours truly.

And I'm going to be on a Lilo at my best man's house.

- No change of plan there at all. - Thank you, Miss Higgins.

I've warned you before

about the excessive use of formalities.

Thank you, Millicent.

- (knock at door) - May we come in?

Hello!

And the countdown begins.

Are you all ready to go shopping for bridesmaid shoes?

Yeah!

It's years since I've seen a baby in a drawer.

He had a cot in the mother-and-baby place.

Mm. I bet they didn't paint it all fresh and new

for every new occupant, like we did with ours.

Go on, then.

Let's see his face.

Interesting.

Bring him home, and we'll make the best of it.

Erm... I'm meant to be having him adopted.

Where's he going to fit in, with an 'ooter like that?

He's got the Hicks nose. He can live in the Hicks house.

And we'll get the cot out of the cubbyhole

and tart it up a bit.

It was rose pink last time I looked.

You're not the first, and you won't be the last.

These would be nice for the wedding.

Oh, I don't think so, Reggie.