15x00 - Christmas Special 2025 Part 2

[bunniefuu]

How on earth can an entire
building just collapse?

Esther Tang gave us the greatest
gift we've ever had

and we can't abandon her.

So, I've come home to die.

My last was a stillborn.

No...
BABY CRIES

It's a baby! Left to be found.

It's not safe!

Give me the key.

STEEL DRUMS PLAY CAROLS

We don't get snow in the Caribbean,
but...

..nothing's ever perfect.

I don't think it could be
more perfect.

Keys.

Money.

I'm afraid it really is that simple.

b*llet is simple?

g*n c*ck

We have paid a deposit
on that rental.

You mistake our intention, sir.

We are a religious order.

And we've come here to do good,
not harm.

BABY CRIES

We're doing women's work.

I'm surprised it's of
any interest at all to men.

With g*ns or without.

The other sister said
they were doing Jesus' work.

And Jesus' work belongs to devil!

Give him the keys.

BABY FUSSES

Wait! Wait! Wait!

Wait! Stop!

Get up...

CROWD CHEERS AND APPLAUDS

He take your money.

All of it.

Do not be kind to me.

You were at least as frightened
as we were of that man.

And I suspect you have been so
for a great deal longer.

Has he been here before, Mrs Ma?

Many time.

I pay him to keep my business safe.

I think you need to pay someone
to keep YOU safe from HIM.

Mrs Ma, what has happened

here tonight is not acceptable.

If we have brought trouble to your
door, that is not acceptable either.

And we will move on
as soon as we are able.

You keep holding her close,
while I check her temperature.

BABY GRIZZLES

Do you think she's opioid addicted,
Sister?

You've more
experience of that than me.

It's a different type of cry.

I think she's cold and hungry.

Feels the want of
her mother's arms around her.

Babies are not ignorant creatures.

Ladies, Nurse Clifford
and I were wondering,

since everything's now
running smoothly,

whether we might be permitted
to have a little seasonal

gathering, here at Nonnatus House?

I love the idea of
a seasonal gathering.

But it's certainly not up to me
to give permission.

It would really just be ourselves,

plus a few of our friends
from nursing and hospital circles.

Will there be popular music playing?

And will there be dancing
and the presence of young men?

Well...Cyril will be coming.

And we thought we'd invite
Harry Chopra and Timothy.

I consider myself persuaded.

Life is short.

And Christmas,
as we are so frequently reminded,

comes but once a year.

Morning. I'm looking for Queenie.
She's in her caravan.

Queenie,

I know it's hard to talk about
what went wrong with the baby

that you lost.

But not talking might make it
harder, in a different way.

I think this Windolene has dried.

If you pass me a rag,
I can get ahead with it.

They said I wasn't to see it.

Even though I heard it cry.

Queenie, if you heard your baby cry,

it wasn't stillborn.

It was a girl. They told me that.

I said I wanted her baptised.

But they said that
the priest came too late.

If you don't feel like eating,
then you must try

and keep up your liquids.
Soup would be particularly good.

Soup? I never cared much for soup.

When I was a child, soup was a sign
that ends were not meeting,

but now soup is a sign
that I am meeting MY end.

HE CHUCKLES

You don't have to joke about this,
Mr Fischer.

Not unless you want to.

Nothing really matters now
but your comfort.

And there are things we can do
with regard to that,

even though there are things
that we can't...change.

Isn't that right, Nurse?
That's absolutely right.

What would you most like to happen
over the next few weeks, Mr Fischer?

I came here
because I wanted to come home.

But I failed to
allow for the fact that home

is where your family are...

..or were.

Mine are all gone, so...

HE COUGHS

..ghosts are good companions
for the heart.

But they are not company.

Are you saying
you don't want to be alone?

RAGGEDLY: Yes.

I asked the midwife
what happened to the baby.

All she would say was,
"She had the biggest eyes."

And she said "biggest"
like it was a compliment.

She was kindly.

Two other nurses
came in and washed me.

Two of them, like I was dirty.

I heard one of them say...

..that my baby had no head.

But I knew they were lying,

because the kindly midwife

said that she had the biggest eyes.

I wish I could tell you
what happened to your daughter.

But I can tell you the truth -

that she was loved.

Loving's not the same as
being baptised, though, is it?

I believe it's very similar.

SHE CRIES

More hot water.

Now, you have to give her a name.

Chinese and English.

What your name?

I'm afraid it's not very with it.

It's Phyllis.

It is too hard say.

We sisters all have two names too.

The one we were born with
and the one we took

when we gave our lives to Jesus.
What yours?

Pamela.

Semi-classical,
with rather a nice ring to it?

SHE GRUNTS

Oh.

Sister Julienne was baptised Louise.

I know two bar girl call Louise.

You born name?

Er, Beryl.

Beryl Borrows.

Although the surname isn't relevant.

Beryl's a precious stone, isn't it?

And we can't say this one
isn't a little gem.

Beryl it is.

CHILDREN LAUGH

PHONE RINGS

Dr Turner's surgery.

Oh. Miss Higgins? I've been
offered half a dozen shifts

on Male Surgical!
At St Cuthbert's?

Yes. I'll be supernumerary,
but it's under Mr Borelli.

Oh, Mr Borelli
is held in the very highest regard.

Oh, I assume, however, that,
if you take up this chance,

it may threaten the stability and
security of the children's routine?

CHILDREN SHOUT AND CHATTER
It could be devastating.

Queenie's had no complications
at all in this pregnancy,

apart from mild anaemia,
despite her age

and despite the fact
that it's her ninth.

But she is desperately anxious.

Well, does she think the same
disaster might be visited again?

How can I tell her it won't,

if I don't know what
happened either?

Oh! That's clever.

It is a better use of this
contraption than the plucking up

and putting on of shoes,
which is supposedly its purpose.

Sister Monica Joan,

I wondered
if I might ask for your help.

Is good?

Certainly stable.

You're doing well, lass.

What is lass?
Oh, it means girl.

It's what we call
a term of endearment.

It's a way of being kind.

My mother used to say, "Nui, nui."

Where is your mother, Yuechan?

In our village in Guangdong...

..if she still alive.

Could you write to her? A letter?

She not know how to read.

I not know what to say.

How I come here, how I have a baby.

We need you to stay well and happy

until this baby comes.

I'll be your mother until then.

Hibiscus Street
isn't part of my division,

but it's notorious even
within Kowloon.

There are four branches of Triad
active in Hong Kong

and they run everything -
gambling, prostitution, drugs,

the whole nine yards.

Which is why our work
there is so essential.

The old clinic came under a branch
run by a crook who calls

himself the Cormorant.

The Cormorant?
He's a Liverpool Chinese.

Born there,
deported here during the w*r.

Never went back.

And why should he?
He's made a decent living over here.

Runs a nightclub called the
Crimson Lantern and other rackets.

How comes you know all this
but crime's still running rampant?

Knowing what Triad are doing
doesn't mean we can stop them.

We don't want to put
you in a difficult position, Derek,

but the sisters need advice.

My advice is they should
look for premises

outside the Cormorant's area.

They've done something to offend him
and he won't let it go.

Oh, Esther.

Oh! Where did you appear from?

I've seen entrances
onstage like that,

but generally they involve
a...a trap door.

The landlord provided the key.

And the district nurse hung it
on a string inside the letterbox.

Ah.

What year were you born?



Ah!

Then you cannot be the child
I delivered in this chamber.

I did not arrive in Poplar
until 1903.

My brother Sammy,
he was born in 1903.

The others came after him.

Then...

..you must be the child
with the large, round eyes,

that sat on the bed and watched
as I bathed his infant sibling.

Huh.

You had a remarkable gaze,
even then.

Yes, I remember that.

And I hope I remember you.

I am most grateful
for your assistance. Good day.

Harry. Yes, Auntie?

Miss Higgins.

Thank you.
Just while we're in the surgery.

Now, take Dr Watkiss her coffee.

Then I need you to go
to the records office for me.

All right.

And that was our kindly supporter
at the British Army base, informing

us that Sister Prudence also tested
positive for tuberculosis.

And so have two of the children.

This is a really vicious strain.

Thank goodness we've all been
vaccinated.

We will have to get them
transferred to the sanatorium,

then fumigate their room,
as well as Sister Edith's.

Patrick.

There's something you need to see.

Hello, Teddy, dear.

Teddy, whatever happened
to the Christmas tree?

Petula knocked it down.

Where are the girls?

In their bedroom,

playing with nail varnish.

Nail varnish? Angela and May Turner!

BOTH: Hello, Miss Higgins.

I have brought savoury mince
and a peach blancmange.

You will come and eat it.

After which, we will re-erect
the Christmas tree,

erase all evidence
of these manicures

and discuss a plan for the remainder
of your parents' absence.

There are photographs

and letters in this bag that we sent
to Esther from England.

There are also what look to
be her personal belongings -

there's a comb and lipstick

and underclothes and a child's shoe.

Mrs Ma, Esther is a very,
very important person to our family.

This is her daughter, May,

who is our daughter now.

You make good life for this girl.
But...

..Esther has another child now.

A little boy.

A little boy who is
missing his shoe.

And possibly missing his mother.

Mrs Ma, we don't even know
if they're together any more.

Sister Edith know.
You ask Sister Edith.

INDISTINCT

Mrs Forsyth, the midwife who
attended your little girl's birth

took great care to record her birth
and her death in the proper way.

WHISPERS: I said she was kindly.

And it seems that your daughter
was born with a condition

called anencephaly.

The top of her head hadn't developed
in the womb as it should have done

and her brain would have been
very badly affected.

Would it have hurt her?
No.

I heard her crying.

All babies cry, Queenie.

It's a sign of life.

And it's beautiful, even if
that life doesn't last very long.

Was it something I did?
No, Queenie.

It wasn't.

I can promise you that.

All I want is to hold a
live child in my arms...

..and to tell it that it's mine.

That other child's name
is Christopher.

She will protect him with her life.

His father wants to take him
from her.

And his father is a criminal.

A gangster?
Of the worst kind.

He has offspring by numerous women,

but Christopher is his only son.

What has Esther done to make him
turn on her like this?

Every time she conceived,
she came to us.

Aghast that this had happened again.

But all she ever wanted was love.

It happens the world over.

I've seen it time and time again.

No.

You have not seen a man like this.

They call him the Cormorant.

He has ordered her and her child
to be hunted down like dogs.

At one point,
we persuaded Mrs Ma to hide her.

But, Sister Edith, it's as
though they have both vanished.

There is one place she thought
that no-one could ever find her.

Will you tell me where it is?

I must.

Or when I die,
the waters will close over her.

What does that say?

I think those two pictograms
together mean for auction.

We won't be going down that route.

You won't be going down
the rental route

or the purchase route either,
Sister.

That g*ng have taken every
penny you possess!

We're quite accustomed to poverty.

Yes. We gave up money
when we gave up men.

What about this one?

It says dancing girls.

You've dropped off Property
and drifted into Nightclubs.

Oh, yes.

Oh, I can read this one.

It says police.

Ha!

We've got no apartment number,
no floor number.

We just have to keep on going.

Keep on looking.

How can she even survive like this?

BABY CRIES

I want to find her.

I just don't want to find her here.

DISTANT HARSH COUGHING

Esther?

Esther?

Esther.

Can we talk to you?

I have Mrs Turner with me.

Hello, you.

You must be Christopher.

I've been waiting to meet you.

Do you keep forgetting
that it's Advent?

Yes. And it's not even the
absence of cold that I marvel at.

It's the absence,
the absolute erasure of weariness.

Do you feel it too? I've never felt
such energy in years.

You have to let us
get you out of here,

to somewhere where you can be nursed
and given food and shelter.

I don't go out.

I stay here.

I always stay here.

The altar in the corner
is beautiful, Esther.

I pray always for you.

And for the souls of my parents.

They had no sons.

Christopher's father wants him
very much, doesn't he?

He will give him a wicked life,

make his child a criminal.

Sisters,

I don't doubt your sincerity.

And I do accept that you

and your associates have been
targeted by local...undesirables.

Triad. Let's a call a spade a spade,
shall we?

We have been targeted by Triad.

The Order of St Raymond Nonnatus
have given shelter to

abandoned babies, provided medicine

and alternative employment
to street girls.

And persuaded addicts to
turn their backs on heroin.

That, according to Mrs Ma,
is our crime.

A young man enslaved to drugs
is at the mercy of his masters.

He will do whatever
he is asked to do,

in exchange for the one thing
that will give his body peace.

But if he is freed from addiction,
if he finds there is a better

way to live, he will
turn his back on crime itself.

They become free men.

And, sometimes, police informants.

I'm not going to deny that.

Then you cannot deny the fact
that we are doing you a service.

And in so doing,
warrant your protection.

And how do you propose that we
provide that?

Properties vacant. Third column
across, fourth paragraph down.

This was an annexe
of the old training school.

No longer in use.
Standing empty.

And, crucially,
still in police possession.

I can't believe we're leaving them.

We are coming back tomorrow.

With food.
They're both sick, Shelagh.

But I need to run some
tests on the little boy.

There's something very,
very wrong with him.

Mind your fingers!

Everything's under control!

Whoa!

I need tasters. Joyce?

You can pronounce
judgment on the whisky cream punch.

Sis...

..I want your opinion
on the coconut frappe.

That's going to give my snowballs
a run for their money!

I know. It slips down like a
tart's stocking, doesn't it?

Sis?

It's divine.

Call me a miracle worker.
It's mainly condensed milk.

Oh, Geoffrey, that's going
to make it very calorific.

It's Christmas. I have personally
declared an amnesty on slenderising.

SHE SCOFFS

PHONE RINGS

Nonnatus House, midwife speaking.

Hi, Trixie.

I've just been observing
a bowel anastomosis.

That's nice.
I asked around the canteen.

I've drummed up a few
more for the party.

And Miss Higgins is staying
the night with the children.

Everyone's bringing a bottle.

SHE GIGGLES

PHONE RINGS

Nonnatus House, midwife speaking.

Nurse Aylward. Are you able to come
to the maternity home?

Queenie Forsyth has just arrived.

SHE GASPS

Hello, Mum.

Busy again?

I've managed to persuade Hong Kong
Rotary Club to offer a modest

grant to the sisters
to set up a new clinic.

I'm trying to work out
if it will stretch.

Chin up.
Sun's over the yard arm.

Derek. Gin and Tonic?

Madam.
Thank you, Grace.

I'm not sure. I wouldn't normally
imbibe

when I've got the ready reckoner
out.

Mum, please, take a break.

Please, stop doing stuff.
Stop doing sums.

It's all I can ever remember,

you with your head
in a column of figures.

It's who I am, Derek.
I know.

But I'd love it not to be.

Just for half an hour.

Just while we have a drink together,
in the sun.

Shall we do something together
tomorrow?

All right.

Very good.

Esther, I think Christopher may
have a problem with his kidneys.

I need to take him to a hospital.

No.

We stay here.

Will you let Doctor examine you now,
Esther?

We can talk about Christopher
after that.

Esther.

You have breast milk soaking
through your clothing.

You don't still feed Christopher,
do you?

No.

There is no baby.

Not here.

Have you given birth to another
child, Esther?

If there is another baby,

will you tell us where it is?

I leave my daughter
where she will be safe.

I leave her with sisters.

On step of the restaurant.

In a box.

Ah!

Two copies
of the Pickwick Papers.

One from the Poplar Public Library.

The other from mine own shelves.
Oh.

I am driven from my hearth
by the frivolities of youth.

Oh, I have fond memories
of the frivolities of youth.

The appreciation of
such pleasures passed me by.

Any regrets?

That is between myself
and the Almighty.

We can take you back with us,
Esther.

We can reunite you with your baby.

I cannot go back to Hibiscus Street.

My daughter is safe there.
My son is not.

Esther, have you had to choose
one child over the other?

My son's father only want him.

He will k*ll for him.

Is this man, the Cormorant,
your little girl's father too?

I made new life.

I thought it was a better one.

A better man.

I was wrong.



You're a better mover than
I expected!

When do you think is a good time
to start party games?

I don't think it's ever a good time
to start party games.

Oh, Cyril, this house is
full of nooks and crannies.

It's just crying
out for a game of Sardines.

CHEERING

I've tucked Marie and baby Luke
up for the night in the side ward.

Both fast asleep already.

Nurse Aylward, could you listen
to baby's heartbeat for me?

What's wrong with its heartbeat?

Nothing's wrong, Queenie. We just
like to keep an eye on things.

I want to go home.
I'm not good here.

I can't do it in here.
Holy Mary, Mother of God!

I can't do it!

Sweetheart. This is where you need
to stay as calm as you can

and save as much
strength as you can.

You're going to be able to
start pushing this baby out soon.

The heartbeat's dropping
and she's exhausted.

We need to get her to hospital.

ALL: Sardines! Sardines! Sardines!
Sardines!

Sardines! Sardines! Sardines!
Sardines!

Sardines! Sardines! Sardines!
Sardines!

Fan out and disperse as soon
as you get to the landing.

All of the lights will be
turned off!


transfer in my book, I'm afraid.

The practice doctor is not
answering her telephone

and the Flying Squad
are not available.

We need an ambulance as soon
as possible!

I hoped I'd find you.

SHE GIGGLES

Now THIS is a good party game.
SHE GIGGLES

It's bedlam out there.

There are three medical
students in the airing cupboard.

Why don't we just go
to your bedsitter for a bit?

This is all getting so raucous.

As long as we don't do anything...

..improper.

We never do anything improper.

The rules of the studio couch
are very firmly established.

THEY LAUGH

If you haven't got the strength
to push, just pant, Queenie!

The ambulance is on its way.

Queenie, would you like us
to wake Marie?

And she could come
and hold your hand.

No! I'd be after worrying about her.

I've seven children alive
and living in the world.

But the only one I can think
about now is the one inside of me.

I need to hold it in my arms.

We've had half an hour of
second-stage contractions

and there's been no
descent of the head.

I'm going to deliver this baby now,
by forceps.

But only doctors deliver by forceps.

Sister, we don't have the
luxury of making that distinction!

This baby's heartbeat
isn't picking up and,

if we delay, we're going to lose it!

I'm not sure I know what
the rules of this game are.

I mean, we are
sat in a cupboard with no drinks

and there's no room for dancing.

So, we have to all
wait to be discovered.

And then, the next person who
discovers us has to squeeze in.

And the next one
and the next one and the...

Right.

DOOR OPENS

Found you!

What do we do now?

We wait, apparently.

DOOR OPENS

Well, to misquote
Captain Oates, I'm coming in...

..and I may be some time.

CHUCKLES

Oh, can I smell old clothes?

Mm-hm. Yes.

My whole childhood's
flashing before my eyes in here.

I can see the jumper
I wore in grammar school.

Oh, I see nurses' uniforms...

..and a nun's habit.

Ow!

TRIXIE: Sweetie, I know you are
tired.

But three women are stronger
than one on her own.

We're going to work together to get
this baby out and in your arms.

Ah... Together, Queenie.

Do you hear that?
We're all going to join forces.

Will you tell me when you...when
you can see its head?

BANGS ON DOOR, LAUGHTER

Geoffrey Franklin,
Timothy Turner, Harry Chopra -

what are you doing in my bedroom?
Good things come to those who wait.

Geoffrey!

Try to bear down, Queenie.

As soon as you feel the next
contraction, bear down.

Ah...

SHE MOANS

Now.

SHE MOANS

BOTH GRUNT

I can hear the ambulance.

And it's out!

No ambulance required.

BABY GRIZZLES

BABY CRIES

Do you hear that, Queenie?
Isn't that a beautiful sound?

Glory be, but I love you.

You are perfect
and you are complete.

And you are mine.

And you're crying!

And they didn't even tell me
if you're a boy or a girl!

Oh, sorry! I forgot!

It's a boy!

# Ooh-ooh

# Baby love, my baby love

# I need you, oh, how I need you

# But all you do is treat me bad

# Break my heart and leave me sad

# Tell me, what did I do wrong

# To make you stay away so long? #

"How many old recollections
and how many dormant sympathies,

"does Christmas-time awaken?

"Year after year, we met on that
day, a merry and joyous circle.

"Many of the hearts that throbbed
so gaily then, have ceased...

"..have ceased to beat.

"Many of the looks that shone

"so brightly then
have ceased to glow.

"The hands we grasped,
have grown cold."

"The eyes we sought,
have hid their lustre in the grave.

"And yet the old house, the room,
the merry voices and smiling faces,

"the jest, the laugh, crowd
upon our mind at each recurrence

"of the season, as if the last
assemblage had been but yesterday.

"Happy, happy Christmas!

"That can win us back to the
delusions of our childish days."

That said,
I'm Jewish, Sister Monica Joan.

Well, that does not prevent us
from being companions in nostalgia.

Christmas is but one instance
of a glimmer into the darkness.

Yes.

We have our feast of lights too,
Hanukkah.

HE COUGHS

It falls almost on the same
date as Christmas this year.

BIRDSONG

Joyce?

Hmm?

I'm dressed as a nurse.

Well, if it's any consolation,
you weren't the only one.

Is there anything else
I need to know?

It's all right, honey.

I think we're safe.

CRASHING AND BANGING

LOUD CLATTERING

If that unholy racket you're making
is supposed to be my punishment,

I accept it,

as long as it's followed
by strong, black coffee.

Oh, you'll get coffee!

And it will be
accompanied by a dustpan,

a brush and a pair of rubber gloves!

I suppose we ought to
roll up our sleeves.

We?

We?!

Geoffrey, I have been up
all night delivering a baby!

And I've been wielding
a bucket for this poor lamb.

Florence Nightingale's
got nothing on me.

Good morning, Rosalind.

Or should I say, Nurse Clifford.

I'm sorry.

I stayed the night at Cyril's.

Morning orders
will take place in three minutes.

PHONE RINGS

Nonnatus House, charlady speaking.

Has no-one observed that I did not
sleep

in my accustomed bed
last night?

Sister Monica Joan, this morning
that is scarcely cause for comment.

Our charge, Mr Fischer,
fell into a decline before midnight.

I assisted him to his bed,

then deemed it inexpedient
to leave him.

DOOR OPENS

Oh...

Oh, good morning, Harry.

The cloud of cologne on which you
enter does nothing to reassure me.

Would you like a cup of coffee,
Harry?

Merry Christmas and thank you
very much to all concerned!

# Chase your rainbow
anywhere you find it

# And maybe you'll find it tomorrow

# Love is a rainbow

# To light up your life

# It's a strong wind that blows
away sorrow

# When you walk along
the lonely road

# When you're down
and all the world can see

# When you want to
run away and hide... #

I was afraid both Christopher
and his mother would test

positive for TB,
but I was wrong - they're clean.

You weren't wrong about this,
though.

Unilateral renal mass.

Right-hand side.
Hmm.

There isn't a scrap of fat on him.

I could feel it on palpation.

Soft-tissue X-ray
can be quite equivocal.

Nothing equivocal about this,
though.

Wilms' tumour.

I haven't seen a Wilms' in general
practice for nearly a decade.

But, yes, cancer of the kidney.

And he's two years old.

Well, there's nothing here for him,
I know that.

But...

..nine months ago, we did have a
REME sergeant whose daughter had it.

We got the family sent back to
the UK on compassionate grounds.

Did they lose her?
Far from it.

There's a new chemotherapy being
trialled

at one of the London hospitals.

Brutal, but spectacular.

Is it working?

Yes.

I had a penny,

a bright new penny.

I took my penny

to the market square.

I wanted a rabbit,

a little brown rabbit,

and I looked for a rabbit
most everywhere.

For I went to the stall

where they sold sweet lavender.

Only a penny for a bunch
of lavender.

Have you got a rabbit?

Cos I don't want lavender.

DOOR OPENS
They...

They didn't...have a rabbit.

Not anywhere there.

You must be baby Beryl's mummy.

Esther would like to feed Beryl.

Sister, do you think she's hungry?

Almost certainly.

She is a peckish little thing.

BABY FUSSES

I can remember lying in bed
and seeing

exactly this view,

of the snow, falling.

There were four of us
under the eiderdown.

David, Sammy,

Isaac and me.

I have often pondered
what it must be like

to share a bed with others.

WHISPERS: It's warm.

Knock, knock!

Oh, it's not that Complan of yours
again, is it?

It doesn't matter how often
you gussy it up with those

paper umbrellas of yours,
I'm still bored of it.

It's actually a whiskey cream punch.

A recipe that proved so efficacious
at our Christmas party

I'm thinking of applying
for a patent.

Is...

Is it...

Is it the 22nd today?

It's the 21st, Mr Fischer.

Oh.

Then it's tomorrow.

What's tomorrow, old chap?

The first night of Hanukkah.

The feast of lights.

Would you like me to find
a Rabbi for you, Mr Fischer?

It wouldn't hurt.

Can you just take a kiddie halfway
round the world, Doc?

If he needs life-saving
medical treatment

and his mother gives permission,
yes.

But you don't have to adopt him?

No, thank God.

It took us years to adopt May.

Christopher won't have years,
he may not even have months,

if we don't act fast.

It's good of the Army
to donate stuff.

I just hadn't reckoned on there
being so much of it.

We need a taxi!

WHISTLES

We're in luck!

BOAT HORN BLARES

Hibiscus House,


Blimey!

You know, Mum,
you've done great things.

Here? In Hong Kong?

Well, here and at home.

I've only heard about you being
mayor in Tower Hamlets.

But now, I've seen you -
being someone, doing something

in a city I can
barely get to grips with.

All I've done is raise
a bit of money

and got people who CAN help
talking to people who NEED help.

It's what I do.
Perhaps because it's all I can do.

Well, that's not nothing.

I'm sorry I needed evidence
before I could respect you for it.

There's no need to be sorry.

For anything, ever.

You're my son.

KNOCK AT DOOR

Hello, Grace, dear.

Do you need something?

Mr Fred
and the doctor are in trouble.

What sort of trouble? Worse than
trouble. They're in danger.

Please, don't ask me
how I know this.

If you don't tell me,
I can't act on the information.

My husband works for the Cormorant.

I hear talking on the phone.

LAUGHTER AND CHATTER

You're not taking my son to England.

If we don't, he will die.
You don't know that.

You've given me no proof of that.

Or any proof
that you're even a doctor.

I can assure you his credentials
are totally bona fide.

I'm even a Scouser.

What school did you go to?
Liverpool Institute.

My father had an ironmonger's shop,
in Cornwallis Street.

I probably walked right past it.

When w*r broke out, they took me
to a ship to be deported.

I had an English wife
I never saw again.

Sometimes you lose people.

Sometimes they're stolen.

Or you are.

Are you a gambling man, Dr Turner?

No.

I am.

If you want my son,
you have to play me for him.

How about mahjong? Or cards?

Poker, chemin de fer, blackjack?

You choose.

# Baruch atah Adonai,

# Eloheinu Melech ha-olam

# Asher kid'shanu

# B'mitzvotav

# V'tzivanu l'hadlik

# Ner shel Hanukkah. #

Amen.
Amen. Amen.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Is he allowed to choose a deputy?

I could play on his behalf.
I don't think that would help, Fred.

You can play as many
games as you want.

With cards, with words.

With me.

But if Christopher's life is lost,

who will pray for him at your altar?

Who will pray for you?

Who will carry on your family line?

You could have all of those things.

I can find a Chinese doctor for him.

I can be the one
that saves his life!

Or you can just have your pride.

It doesn't matter
who saves his life,

as long as it's saved!

And if it is saved, I guarantee

I will send him back to you!

g*nsh*t

SHOUTING AND g*nsh*t

Let's continue this conversation
elsewhere, shall we? Go!

Doctor.

Take the kid. Yes.

Tell them to give him a chance.

LABOURED BREATHING

Let him breathe as nature
intended him to breathe.

There is no consolation for him now

in artificial air.

Better, old chap?

cr*cker BANGS

INDISTINCT CHATTER

It will take time to rebuild,
but the foundations have been laid.

Are you happy to be staying on?

Yes.

Because I don't
doubt our purpose here.

Are you happy to be going home?

Yes.

Because I'm more convinced than ever
that our work is vital,

wherever we are called.

Where do you imagine
we'll be called next?

I daren't imagine.

But I will go
and do whatever I am asked.

Things are ticking
along like clockwork, Doctor.

Well done, Yuechan.

Pre-eclampsia isn't easy, but you
did everything you were told.

To lie down is not hard work.

Good lass.

Good lass.

I'm glad this baby's
arriving before we leave.

But if it's the first baby born
in the new branch house, it seems

to me it should be brought into
the world by one of the sisters.

Yes.

It should.

Oh, I am keeping people waiting.

They're all just as they were.

When they were here.

When we were all at home.

BABY CRIES

A little girl, Yuechan.

Congratulations.

Look at her.

Just look at her!

And, lass, she's gorgeous.

You have been my mother.

Now I'm hers.

I give her name that always
bring your face to me.

We all agreed that Phyllis
was too hard to say.

Not Phyllis.

Lass. Lass is easy to say.

And happy to remember.

I have seen death before.

It is terrible.

And it can be beautiful.

I think today, it was that.

I have seen lovers come
to fetch the dying.

I have seen mothers come...

..but I have known no lover,
I have borne no child...

..and my parents spurned me.

I have asked myself, more often
of late than in years gone by...

..who will come for me
when my time on Earth concludes?

Your sisters will come for you.

Those you knew in life.

Those who coached you
through the novitiate.

Those who knelt beside you in prayer

and by the beds of
everyone you served.

So many sisters will come.

God can't have you yet, Sister.

We can't spare you.

We should perhaps
turn our attention...

..for the return of those we love.

The Hong Kong party?

Let us light lights with the living

and marvel at them while we may.

DOOR OPENS

Christopher, are you going
to give your mummy a kiss?

Please, keep him warm.

I've a coat to put on him,

as well as this cardigan.

It used to belong to his sister.

I like that.

Bring him home soon.

Make sure you're smiling. Look!

Smile!

TIMER WHIRS

Quick, quick, quick!

SHUTTER CLICKS

THEY CHEER

The little boy will get better,
won't he?

There's every chance
he'll get better.

Till then,
we just have to take care of him.

And be his family.

DOOR OPENS

Oh, they're here!

Oh, I missed you! Oh, Miss Higgins!

Haven't they managed well?

And this is Christopher.

He looks so sweet.

Baby Christopher.

Isn't he small?

His hair feels like mine.

Oh, my goodness,

I've been dying to see your face.

Christmas can start now, can't it?

Yes, it can.

Because I've made tea
and you're home.

Ah!

Does Christmas come at the end
of the year or does it

provide its turning point?

Is it the moment where we
close the door on all that has

passed in the months
that have preceded it?

Or is it the time where we open our
arms and say, "Come, we are ready.

"We will embrace it all."

Christmas begins with a baby.

Therefore, Christmas is
all that is unknown.

All we must cherish.

And all we must
shield from the winds of fortune,

like a candle flame.

# O come, let us adore him

# Christ, the Lord! #