I always thought that Jess was the perfect mother.
I forgot that perfection is an illusion.
Something created, filtered and tweaked.
And then something happens.
Some tiny mishap.
Some little disaster, that at first seems trivial.
And the illusion starts to crumble.
[indistinct chatter]
And suddenly you look at this perfect mother,
and you ask yourself
what else is she hiding?
[baby crying]
Sorry, I am sorry.
I will call you as soon as we have been seen.
[baby screaming]
[breathing heavily]
[banging on car]
Go!
[man coughing]
She is bleeding...
It's all right. - Can someone help me, please!
[baby crying] - [phone ringing]
We see lots of cases like this.
A couple of days of intravenous antibiotics,
maybe another course at home. He is going to be fine.
You are needed in A&E - Little girl, ten months old,
subdued, immobile, vomiting, but no fever.
She is in cubicle five with Mum.
Cubicle five? - Yeah.
[indistinct chatter]
You know what's worse than a screaming baby?
A&E on a Friday night.
No-one wants to be there. Especially the doctors.
[indistinct chatter]
Jess.
Hi. - Hello.
well, I had say it was good to see you, but obviously...
Yeah, Liz, um, do you think we could see another doctor?
You know,
we know each other, so...
Yeah. Um... I am afraid there isn't one free right now.
Do you want me to carry on? - Of course.
No, of course. I didn't mean to offend you.
Hello, Betsey.
Tell me what's wrong.
I don't know, I was asleep and Ed woke me,
- said she had been sick. - It's probably nothing, some sort of virus.
I shouldn't have brought her in, but he insisted.
How long has she been like this?
Uh, I suppose she was a bit grizzly at bedtime, but...
And when was she sick?
Approximately.
I don't know.
Well, that's okay,
it's a nightmare keeping up with them at this age.
I am gonna just call a colleague In,
while I do a physical examination of Betsey.
It's standard procedure, just to have someone else present, okay?
Dr Morris?
Got a second for a little exam? - Yeah.
Are you okay, honey?
Okay, this is, uh, Dr Morris.
This is Mrs Carrisford, and this is Betsey.
Hey, what's this?
What's this?
Oh.
[Betsey crying]
Okay. This bit might tickle.
[Betsey fussing]
[Betsey screaming]
[Betsey continues screaming]
Got a boggy swelling there. - [Betsey screaming]
What?
Did Betsey bump her head?
Jess. Could Betsey have had some kind of accident?
No, no.
She is got some swelling on the back of her head.
Maybe some bruising. - [Betsey continues crying]
Um, actually, yeah, she did.
She did bang her, her head earlier.
I just didn't think it was serious.
How?
Ah, she
slipped and banged it.
What time was this?
Like 5, 5:30, maybe.
And, um, where was she when this happed?
She was crawling in the living room.
I, I think she must have, uh, you know, pulled herself up.
I don't know. I was in the kitchen at the time,
getting a snack for Frankie.
I was gone for a second.
Okay, I can take it from here.
Thanks, Ronan. - Yeah.
Do we get you warm? Should we keep you warm?
It's okay. Accidents happen, right?
So let's, um... Tell me again.
You were in the kitchen and Betsey was in the living room.
And then...
I can't watch them every second, you know?
I...
I heard a thud, but I didn't think she had hurt herself.
Is it bad?
[phone ringing]
It's the middle of the night.
I expect to be woken up by my junior doctors,
but I had hoped for a little more restraint from you,
Dr Burgess.
Yeah, sorry to bother you. - Just give me the detail.
Ten month old,
suspected skull fracture.
Significant bruising.
Is the wound bleeding? - No.
Child responsive but reduced activity compared to normal.
How did it happen?
Mum said she slipped while crawling,
trying to pull herself up.
Crawling on what, a cliff?
The parents came in immediately, I hope?
No, um...
Happened around 5:30. Mum came to A&E about 10:15.
A delay of nearly five hours?
I know.
Um... I am just waiting on the CT scan.
But... if it is a fracture...
Then she didn't slip crawling.
It's just that Mum's a friend of mine.
Oh, well, then that makes things a lot more difficult.
But as Senior Registrar, I am afraid you are the only one
that can make the decision, Elizabeth.
We will discuss it at handover.
Okay. - [phone beeps]
Jess isn't a great believer in modern medicine.
She is, uh
the last person you had expect to see in A&E with her kids.
But that night, she was...
She was nothing like the Jess I met 11 years ago.
[indistinct chatter]
Hello. - Hi.
Hi. I am so sorry. My husband's running behind.
Should we wait for him? - Oh, no. It's fine.
I don't want to hold everybody up.
So, let's start by introducing ourselves and explaining
what we had like to get out of this.
Well, a baby ideally.
[laughter]
Uh, yeah, I am Jess.
And I am here
because I want to be the best mom that I can be,
and I want to learn how to be a better parent than my own.
And, yeah, I just want my little boy to know
that he is the absolute centre of my world.
That's lovely. - Okay, yeah.
Thanks.
I am Liz.
Yeah, I suppose I, I feel the same.
I, um, yeah, I just want to leave here feeling confident
that I can be that sort of mother.
[laughter]
Hello?
Hello.
Um, hi.
This, this is really embarrassing,
but I am stuck on the loo.
Is this Liz?
Jess?
Yeah.
Oh, I can't... I just can't get myself back up.
They are so small and low.
Oh. I am sorry.
I don't know why I am laughing. Do you need a hand?
Um, yeah. Like if I unlock the door,
would it be too weird for you to pull me up?
No, of course not. Of course not.
Hi.
I am so sorry.
Oh, God.
Oh.
Thank God. Thank you.
You all right? - Yes.
That is, um, that's properly mortifying.
And to top it all off, I needed a wee through the entire thing.
I know! People kept asking questions.
Yeah, and I didn't want to miss anything important.
So true.
I don't really have any friends nearby that have babies.
My family's, like, 3,000 miles away, so...
Oh, wow.
If it's any consolation,
my mum lives around the corner and she is no sodding use.
Well, that's it then.
What's it?
You and I are going to be friends after this.
Okay. Well, I am down for that.
Good.
Oh, I am admitting the baby from A&E into ICU,
so we need to prep for arrival, please.
Baby's less interactive than normal.
She is vomited once. Ronan's going to do some blood.
And I have already ordered a CT scan.
Head injury?
Yeah. Significant bruising. Could be a fracture.
Poor kid.
Jess, the mum, said she did it whilst crawling.
Like she tried to pull herself up and fell.
That doesn't add up.
Oh, God, I hate these cases.
Social services is going to be all over it.
What is it?
She is a really close friend of mine.
Oh.
Yeah. We have been on holiday together and everything.
We been through two pregnancies. Our kids are in the same class.
She is the perfect mum.
You are not her friend right now.
You are that baby's doctor.
Okay, let's get her upstairs, shall we?
Where's Mum?
How's Betsey? Been seen? - Well...
She is had an initial assessment.
What did they say? - Not much.
It's chaos here.
I am not surprised.
Any idea what's wrong with her? - No. Not yet.
The hospital didn't go into details, I don't know.
I gotta go.
Jess.
[phone beeps]
Okay, so we are gonna take her for a CT scan now,
and then we are going to pop her up on the ward.
You ready? - Okay.
Okay, honey.
Mummy's here.
You are gonna be fine.
The whole night, I had this lump in my throat right here.
I couldn't shift, I couldn't swallow it.
I started to think the worst.
Is it definitely a fracture?
Yeah.
And a significant one.
See, instead of the nice curved white line of the skull,
you can see the partially depressed fracture just here.
And a subdural haematoma.
Yeah, I see it.
This was textbook.
In any other case, I would say someone had hurt this baby.
Parents can do some terrible things
in moments of frustration.
So...
I asked myself, is it completely inconceivable
that that's what's happened here?
[monitor beeping]
Jess?
Oh. How is she?
I am afraid the scan has confirmed
that Betsey does have a skull fracture and a bleed.
Oh, my God.
What?
Oh, my God.
We are gonna need to keep Betsey in under observation
and try and keep her completely still.
The next 48 hours are critical.
Critical?
Yeah.
Betsey's got a bruise, and it's pressing on her brain,
so we need to try and get that swelling down,
just to prevent any more damage.
Baby.
Jess, we need to talk about,
about how this might have happened.
It's unlikely that a head injury like this
was sustained from a simple fall.
I mean, toddlers fall all the time.
Are you sure there's nothing else that happened?
Maybe she fell down the stairs or rolled off her bed.
These things happen. Jess?
Remember when Rosa slipped in the bath and got concussion?
I felt like the worst mum in the world, but...
Is there anything, anything at all, that you need to say to me?
I won't judge.
Please. You can tell me anything.
If you can think of something that might help.
This is your last chance.
Jess.
Could anyone have hurt Betsey?
No.
Hi, sweetie.
[sighs]
Hi.
Yeah, hi. This is Dr Burgess
from the paediatric department at Thames Bank Hospital.
We have had a little girl come in with a fractured skull
and no real explanation of how it happened.
If the duty social worker could come as soon as possible,
that'd be really helpful, thanks.
She didn't have to make the call.
She had to make the call.
[breathing deeply]
[Betsey crying]
[Betsey screaming]
Jess, wake up. There's something wrong with her.
You need to take Betsey to the hospital.
What happened? - Didn't you hear her cry?
Hey! Get up!
I don't know what's going on. - [Betsey continues screaming]
I had take her, but I am over the limit.
[Betsey continues screaming]
What are you doing? Are you brushing your hair?
This is serious!
Come on.
[Be tsey crying] - Oh, sweetie.
[phone vibrating]
[phone continues vibrating]
Dad, I am starving.
What do you want for break fast? Eggs? Toast?
Where's Betsey and mummy?
All right, let's do scrambled eggs then.
Frankie doesn't eat scrambled eggs. He only eats boiled eggs.
And they have to be exactly right, or they make him feel sick.
Where are they? Where's mummy?
Betsey was poorly, so mummy took her to the hospital,
so the doctors can make her feel better, all right?
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, it's all right. Don't worry, champ.
Hey. She is gonna be fine.
She will be fine.
But, dad, they will be back for my party, right?
Yeah.
Can I have this piece?
[phone rings] - Thank you.
You guys all done?
Yeah. - Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Hi, everybody.
[sighing] Oh, fucking hell.
[indistinct chatter]
Where have you been all night? - Out.
Working.
I am trying to fucking sign someone.
No call, no text. - Oh, my God!
[indistinct chatter]
I can't win, can I? Because if I texted you at 2 a.m.,
you had be pissed off at me for waking you up, so...
Don't make this about me, Rob.
[doorbell buzzes]
Is anyone gonna get that?
I have been calling her for 15 minutes.
See what these guys are up to. Hi, guys.
Look who I found. - Shouldn't I take my shoes off?
No. You are fine. Don't worry. - Do you ever answer your phone?
You ready? - Ready for what?
Ed called. He needs help setting up. You are the creative.
You know I am dreadful at kids' parties.
No, you are not. You are just too busy doing a big girl's job.
Why would they need our help?
Jess has been planning this party for literally months.
Well, you know what the NHS is like.
Betsey probably hasn't even been seen yet.
What do you mean?
Jess is in A&E with Betsey.
Oh, no. - It's nothing serious, is it?
I honestly don't know.
I am quite surprised, to be honest with you.
You know Jess, usually it's all elderberry syrup.
[chuckles]
They are not cancelling the party?
Well, would you like to be the one to tell an eight-year-old,
who may or may not be on the spectrum,
that his party's cancelled?
What a clusterfuck.
What about your birthing plan?
Oh, yeah.
I would like not to die. - Fair.
And I had like the baby not to die.
Obviously, that would be most important thing.
Um, and then I had like just painkillers.
All of the painkillers,
all the drugs. - Absolutely.
Well, due to my work schedule, I will be...
Well, I have planned an induction several days before my due date.
I will be birthing George
in the McPherson Wing at Brooke GeneraI.
It's really popular with the royals.
[laughter]
And who would you like to be present?
Um, well, I suppose Andrew will be there.
Andrew will. - Yes.
Well done, Andrew.
Ideally, I really would like to get back to work
sort of three to six months afterwards.
I am a partner at a major law firm, so...
Wow. - So that's me.
Thanks. Um, I, I don't have a birth plan.
I am sorry I didn't... - That's okay.
Or much of a clue!
Do you know what, actually, this wasn't planned,
so we are just winging it. - Yeah.
Sorry, sorry.
Yes. Hello, darling.
Hi.
Hello. Hello, everyone.
Sorry I am late. District Line was off. - Hi.
What did I miss?
Webber?
Hi. - Charlotte Webber?
Yes. - What a coincidence.
I know.
Sorry, actually, it's Hinman now, obviously.
Yeah. - Right.
Charlotte and I went to uni together.
Oh, wow. That's crazy.
Sorry, and you are? - Sorry, Ed, Jess' lesser half.
Ed. Hi, Ed.
Jess, why don't you tell us about your birthing plan?
Uh, well, I think we had like a home birth.
So it's just going to be me and Ed,
um, a midwife and my doula.
As for music,
a bit of '80s pop.
I know it's a bit cheesy, but I do love a bit of George MichaeI.
Um, yeah.
And I want as little intervention as possible.
I just want it to be really peaceful.
I am sorry, but I am
a bit scared of hospitals.
No, they scare me, and I work in one.
Ed's not really into babies. He prefers kids
when they are old enough to kick a ball around with.
I find the Earth mother types to be the most unhinged.
Where did you meet him?
Not been together very... Ah.
Morning, Sheila.
Morning.
Liz is waiting to speak to you.
It's been one of those nights.
Well, Dr Burgess, what did you decide?
CT scan confirmed my suspicions.
It is a skull fracture.
So I have alerted child protection.
They are on their way.
I applaud your swift judgement.
I did what any good doctor would do.
Would you like to inform the mother
that social services are about to descend?
Or would you like me to?
I will do it.
Lucy. Hi.
Hi. - Thanks for coming.
Neil's waiting in the office, but I just wondered
if we could have a quick chat before the meeting.
The thing is, I know the mum personally.
It's not a good idea, Liz.
She is an old friend.
I know the family really well, and she is a great mum.
So I just think, there must be some other explanation.
Let's save it for the meeting, shall we?
Yep.
The mechanism of the fall doesn't match the injuries.
The child would have been in considerable distress.
The mum's failure to bring the baby in is alarming.
She is just, she is never been keen
on the medical establishment, that's all.
She is always felt like that.
What Elizabeth's trying to say is that the baby
hasn't been seen by a medical professional since birth.
Not one? - Nope.
No baby weigh-ins, no health visitors,
no GP appointments, no vaccinations.
She is just very mistrusting of hospitals, of us.
So what do we know about the family?
Uh, we know that they have two older sons, Frankie and Kit.
Um, they have never had any dealings with social services.
There's no history of alcohol or drug abuse in the home.
And what's known about the father?
I am assuming you have run background checks?
Okay, let's get the older boys in for a medical.
I will speak to the police, get permission to interview the mum.
We need to play this by the book, Liz.
[baby fussing]
Shit, I am so fucking shit at this!
No. Don't be silly. No, you are not.
I am. I am just like... God.
Even just getting out of the house this morning
was like some flipping mission for me.
The rest of you are all sailing through it.
[indistinct chatter]
Trust me, he was not this angelic at 3 a.m. This morning.
I am sorry. As if you got up at 3 a.m...
Not a chance.
God bless the au pair, huh?
Listen, Liz, the only reason that Mollie's asleep right now
is, I don't know, some sort of act of God.
Oh, hey, listen, you are everything, all right?
You are a wonderful mother.
You are an incredible doctor. You are a very loyal friend.
And you will get through this.
You will.
What would I have done if I hadn't met you lot?
I had just be stuck at home, going out of my mind,
literally losing my mind. Shush, shush.
[baby fussing] - Let me take her.
You can keep her. - Oh.
You know I don't mean that.
Oh, you poor thing.
Okay, shush.
[baby continues fussing]
Liz.
Don't feel bad.
Speaking of lending,
how about you lend us your au pair, Char?
Hey! Back off, bitch! She is mine. All mine.
Every time. See? How does she do it?
I don't know. She has the magic touch.
If she wasn't my friend, I had fucking hate her.
[monitor beeping]
LIZ: You okay?
Jess, because of the nature of Betsey's injuries,
I am afraid social services have been called in.
What?
Any unexplained injury of this nature,
it just automatically triggers an investigation.
I know that sounds serious, but it is standard.
It's not unexplained. I told you what happened.
Yeah, and I told you it wasn't possible.
So if you can just try and be honest with me,
then all of this will get cleared up.
But until then...
Who called them?
Who called them, Liz?
Wow.
Thank God for small mercies.
When are they coming back, Eddie?
I am not sure.
For all I know she is still waiting to be seen.
Hasn't she called you? - She is probably triaged,
behind 17 alcoholics, an acid attack and a stabbing.
Yeah, but she should keep him informed.
[doorbell chimes]
They are starting to arrive already?
I will go.
It's just a shame she is going to miss the start of the party.
Yeah.
Fifty screaming kids won't be easy on the hangover.
Go around the back.
Oh, look, Frankie's going to love his cake.
Oh, Ed, the rabbits have also arrived.
The what? - You know, for the petting zoo.
Oh, Jess really thinks of everything.
There you go. - Thank you.
Why don't you start by telling me how Betsey hurt herself?
I was making a smoothie, and, um, she was crawling around.
She tried to pull herself up on the fridge, and she fell.
You have a fridge in your living room?
I am sorry?
You told Dr Burgess that she was in the living room,
you were in the kitchen.
Oh. Uh, yeah, the kitchen.
Did you hear her fall?
Yes, I saw it happen.
I was with Frankie at the time.
My eight-year-old.
Mm.
Hey, family. - Hey.
Hello. Hi, little angel. Do I get a hug?
I am busy. - Oh.
Okay. - Hi, Mum.
Hello, gorgeous. Good day? - Yes.
[sighs]
Hello, Wife. - Hello, Husband.
Did you have a rough night?
You can tell, can you?
Yeah, you look a bit tired.
Oh, but, but, but lovely.
Of course. - No.
Jess came in with Betsey.
Oh, yeah?
Everything okay?
I had to call social services.
What? You are kidding.
I didn't... - On Jess?
Stop it! I feel shitty enough as it is.
It's bad. It's really bad.
Betsey's really hurt
and Jess doesn't seem to know how it's happened.
What, do you think she is to blame? Or Ed?
Well, Betsey didn't hurt herself, did she?
Shit. - I don't know.
I just don't know.
But it's just...
If anything, Jess is...
She is overprotective, isn't she?
Yeah, yeah, but she was really evasive.
Completely closed off. I have never seen her like that before.
I have hardly seen her, have I, since she had Betsey.
I have just been bogged down with, like, night shifts,
my mum, the kids, like... I have been a really shit friend.
No. Come on. - I have.
What happened between you two?
I know you always used to be so close.
People just drift apart, don't they?
Hmm.
You are a terrible liar.
Is the food ready yet?
Yes. Grub is up.
[indistinct chatter]
Sorry, please don't pick her up.
I know, I am her mother.
It's imperative that we keep Betsey stilI.
We don't want to risk further injury.
We are going to be keeping to strict
visiting times from now on.
Okay, but... - Lucy, this is probably better coming from you.
Dr Cockrell's right.
I am afraid you will need to be supervised by myself
or a colleague when you are with Betsey.
What? I am her mother.
I don't need to be supervised to be with my own child.
This is how it has to be for the foreseeable.
So I am afraid I am going to have to ask you to leave.
What?
No. She is sick.
What if she wakes up and I am not here?
She had be terrified. - We will take great care of her.
I am still breastfeeding. She needs me.
You won't be able to breastfeed for some time.
What, you had stop me from breastfeeding my own child?
No, no, you can express milk, and that will be fed to Betsey.
And we'll arrange regular visits.
I am going to find a new hospital.
You can't do that. - Of course I can.
No!
Do you understand what I am saying?
Your daughter is under an emergency protection plan.
If you attempt to remove her, we will get a court order
or police emergency powers will be used.
What are you doing, little rabbit? Yes.
[indistinct chatter]
[background conversations]
Brilliant. Proud of you.
Thanks for the invite! - It's great to see you again.
Over on the table. Thank you.
[indistinct chatter]
Hello. - I don't know those people.
I have never seen them before in my life.
Oh, don't worry, you are doing a great job.
Really? - Slow down.
Oh, hi.
Oh, mate, someone's parked across
your neighbour's driveway. - Oh, don't worry.
I will handle it. - Thanks.
What happened? - It bit me.
It's not funny. - It is.
[indistinct chatter]
Get out of my way!
Yah. - Come on. Hey!
No! All right, mate. Boys, just chill out.
Yeah. Just chill out. No fighting.
Oh, damn.
Yeah, there was a lot of talk
about the fact that they went ahead with the party.
[children playing, shouting]
Not over yet.
Oh. Beer or fizz?
Beer.
Thank you. - There you go.
Any news?
No.
Do you think it could be something like meningitis?
Charlotte! - I am just asking a question.
Oh, God, I hope not.
Is it something as serious as that?
As soon as this party is over, I am going to the hospital.
It's good Jess took her in just to be on the safe side.
Who won? - Who do you think?
Yeah. Did he cheat?
No surprise there.
Sorry to hear about Betsey.
Yeah, thanks.
[children shouting]
[Betsey screaming] - Betsey!
[Betsey continues screaming]
Hi, Liz.
[indistinct chatter]
Hey. - What are you doing here?
You are supposed to be in bed. - I couldn't sleep.
I couldn't stop thinking about Jess.
Is she here? - No.
How's Ed been?
Oh, hi.
Oh. Hi, love.
Ed is acting as if everything's kind of normal.
Really?
Hey. How are you holding up?
I will be happy when this party is over.
Yeah, I can imagine.
Poor Jess looked exhausted when I last saw her.
When did you see Jess?
Last night. I was on duty when she came in.
Oh, right. Maybe you can tell me what the hell's going on, then.
I mean, why has it taken so long for the NHS to treat Betsey?
Well, we just always like to keep children
with this kind of injury completely still.
Well, she was sick. She, she
went in with a bug or a virus.
Jess hasn't told you?
You need to talk to Jess right away.
You need to speak to Jess and Betsey's social worker, sorry.
Social worker? What are you talking about?
[indistinct chatter]
Wait a minute. Are you telling me that my daughter
is lying in a hospital with unexplained injuries,
which she did not have when she left this house?
I am sorry. - Someone has called social services on my family.
Take a beat. Catch your breath. Let's go. - Social services!
Catch your breath. - Why would you do that?
Don't walk a way from me. What are you doing?
We are looking for Edward Carrisford. Anyone?
Yeah, I am Edward Carrisford. Why?
I am DC Steve Rustin.
Lucy Harding. I am with Children's Services.
Do you mind if we go inside for a chat?
You should go.
The party was a disaster.
Liz lit the fuse.
Then it blew up.
There was just nothing we could do to stop it.
Turns out being a perfect mother is impossible.
You make mistakes,
and it doesn't matter what others think,
no-one judges you harder than yourself.
And sometimes,
the harder you try, the more you have to hide.
Because only you know what you have done.
It's uncomfortable for a friend to make a referral.
We are not as close as we used to be.
Here's to another ten years of friendship.
Cheers.
Frankie!
Frankie and Sam, they wandered off.
I have seen things that make me wonder.
There's a fine line between neglect and abuse.
What happened, Jess?
I am convinced this isn't an accidental injury.
You can't take our children!
They are not the perfect family.
And Ed's not the easygoing guy we thought he was.
Harmless fun, wasn't it?
What happened on Friday, Ed?
Someone in that house harmed that baby,
and one of them's lying about it.