Original subtitles

PLANE ENGINE REVS

GRACE: I repeat, mayday, mayday, mayday.

This is Cessna Alpha Foxtrot, three five niner.

We're experiencing critical engine failure.

CRASH

(yells) Grace!

THEME SONG

MAN: We've got an impalement over here.

FOOTSTEPS APPROACH

Get on to the chopper, we need an ETA.

G'day, mate, we're going to get you out of here.

Can you tell me your name?

Mate, your name?

(whispers) My side.

Looks like someone did a good job of patching you up here.

Grace?

She's being looked after.

Stay real still for me. Don't move a muscle.

How long... how long have we been out here?

All night.

CHOPPER BLADES WHIRR

Looks like your taxi is here, mate.

We'll have you out of here in a shake.

ROOSTER CROWS

I told you that mattress was a hundred years old.

Morning.

Your mattress was fine, I slept like a log.

Liar.

But if you'd rather sleep out here

instead of inside in a nice comfy bed.

Hey, it's not that the offer wasn't attractive.

Don't let me stop you, son.

I'm sorry, I just, uh, I didn't realise. Vincent Hughes.

Dad, Vincent. Vincent, Dad.

Welcome aboard.

Everyone round here just calls him Doc.

See you out there.

Don't worry about it. He's okay.

You should eat something.

He's not okay. How does he cope?

He just does.

I thought you told me you were just helping out here.

I told you Dad was sick.

You didn't tell me the Parkinson's was this advanced.

And this place needs a doctor.

Yes, it does. A qualified doctor.

Full house out here. Let's get cracking.

On our way.

I do what I have to do. Best training ground in the State.

This isn't a joke. I know.

Well it is another locum today. Be nice to him.

Vincent. What are you doing?

Don't move, don't move.

Sorry.

I have to stop this. I have to stop the bleeding.

You're burnt. I'm okay.

I got the mayday call off and they're going to be here soon.

Vincent, stay awake. Please, just try to stay awake.

SCOTT: He was transported by chopper, delayed half an hour.

Landing off site due to high winds.

He's got penetrating wounds to the abdomen

following a light aircraft crash.

Partial thickness burns to his right shoulder,

lost a lot of blood, hypothermic.

Hughes, are you with us? Oh, my God.

He's had two litres of Hartmanns

Obs?

BP's 85 on 50, heart rate 120, CCS is 10, and stats are at 95%.

Get a pressure bandage applied and some sutures to the abdo wound.

Reg, can you trace up the pathology on Mrs Filmer, for me, please?

Reg?

That was Dr Hughes. He just came in...in an ambulance.

He looked terrible.

Keep those fluids pumping. Get him rehydrating.

And put in a catheter.

Stats are still 90%.

You, out.

He's lost a lot of blood.

I'll have to group and crossmatch for a blood grouping.

He's O-neg. Got it.

Get a chest and abdo CT. That wasn't a request, Beaumont.

We'll need to set up for a central line.

FBCs, UECs, any sign of inhalation burns?

The entry's good, resps normal.

What is that?

Shit. Need a surgical consult now.

Grace.

You've done a bit of a job on yourself.

Somebody patched you up, probably saved your life.

It was Grace.

Would you let any other intern get away with this crap?

What is it? Her big brown bovine eyes?

Why do you always reduce things to personal motives?

Because you're being irrational

and that smacks to me of emotional involvement.

It's none of your business.

It is when it affects the running of this hospital.

You pull her into line. That's my last warning.

I can't. Keep him still.

That piece of metal moves I'll be writing his bloody death certificate.

For once be a little sensitive. I need sterile drape.

Just get the drape and get that line in.

Vincent listen to me, don't move.

He's bumped out the cannula.

Surgical registrar is still tied up. He'll be here ASAP.

Tell them to get someone here now,

or I'll wheel this bastard to theatre and leave him in the bloody corridor.

Temps down, 35.

Bloody burns.

Vincent? Listen to me, you have to stay still, okay?

It's alright, it's alright. Nice and still.

VINCENT: Nice and still, that's the way.

Nice and still, good work. Okay, you're all done.

I'll give you some antibiotic drops

but I reckon you'll be fine in a couple of days.

Next time you want to go hiding in the grass, do me a favour,

keep your eyes closed.

I will. Good boy.

You're good with them. Kids, I mean.

Old Doc doesn't have much patience for the young ones these days,

do you, Doc?

Behave yourself, Hannah.

You don't scare me, Connelly.

You going to come out here and work in the clinic

when it's up and operating?

What clinic?

It'll be different round here then.

No more sitting on someone's verandah waiting for a doctor.

There's nothing wrong with my verandah.

We've been fund-raising for nearly five years.

How close do you reckon we are now, Gracie?

Hannah, we've got a lot of patients to see today, so um...

I know, I know. Bugger off, Hannah.

You should think about coming up and working in it, Dr Hughes.

We could use a new body round here.

Especially one that looks like yours.

Don't go getting yourself all excited, Hannah.

You've got blood pressure problems as it is.

Dad takes care of the Medicare forms.

It gives him something useful to do. Okay.

You okay? Yeah, fine.

I'm alright. Look at me.

You're not alright, you idiot.

Listen to me, Vincent, you need surgery. Do you understand me?

Vincent?

I think, I've got to do an abdominal ultrasound.

Hey.

Hey, Vincent? That's it. Just stay with me.

Just stay with me.

Grace.

MELANCHOLY MUSIC

VINCENT: I believed in you.

Can you hear me?

I believed in you.

(mutters) I hear you.

I believed in you.

Grace.

Free fluid in the abdominal cavity.

Bowel's definitely perforated.

Peritonitis.

I think, it's time we put a rocket up that gastro specialist.

He's not going to tell us anything we don't already know.

He could be looking at a small bowel resection and colostomy.

You realise that? Here.

Temp?

Still low - 35.4.

No change?

He's stable. Just.

I wonder if anyone's spoken to Grace's family.

She had family?

Father.

What the hell was he doing out the back of buggery anyway?

Hey, it's okay.

That Hannah can talk the hind leg off a donkey.

She's very courageous.

Chronic emphysema. It'd be hard to live with.

You try doing it when your husband drops dead of a heart attack,

you lose your eldest son in a head-on,

you've got 60,000 acres to run.

Breed 'em tough out here, don't we, Grace?

I like people with spirit.

Dad, I'll do it.

CHINA SPLINTERS

It's alright.

Try to relax, Doc.

Can you get his medication? Top drawer, under the sink.

Alright.

Stop, stop, stop, stop fussing. It's okay, just sit down.

Does this happen often?

Yeah, it's been happening lately. Quite a bit.

Dad, you should really lie down.

I'll just rest up here for a bit before we...

..do the house calls.

Doc, this is ridiculous. You can't keep this up.

Vincent.

It's obvious you've done more for this community than anyone else

but maybe it's time to slow down.

Take some time for yourself. Rubbish, rubbish.

You're taking an enormous risk.

Do you understand?

With your health, Grace's career, with your patients.

They need me here.

Long as I can still walk and talk, I am the doctor.

Now, if you'll excuse me.

I will have that lie down.

He is a very proud man, Vincent.

You don't understand.

BLEEPING

Vincent?

Please.

Vincent, open your eyes. Come on.

Everything okay? I need a doctor in here.

Vincent, look at me, come on.

He's crashing.

I can't get a BP, he's unresponsive and he's got multi-focal ectopics.

What's going on? He's in VT.

Shit.

Set at 200 joules.

Get some adrenaline ready.

Clear.

(panting)

Try again. 200.

Give one milligram adrenalin.

Charging 200.

Clear.

Still in VT. Try 360.

Give 100 Lignocaine.

Do not do this, Vincent.

Clear.

(sighs)

Yep, sinus.

Vincent, can you hear me?

Get him intubated and get out of here.

I don't care if we have to gatecrash an operation to do it.

Whoa, whoa, hold your horses, Beaumont. Don't go off half-cocked.

(moans)

Welcome back.

Find out what the hell that was about.

I want an ABG, I want to see his electrolyte levels,

and I want theatre on the phone.

Hey.

You scared the shit out of me.

He really should have been brought in before now.

It's a wonder he's here at all. Good work, Sam.

How long's he had this?

Couple a days.

He'll need surgical debriding. Good luck making that happen.

What does that mean? That debriding thing.

It means we have to get your uncle off to the base hospital.

No bloody way!

Narapurri, your ankle is badly infected.

Now, I can't fix it. Not without an operation.

So all I can do is redress it...

Do the operation here. I can't.

Maybe when the clinic is finally built, things will be different

but for now it's the base hospital or nothing.

The clinic. Right.

Uncle can get his diabetic stuff, learn how to look after himself.

Yeah, I've heard all that. It's bullshit.

Why don't you get lost, Sam?

Come on. Hey, guys. Uncle can't go to the base.

Why not?

Because they won't let him drink there.

Isn't that right, Narapurri?

Narapurri has the worst luck, don't you?

Chemists won't let him fill his insulin prescriptions,

market won't let him buy good food

so he can follow the diet we set him.

That stuff costs a lot money. Really?

Grace. And where does your pension go, eh?

Pub mostly.

No point in even trying.

Stay here.

Piss off.

That girl can be a bit of a handful

when she's got a full head of steam on.

Best to let her calm down for a while.

Might want to chase those boys down too.

Forgot to sign their form.

Doc, you've billed this as a long consultation.

They were only here for 10 minutes.

Oh, stupid old man's eyes. I'll fix it, fix it.

Right, one tablet twice a day with food.

Hey. What was all that about?

Nothing. Sam's just a bit of a trouble-maker.

Maybe you said the wrong thing.

Oh, what?

You think I'm racist because I don't like Sam

and because I say his uncle's an alcoholic?

I say exactly the same thing to Fred James every other day, Vincent.

He's white. An alcoholic with liver disease.

Look, Grace... No.

We are killing ourselves out here

and sometimes I wonder why we bother.

Because if we don't, no-one else will.

Sorry. It just gets to me.

VINCENT: What's going on?

We're taking you to theatre.

(groans)

Vincent, you have a perforated bowel and peritonitis.

Hackett's doing the op.

He'll make sure all the bits and pieces go back.

Where's Grace?

I'll try to find out. Don't lie to me.

You need to concentrate on getting yourself better first, okay.

Where is she?

Charlotte.

I'm so sorry.

GRACE: I'm sorry. I really am.

We were just trying to help.

That means nothing if it's all a lie.

You saw for yourself how much those people need him.

They love him. He loves them.

Bullshit.

If we hadn't spent that money on my plane, Vincent,

then I would be full-time in the city studying.

Or worse still, not studying at all.

What good would that be to those people?

The end doesn't justify the means.

Is this really what we should be talking about?

We are lying here in the middle of nowhere, you're still bleeding...

I'm...

If this is the last conversation we ever have,

is this really what you want it to be about?

Is this how you want it to end?

DRAMATIC MUSIC

He'll be alright.

I hope so.

How long were you guys married?

Sorry, that was none of my business.

No, it's okay.

We were both young.

We didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into.

You're obviously still close.

Yeah.

(groans)

Almost there.

BELL TINGS

HORN TOOTS

Friend of yours?

INSISTENT HORN TOOTING

Help! Doc!

I need help! It's Joey!

She went under the tractor.

We're going to need a tourniquet.

Dad, get the medical bag. Hurry.

She'll be okay, right?

Won't be able to tell, until I can stop this bleeding.

How long has she been unconscious?

Since I put her in the ute.

Okay.

Tourniquet round the upper limb just above the wound.

We need saline to clean this.

Her dad's gonna kill me.

She was meant to be going into town and she turned up at Smiley's...

Go sit on the ground. Dad will look after you.

Suture to reduce the bleeding.

It would be better if we got her off to a hospital.

That is at least four hours away, maybe more.

Okay.

Okay, give me the suture and just keep an eye on her obs.

Vincent, can you hear me?

Hey.

How you feeling?

What...?

The operation's over.

You had a small bowel resection via laparotomy.

Shush. You're going to be fine.

You said Grace was...

Did I dream that?

She was gone before rescue could get to you.

She must've known she wasn't going to make it.

She was burnt and she...

..she wouldn't rest.

She was just too busy trying to help me.

She was trying to save you.

(sighs)

Okay, I'm going to let you rest now.

There's a PCA here if the pain is bad. Here.

I wish there was something I could do to make this easier.

I could always count on you, Charlotte.

Shush. Just rest now. We'll talk later.

Even when you were breaking my heart, I could still count on you.

Made a terrible mistake.

DOC: Come in, come in.

Sorry, Doc, I just got to check an X-ray.

Good luck.

Cantankerous, bloody machine only works when it feels like it.

Give it a good bash if it doesn't work.

Any news about Joey?

Yeah, the base hospital just rang to say she's having an open reduction.

Silly girl.

Should have stayed away from that Nugget fellow.

Nothing good will come from it.

Hey, you know, Grace was right.

If we'd waited to get her to the hospital she would've lost that arm.

Yeah, probably.

She's a great girl. Sacrificed a lot to help me out.

Did great work out there today. Both of you.

Arterial bleeding, partial amputation - tricky stuff.

You and Grace, you're a good team.

Reminds me of her mother and me.

Hey, Doc, why don't you take a break? I can do this paperwork.

Paperwork belongs to me, no-one else.

But they're just forms and I can...

The day I can't handle it, they can hoof me off to the glue factory.

That day isn't today.

Besides...

..I got a hunch Gracie's got other plans for you tonight.

What?

I was just thinking how quiet it is. Nice change.

Yeah. It gets like that out here.

You were amazing today.

For a city doctor.

I got to admit, I felt a bit like a med student again.

A bit out of my depth.

Not with me, I hope.

No, not with you.

Anyway, it was a hell of an eye-opener.

90km for a house call, no equipment or facilities.

Why do you do that?

Do what?

Back off just when things are getting interesting.

I didn't realise I was.

Two lies in one day. No dessert for you.

Couldn't eat it anyway.

Well...

..it's getting late.

Yes, it is.

And...

..we've a pretty big day tomorrow...

Yes, we do.

So, um...

..remind me again,

just how tempting the old mattress on the verandah is.

Great answer.

So you think he'll make a full recovery?

Physically, yes. But it's a little more complicated than that.

Grace was his intern, I don't understand...

Not just his intern.

Oh.

I didn't realise.

Neither did I.

They would have made a great couple.

Give me those! Why, Grace?

Because it's none of your business.

Let me help you... Don't touch me.

Finally awake I see.

You're doing well. You were lucky.

I thought I was going to be down a good pair of hands in Emergency.

Yeah, lucky me.

What the hell were you doing there anyway?

I was...

..sorting a few things out.

And did you? Sort them out?

I see.

You know about Grace? She didn't make it.

I'm sorry, Vincent. She would've made a bloody good doctor given some work.

You didn't know her at all, Frank.

No, no. But I'm guessing you did.

And I'm guessing it wasn't entirely on a professional basis.

Her father's been contacted.

Does he know about your... the situation between you?

Yes.

When he arrives I can arrange for him to see you?

I don't want to see him or talk to him.

Just leave it at that, okay?

Good morning.

You don't know how happy I am right now.

Really?

Mmm. I was hoping I hadn't dreamt last night.

Do you often have dreams like that?

I've had quite a lot of them lately.

Guess what else?

I...

..am...

...absolutely starving.

You better not wander out like that. You might give my dad a heart attack.

Sleep better last night?

Yes, I did. Thank you.

Half your luck.

Is your dad okay that we...

He knows about the birds and the bees.

And while he might have a few vision problems, he's certainly not deaf.

And we weren't exactly quiet.

So, what's on the agenda for this morning then, huh?

Well, Sunday is our day off.

Seeing as we don't have to be back till this afternoon, I don't know,

I thought we might take a drive, do some sightseeing.

Sounds good. Now, where's the bacon and eggs?

Typical man. One night of sex and I'm the maid.

You're not the only one who's starving.

Your highness.

Let's not go back today.

I have to go back today. I'm on duty tomorrow.

Let's not go back at all.

I'm serious. Dad's not going to be around forever

and, well, there's more than enough work for two doctors out here.

Sorry, I know. Entirely premature thinking on my part.

But what have you got to lose?

What about your degree?

I'll commute, same as I do now.

You can hold the fort here.

Typical woman, right? One night of sex and she thinks it's forever.

That wasn't what I was going to say.

No pressure, okay? Just something to think about.

And I will. I'll think about it.

Doc here?

Sam, you know the rules. Not inside the house.

It's Uncle, he's real sick.

Temp's 39.6.

He's been chucking up all night.

And that leg smells real bad.

The infection's a lot worse.

No choice now. We've got to get you off to hospital.

He won't go.

If he doesn't, he'll probably die. At best, he's going to lose his foot.

We have to do this. We can't treat him here.

I'll make him understand.

I'll ring through to the hospital, let them know we're on our way.

He better not die. I'll blame you.

They're going to look after you.

So you the real deal, then?

What are you talking about?

Or you just like them?

Okay, out with it, Sam. Come on.

She told you about the clinic, right?

Not much, no.

Doesn't surprise me. She wouldn't want you getting too close.

Sam, either you spit it out or...

You know how much money the town has raised so far?

Almost quarter of a million bucks.

That's impressive.

You know what we've got to show for it? Her new plane.

So what does that tell you?

It doesn't matter how much money we raise, there'll never be a clinic.

That's a pretty serious accusation.

It's not just the fund-raising. Take a look at the Medicare forms.

All long consultations, every one of them.

If that's true, why haven't you said anything?

Right, and Uncle gets no medical treatment at all.

And none of us do.

Doctors aren't exactly lining up to work out here.

Okay, guys, all organised.

Let's get him to the truck.

Vincent...

You okay?

Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine.

Hey, thought you might like this.

Thank you.

Look, why don't I stay here while you take a break?

No. It's fine.

He'll need you, Charlotte. It'll be easier if you get out for a while.

Take that outside and have some fresh air.

I won't leave him, I promise. Go on.

Thank you.

Hey, how are you feeling?

They're all wrong.

These are all wrong, every one of them.

You went through Dad's desk?

How could you do that?

I need to know what's going on around here.

Give those to me. Why, Grace?

Because it's none of your business.

You okay? Don't.

No, don't touch me.

I should never have let you come here. It was a huge mistake.

Just relax.

What's going on?

I don't know. He's restless and mumbling to himself.

He's not spiking a temp? No, I think he's dreaming.

Vincent?

You're at All Saints. You've just had surgery.

The letter...

I'll come back and relieve you when I can.

What letter?

The health department withdrew approval for the clinic

three years ago.

They've been raising money

for something that's never going to happen.

I don't know what you're talking about.

(gasps) Vincent, here.

Ssh.

Grace and her father were scamming everybody.

Billing Medicare for long consultations that never took place,

ripping off the community.

I thought she was so amazing.

I thought that maybe we...

I was so bloody stupid.

I need to see her, Charlotte.

I should report Doc Connelly to the AMA.

You know, a sick man just lost his daughter.

Why not wait until Vincent's well enough to make the decision himself?

How's Vincent?

Oh, you know, he's seen better days.

It's so sad. Grace was such a nice girl.

I just mean, she was really lovely, wasn't she?

And they looked so good together.

Dr Connelly's on his way in. Do you want to talk to him?

No, I don't think now is the time or the place.

What's this? A tupperware party?

Do you really think tough love is the right approach today, Frank?

Yes, it's been a difficult day, Nelson,

but I don't think standing around sobbing into our teacups

is going to do much good.

He's right.

Hey, hang on. Are you okay?

Vincent wants to see Grace's body.

Do you think he should?

He really needs to do this.

Are you sure that you're up to this?

ETHEREAL MUSIC

If this is the last conversation we ever have,

is this really what you want it to be about?

Is this how you want it to end?

I wish it had never started.

I don't believe you.

There is no way you could of said the things you said last night

look at me the way you did and not mean it.

Vincent...

..I meant it.

I love you.

POIGNANT MUSIC