In the ‘Crash House’ nightclub, receptionist Gilly hands her friend some tablets before leaving to go to her shift. A few hours later as the club is closing, bouncers find the girl collapsed in the toilets. The call an ambulance and when Josh and Nikki arrive she tells them that her name is Simone. At the hospital, Gilly comes through as the girl is wheeled in to the department. She clearly recognises Simone but quickly denies it. In a cubicle, Simone denies drinking any alcohol or taking drugs but says she is thirsty. Simon assumes she is dehydrated having been in the club all night and prescribes her some dextrose - intravenous rehydration. Later Gilly comes into the cubicle and tells her not to say anything about the tablets or they will both be in trouble. Anna comes in as she is leaving and Simone complains that her head hurts. She asks her again if she has taken any drugs and Simone starts fitting. Max comes in and asks about the drip. He is angry that Simon believed her when she said she had taken no drugs and did not take a complete history from her. Her blood results indicate that her sodium levels have dropped very low because she has drunk so much water. Anna takes Gilly to see Simone in resusc and tells her again that they need to know what she has taken. She also adds that she saw Gilly give Simone drugs in the hospital toilets. Gilly continues to deny both that and knowing Simone. The staff are unable to contact her parents because she is not carrying any ID. Max confirms that she had cerebral oedema and may suffer brain damage because of the pressure of the fluid. He believes that Simon may have made her situation worse by giving her the dextrose. Anna continues to challenge Gilly and tells Spencer that she is a friend of Simone. Gilly accuses her of making it up because she is jealous of her. Spencer refuses to believe that his daughter is a drug dealer – when Anna asks how he would feel if it were his daughter lying in resusc he walks away. When he confronts Gilly later who still insists that she does not know her. However, when he tells her that it would break his heart if it were her lying there she tears Simone’s number out of her Filofax and tells him to ring her parents. She storms off, telling her father that she preferred him when he was drunk. Anna tells Colette that it was Gilly who supplied Simone’s drugs. She calls the police but when they arrive to arrest he Gilly accuses Spencer of being a Judas. She also tells him that the staff in the department look down on him. Just before Gilly storms out, pursued by the police, Anna informs her that her father has a lot more respect and friends than she could ever have. However, Spencer accuses Anna of ruining Gilly’s life. Simone is wheeled past as Anna walks off.
During Mass, Father Crowley is disturbed by noises from the confession box. He goes to investigate and escorts and elderly tramp out of the church. When he returns, one of his parishioners, Michelle Lambert is kneeling in prayer. He asks her to leave, as he needs to lock up. She is reluctant to go and starts talking about the demise of the church. They both agree that it is not the place it was when her parents were alive. As he goes to lock up she calls him back in – she is bleeding from both hands. By the time Fin and Comfort arrive, she is unresponsive. In the ambulance, Father Crowley tells Comfort that there was nothing for Michelle to cut herself on; she was just kneeling, praying. He also confides that the church is about to be shut down because the congregation has declined in numbers. In A&E Simon asks if her injuries are stigmata – crucifixion wounds. She insists that she just felt pain in her hands as she was praying and looked down to see her hands bleeding. Outside the cubicle, the priest tells Simon that she has no history of harming herself. However, he adds that it would be nice if her wounds were genuine stigmata as it would bring people back to his church. He goes on to explain that they are symbol of piety and devotion – Michelle is very devout, she has attended church every day since the death of her parents in a car accident from which she walked away without a scratch. He speculates whether or not she was spared for a reason. As Simon is tending to another patient, Michelle walks into admin screaming. She now has wounds to both feet. Back in the cubicle, she starts praying loudly in Latin but subsequently claims not to know any of the language. Outside, Simon tells Father Crowley that she has sustained no significant damage to the nerves and tendons in her hands and feet. He questions whether or not this is just a stunt for Easter but the priest tells him that this is the first time Michelle has prayed in this way. Michelle tells Colette all about the crash that killed her parents. She explains that as she talked to the priest afterwards she realized that God must have a purpose for her. She has read that only truly holy people get stigmata so maybe this has happened to her to do some good. Simon calls the duty psychiatrist and when he arrives, Michelle tells him that she has no idea what’s happened. Later the psychiatrist tells Simon and Max that she is clearly traumatized by what’s happened and has other problems such as survivor guilt, following the crash, as well as a dependency on the church. He wonders if the priest is helping her but Simon tells him that he wasn’t in the cubicle when she sustained the wounds to her feet. However, Max notes cynically that a priest with a stigmatic in his parish would become something of a cause celebre. Privately, Father Crowley tells Michelle that the church will need to investigate what’s happened and if she’s faking it she should confess now. He adds that it will bring a lot of attention to the church and would be a lot for her to handle, but she believes it would be worth it. He later tells Simon that Michelle has made him reconsider things – he is prepared to believe her unless anyone can prove otherwise, he just needs to have faith, which he does. As they go up to the ward Simon asks Max if he’s intrigued to know what really happened. Max tells him that it’s not his job: they are just mechanics who fix people up.
Jack returns to the department following his operation. However, he is disappointed when Nikki walks right past him and goes to kiss another member of staff. He accosts her later and suggests that they go out for a drink. He also wants to know who the man was but Nikki tells him emphatically that it’s none of his business and neither is she any more.
Claire is dropped off in the ambulance bay by her boyfriend. She has gashed her head whilst playing squash and is still wearing her sports gear so sends him home to get her a change of clothes. Dillon calls her through from reception and goes and tells Simon to go and look at the ‘best pair of legs he’s ever seen’. However, when he goes into the cubicle, Simon instantly recognizes Claire – she is his ex-girlfriend. They talk some more whilst he examines her eyes and she asks why he has come back to Holby. He jokes that he did not want to come back too soon in case she’d not forgiven him. As he puts drops in her eye he is surprised to notice her engagement ring. As he is asking who her fiancé is, he walks in. It is Simon’s brother, Stuart. They argue briefly and Simon walks out in disgust. There is clearly mutual animosity between them. Claire later gets angry with Stuart and tells him that he must resolve the situation with his brother or she won’t marry him. He goes to find Simon and tells him they need to talk. Simon says that he realises he blew it with Claire years ago. Later Simon goes to check on Claire and finds that Stuart has popped out briefly to get a take-away. He goes out into the car park to wait with her. She says that she hopes she will see him some time before her wedding and suggests that they should go for a drink some time, just the two of them. They end up kissing but Colette comes out looking for Simon seconds before Stuart draws up.
Things are awkward between Fin and Comfort, after their kiss. They are called out to collect Michelle from the church and as they drive through the estate a group of boys push a pram out into the road and throw red paint at the windscreen. They jump out quickly to find that there it is just a dummy in the push chair. The boys start to throw bottles at them and Fin chases after them. He and Comfort take shelter behind a wall when they start to hurl bricks. However, the boys run round and drive off in the ambulance – Fin has left the keys in the ignition. They abandon it round the corner but make off with the defibrillator. When they return to base, Jeff in angry and demands to see them in his office. However, when Fin points out that they could have been killed he brushes the matter aside and tells them that it is not them who has to go to the finance committee to ask for a new defibrillator. He goes on to accuse them of acting too pally but when Comfort demands to know what he means he says that it is their attitudes which are the problem. They are called away to another shout and discuss McGuire as they drive. Fin says that they should watch out for the boys as they drive through the estate again but Comfort cannot believe they would try anything again. As she speaks there is a loud bang. Fin jumps out to investigate and discovers they have a puncture. As they are mending it, a young girl appears. She is very distressed and tells them that she thinks Ben is dead. The paramedics go to investigate and discover that Ben is her pet rabbit. She tells them that a group of boys got him out of his hutch and used the ‘Clear – Doof’ thing on him. Fin deduces that it must have been the boys with the defibrillator. He massages the rabbit’s heart and he comes back to life. The girl then tells them where the boys live and Fin decides to go and find them. He discovers them on the walkway of one of the blocks of flats and chases after them. However, he falls down some steps and is knocked temporarily unconscious. The buys meet Comfort at the bottom of the steps and pin her in a corner, threatening to use the defibrillator on her. She calls out for Fin but there is no answer. He appears just at the last minute and rescues Comfort, they kiss passionately again. Back at the station Jeff gives them yet more hassle and wants to know how they got the defibrillator back. Comfort tells him that Fin risked his life but he wants to know why he should e pleased that a member of his staff took the law into his own hands and went about beating teenage boys. As they are cleaning the ambulance, Comfort teases Fin and he sets about her with the hosepipe. He suggests that they should go and get out of their wet clothes…
Episode first broadcast Saturday 30th March 2002
Additional Cast
Gilly
Emily Dormer
Stuart
Justin Pierre
Claire
Sam Loggin
Simone
Rhian Grundy
Michelle Lambert
Catherine Siggins
Father Crowley
Richard Hawley
Robby
Robin Jones
Deano
Alexander Campbell
Robert Hammond
Burt Caesar
Sophie
Dominique Jackson
Mr Johnson
Graeme Alexander
Written by Helen Barratt
SERIES 16
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