S6 E12 (23 Dec 03) : In the Bleak Mid Winter by Leslie Stewart
Episode Summary
Following the explosion, Nic and Kelly have been brought into Holby, fighting for their lives. Kelly has banged her head, broken a few ribs and she seems a bit lost, but she is conscious and asking for Nic. Nic, on the other hand, is not doing well at all. He got a bigger impact from the explosion and has got severe injuries: he has 20% burns and they cannot get the bleeding in his stomach to stop. They are keeping him unconscious while hoping for him to recover, but it does not look good. The staff work with thinly disguised distaste for the nurse who has taken them and their hospital to hell and back. Lisa mentions that she probably is a psychopath, but Jess says that there must be reasons for her behaviour and is digusted when Lisa mentions that Nic must have known what Kelly was up to and trying to cover for her. This, however, makes Jess worried about what the truth might be, but she still stays by his side. Kath is also having a hard time; not only are the drugs making her stomach play up, but she also finds it very hard to come to terms with the fact that someone wanted to kill her and that Kelly is now in the hospital.
Everyone is hoping that they will quickly be able to move Kelly out of the hospital, but she starts complaining about having trouble breathing and it soon gets so bad that they have to operate. They realise that her bowel is all twisted and pressing her lungs. Ric freezes for a split second while operating on Kelly, but is spurred into action by Diane and together with Tom they can solve the situation. Ric mentions how easy it would be to make a little mistake that would kill her and no one would notice – in the same way as none of them had noticed what Kelly was up to. Meanwhile, Jess keeps vigil at Nic’s bedside in the intensive therapy unit. She’s upset when his mother Nina cannot bear to be around him but Nina soon admits that she’s to blame for this horrific situation, explaining how their father was the worst of all men she has been with, but that she could not stand it and had to escape, leaving the Kelly and Nic with him. Eventually Nina goes to visit Kelly and apologises for not being so scared of their father that she moved out. Kelly says that they will spend Christmas together this year and Nina squeezes her hand, staying next to her for the rest of the day.
Elsewhere, Ric takes Zubin with him when he goes to meet an administrator at the tax office to discuss his financial troubles. Zubin is shocked when he finds out that Ric owes £150,000! The administrator presents Ric with a plan, which results in him only getting £600 a month and everything else he earns will go to paying his debts – and even this way, it will take him three years to pay it off. Back at the hospital Zubin tells him off for not mentioning how bad things were earlier, when he still could have helped.
Mubbs uncharacteristically chooses to babysit for Rosie instead of going to Tom’s Christmas party. He is getting prepared for Rosie coming home, when the girls, who have been asleep, come downstairs explaining that they have got a stomach ache from eating too much chocolate. One of the girls is crying and throws up on Mubbs’ shoes resulting in him hiding behind the kitchen door, until he realises that he has to help them. He has finally got them back to sleep when a tipsy Sami unexpectedly turns up with Christmas presents, wanting to see the kids. Sami is angry at him for being there on his own with the children and gets even more so when Mubbs tries to explain that the girls are asleep and that he should not wake them up. Sami ignores that and tells him to leave, so Mubbs grabs his coat and goes to the Christmas party, where a drunk Tricia disgraces herself by falling over in the middle of Tom’s speech.
Millie Strachan is a pregnant woman who comes into hospital. While waiting in reception, she bumps into a man, Joe West, who is on the way home after finding out his father has died of cancer. Millie goes into labour and Joe takes her to maternity, where Rosie and Mubbs find out that she has not been to any appointments about her pregnancy and that she is homeless and has been moving around from shelter to shelter. A scan shows that the baby is a bit underdeveloped and on top of that, Millie has got a bad cough. While talking to Joe she starts coughing blood and tests that show she has got tuberculosis. The baby is also distressed and Owen decides that a cesarean is needed, because the infection has spread. Both Millie and the baby boy are put on antibiotics and things are looking better, even though Millie has trouble accepting that she needs to get a more stable and normal life for the sake of the baby. In the end of the day Joe goes down to the canteen and there he finds some snow globes that Matthew Shepherd, a middle-aged and overweight travelling salesman has been desperately trying to sell in the hospital and that the lady in the shop obviously has agreed to buy. He buys one of them and takes it up to Millie and the baby, but they are deep asleep so he leaves it on the table next to them, before walking away.
Patients
Kelly, injuries, including broken ribs and a raptured bowel after the gas explosion
Nic, kept unconscious after serious injuries caused by the explosion
Kath, recovering from the stabbing
Nina York, Kelly’s and Nic’s mother, still in hospital but getting better
Millie Strachan, a young homeless woman with tb, gives birth to a little boy
First Scene/words
[A nurse is putting up some Christmas decorations, while Diane and Tricia are walking past her]
Tricia: Kelly’s asking for Nic.
Diane: What have you told her?
Tricia: I haven’t told her anything yet.
Diane: The sooner they charge her and get her out of here, the better.
Tricia: She hardly knows where she is, never mind what she’s supposed to have done.
Diane: Four patients are dead, she’s stabbed Kath, she tried to kill her own mother. She’s hardly gonna be surprised.
Last Scene/words
[With “In the Bleak Midwinter” playing in the background, we can see Ric standing alone in his office, Kath lying in her hospital bed, Kelly’s mum sitting next to Kelly stroking her hair, Joe West placing a snow globe on the table next to a sleeping Millie and in the end there is Jess next to Nic’s bed.]
Jess: Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas, Nic.
Notable Facts
* Rowland Rivron plays Matthew Shepherd.
