105 As I Lay Dying by David Selby
1. EXT. New York Skyline (Night)
The city is bright and shining. Light gleams from every window.
2. INT. Angel Detective Agency-Amy's Office (Night)
AMY POND sits at her desk. It’s still cluttered. Her fingers breeze across the typewriter.
AMY (V/O)
As the days flew by, life without the Doctor was still impossible to imagine. He had been such a big part of our lives – all of our lives – that the thought of stopping, rather than waiting, was alien. In all my travels with the Doctor, he’d saved me and rescued me so many times. Even after I sacrificed my faith in him, I never sacrificed the belief that he wouldn’t come back for me.
She hesitates – her fingers pause. She looks back down, a tear in her eye and continues.
AMY (V/O)
I never left my childhood behind. Something else which the Doctor taught me was the importance of life and death. And sometimes cases did come up – cases that reminded me of my time with him. But I had to make my own judgement. I never imagined how hard that could be.
NATHAN PATTERSON bursts in. He is an elderly man; easily in his late sixties. He has a plethora of wrinkles and dark lines beneath his eyes. He is an unhealthily pale white. Amy stops writing and her head jerks up. Nathan is panting.
NATHAN
Miss Williams, please, I need your help. My daughter has been kidnapped.
Momentary flashback: Nathan waking up, getting out of bed, searching the house; bright lights, noise, crying.
NATHAN (cont’d)
She – she was just gone, there was a commotion, and then – what if – someone must have-
AMY
Sit down, Mr-
NATHAN
Patterson. Nathan Patterson.
AMY
[empathetically] Sit down Mr Patterson.
Nathan takes a seat, catches his breath and continues his story.
NATHAN
I’ve been ill, Miss Williams. Severely ill. I’m not going to get better. My daughter was looking after me. I only went to sleep, and when I woke up there was a brief spell of noise and she was gone.
AMY
Did you see anything?
NATHAN
Chevrolet Eagle – saw it out of the window. I didn’t catch a number-plate. I just recognised the vehicle.
AMY takes a note and stops for a second to contemplate.
AMY
Do you know of anyone who’d have any reason to take your daughter? We could be looking at a ransom – anyone who’d want to take something from you?
NATHAN
Well, there is. I used to work for the secret services. I had a major role – right back from the early days. I had to kill a lot of people. My operations were kept strictly undercover – no one knows anything goes on.
AMY
That’ll change one day.
NATHAN
I’m sorry?
AMY
Ignore me. Rambling. What I need you to do is to tell me who in particular would have a specific grudge against you. We need to be one step ahead of the kidnapper; that’s what’s important.
NATHAN
I could write you a list. Miss Williams, there are so many people who I’ve had to deal with – some who may have been released from prison by now. I was notorious. Even in my early days working for the police, I made more arrests than anyone else in my department. I’ve always done my best to protect the city from crime.
AMY
I know the feeling. Leave it with me. I’ll take your address and we can stay in contact. I will get your daughter back.
NATHAN
I need to stay. I am not well. I have no one to look after me and I could die at any moment. I have outlived my days. I need to find my daughter.
Amy gets up and pivots on the spot.
AMY
Okay… okay, we can work like that. If it’s a ransom, they’ll contact us soon. If it’s anything else there could be ways of tracking them. MR POND!
RORY WILLIAMS enters, rubs his eyes; he’s been asleep.
AMY
Get Sam.
RORY
Hmmm...?
AMY
Quickly!
RORY
Oh, uh, okay…
NATHAN
Is it always like this?
AMY
That’s recent.
NATHAN
How long can we-
AMY
What’s that on your hand?
NATHAN
I’m sorry?
AMY reaches out and grabs Nathan’s hand. There’s a couple of dashes; short parallel lines, across the palm.
AMY [Distant]
Nothing… I’m… sorry. I thought I recognised it.
RORY
So what’s happening then? Bit late for a case, Amy. I was having a really great dream that you were dressed like Greta Garbo-
AMY
And I’ll stop you right there. [Turns to Sam] He’s fitting in well, isn’t he?
NATHAN
So what are we going to do? Please! I need my daughter!
AMY
There’s very little we can do, Mr Patterson. Sam, you go out. Knock at doors. Prowl the streets.
NATHAN
Fifth Avenue.Here’s the exact address…
NATHAN scribbles an address and hands it over. SAM is impressed. He knows the area well. He leaves, silently.
NATHAN
And tomorrow-
AMY
If we haven’t heard anything, we’ll launch the investigation properly, yes. For now, we…
She stops, mid-thought, heading over to her record-player.
AMY
Do you like Glenn Miller?
Title sequence. Cut to…
3. INT. Angel Detective Agency-Amy's Office (Night)
Glenn Miller’s ‘Fifth Avenue’, ironically, is blaring from a phonograph. Rory sits at his desk, dosing off – or trying to. AMY and NATHAN are playing Scrabble over her desk.
AMY
Oi, Rory! Do you like this one?
RORY
I know I should have driven home…
AMY
We’re working late!
RORY
There’s working late, then there’s playing Scrabble at midnight. And it’s nearly Christmas.If we’re playing this many board games the week before…
AMY
[Back to Scrabble] Oh. Oh, this is difficult. Hmm. [She turns her head. Nothing changes from another perspective.] I know. [A knowing smile. She plays her letters.]
NATHAN
Shakri isn’t a word!
AMY
It is! It is.
RORY rolls his eyes.
NATHAN
Maybe in England.
AMY
Scotland!
NATHAN
Maybe in Scotland.
AMY changes the word. Shark. NATHAN takes his turn.
AMY
Margaret? You’re not allowed names.
NATHAN
It’s my daughter’s name. [He slams his fist on the board, startling Amy and knocking the tiles.] I’m dying. Do you understand that? I have no time. My daughter is out there with some stranger and I’m here playing Scrabble and listening to Glenn Miller!
AMY
Time. We just need time, Mr Patterson. My colleague will be back soon, and we’ll be able to come to a decision then. [Sotto voce:] Yes, you’re dying. Don’t put yourself under more pressure.
4. EXT. Fifth Avenue (Night)
SAM strolls the street. Fedora on head, jacket swinging behind him. The paradigmatic detective. He stops, turns. He hears a sound in an alley. It’s just a cat.
The odd person passes, blankly. Life is dying down early tonight.
SAM [Whispering; to self]
Find something… anything. Out of place.
He runs his hand up a drainpipe.
SAM
That’s not right. Why isn’t that right?
He crouches down, looking for dips in the road. It’s hard to concentrate in Fifth Avenue – even at night. He dips his finger in one.
SAM
No water.Bone dry.
5. INT. Angel Detective Agency-Amy’s Office (Night)
NATHAN
How long have you been living here, then? [He sips from a hot coffee.] Your reputation is certainly recent.
AMY
Not long. I moved from somewhere a long way away. Somewhere ‘Shakri’ is a word. Somewhere a blue door brings a new world; somewhere the sound of wheezing and grinding brings a wave of joy.
NATHAN
You’re an enigma.
AMY
[Laughs]I wish I wasn’t. I grew up idolising an enigma. It was damaging. They’re never as perfect as you expect.
NATHAN hides his hand under the table. The cut on his palm has got bigger. Each parallel line has curved, slightly, but inwards on each other. They’re not far away from meeting.
NATHAN
If this is something I’ve done – I swear, I’ll never forgive myself. Not that there’s much time to do that anyway. But when you’re dying, it makes you think.
AMY
I’ve nearly died a few times. But never in a situation where it’s happening slowly. Where you can really consider it.
NATHAN
And I hope you never are. I was happy, though, in Margaret’s care. You bring up your children when they can’t even wash their own faces. You just don’t consider that one day they’ll be the ones putting you to bed, keeping the lamp on for you because you’re suddenly scared of the dark. The reason for living was to get ready to stay dead a long time. As I Lay Dying – William Faulkner. [He finishes his coffee, leaving AMY to ponder over the quote.] You’re a writer, aren’t you?
AMY
Yes. Sometimes, when I’m not a detective.
NATHAN
That’s the way it is. I wanted to write. I grew up wanting to write. But I could never find the inspiration. So I decided to join the authorities in the way I did. That’s the way it works, Miss Williams. You don’t write and you die. You live a life worth writing about and leave that life before the words are written.
6. EXT. Fifth Avenue-Rooftop (Night)
SAM hops across the roof, dodging puddles and admiring the beauty of the city in front of him.
SAM
Of course. [He picks up a soggy scarf.] Where else?
7. INT. Angel Detective Agency-Amy’s Office (Night)
SAM bursts in. He’s holding the scarf. Soaking wet, like it’s been in the rain, but there’s not a drop on his clothes.
SAM
Is it hers?
NATHAN [Crying]
No! Not my Margaret!
AMY
It’s only evidence, Mr Patterson. Just further evidence. Find anything else, Sam?
SAM
Yes. Water on the roof and down the drainpipe. Loads of it. None on the ground. It’s been sprinkled like a shower from the side of something. When I asked the locals, they hadn’t seen theChevrolet Eagle. Not one of them had seen a single one pass in the last day. She wasn’t taken down and put in a car. She was taken onto the roof.
RORY
Flying car?
AMY
Oh no…
SAM
What, this means something to you?
RORY
Chitty-chitty-bang-bang, probably.
SAM
Chitty-what-wang?
AMY
Nathan… your hand.
NATHAN holds up his hand. The scar has widened to form a circle.
AMY
The circular scar. I knew I recognised it. Rory.
AMY beckons RORY outside, leaving SAM on his own with NATHAN.
SAM
So [pointing at scar]. How did you manage that?
NATHAN
I don’t know. It just appeared.
Awkward silence. As typical with such moments, both characters start talking at once.
SAM NATHAN
They won’t- I suppose-
SAM
Sorry. You first.
NATHAN
No. It’s fine.
SAM
They won’t be long. Sometimes Amy just knows things and has to discuss them. It might be good news.
NATHAN
The last time I heard good news, it was pretty dark anyway.
SAM
How so?
NATHAN
My boss died.
They both laugh.
8. INT. Angel Detective Agency-Outside Amy’s Office (Night)
RORY
Flying cars? Strange circular marks on hands? Hold on, flying cars that stop off on roofs and spray water while they’re there? Sorry, where do you recognise it from?
AMY
Something the Doctor and I dealt with once. Not one of our easier moments. In fact, you could say it was the toughest. The creatures – if you want to call them that – they’re known as the Snatchers. All across the universe.They set up bases in specific times and places, keeping a portal open to their own time – that must have been the artron energy trace we noticed last week.
RORY
Okay, and what do they do?
AMY
They kidnap people. Particular people. No one knows why they choose certain people but it happens.
RORY
And, what? The fly away in chitty-chitty-bang-bang and scratch their families circular?
AMY
Exactly. It’s their mark. The flying car – it’s only seen by the people they choose. The scratch across the hand on their nearest relation. Water on the roof, spilt deliberately as the car takes off. It’s how we know.
RORY
We?
AMY
There are people like us all across the universe. Out of our time, protecting this one. And the Snatchers are known everywhere, everywhen. If we see a flying car and a scratch across the hand, it’s no theatrical joke. It’s a warning to us. Stay away. No one interferes with the Snatchers, not even the law enforcement.
RORY
The Doctor did, though? You said.
AMY
I said the Doctor and I encountered them. I didn’t say we stopped them.
RORY
How could you-
The city is bright and shining. Light gleams from every window.
2. INT. Angel Detective Agency-Amy's Office (Night)
AMY POND sits at her desk. It’s still cluttered. Her fingers breeze across the typewriter.
AMY (V/O)
As the days flew by, life without the Doctor was still impossible to imagine. He had been such a big part of our lives – all of our lives – that the thought of stopping, rather than waiting, was alien. In all my travels with the Doctor, he’d saved me and rescued me so many times. Even after I sacrificed my faith in him, I never sacrificed the belief that he wouldn’t come back for me.
She hesitates – her fingers pause. She looks back down, a tear in her eye and continues.
AMY (V/O)
I never left my childhood behind. Something else which the Doctor taught me was the importance of life and death. And sometimes cases did come up – cases that reminded me of my time with him. But I had to make my own judgement. I never imagined how hard that could be.
NATHAN PATTERSON bursts in. He is an elderly man; easily in his late sixties. He has a plethora of wrinkles and dark lines beneath his eyes. He is an unhealthily pale white. Amy stops writing and her head jerks up. Nathan is panting.
NATHAN
Miss Williams, please, I need your help. My daughter has been kidnapped.
Momentary flashback: Nathan waking up, getting out of bed, searching the house; bright lights, noise, crying.
NATHAN (cont’d)
She – she was just gone, there was a commotion, and then – what if – someone must have-
AMY
Sit down, Mr-
NATHAN
Patterson. Nathan Patterson.
AMY
[empathetically] Sit down Mr Patterson.
Nathan takes a seat, catches his breath and continues his story.
NATHAN
I’ve been ill, Miss Williams. Severely ill. I’m not going to get better. My daughter was looking after me. I only went to sleep, and when I woke up there was a brief spell of noise and she was gone.
AMY
Did you see anything?
NATHAN
Chevrolet Eagle – saw it out of the window. I didn’t catch a number-plate. I just recognised the vehicle.
AMY takes a note and stops for a second to contemplate.
AMY
Do you know of anyone who’d have any reason to take your daughter? We could be looking at a ransom – anyone who’d want to take something from you?
NATHAN
Well, there is. I used to work for the secret services. I had a major role – right back from the early days. I had to kill a lot of people. My operations were kept strictly undercover – no one knows anything goes on.
AMY
That’ll change one day.
NATHAN
I’m sorry?
AMY
Ignore me. Rambling. What I need you to do is to tell me who in particular would have a specific grudge against you. We need to be one step ahead of the kidnapper; that’s what’s important.
NATHAN
I could write you a list. Miss Williams, there are so many people who I’ve had to deal with – some who may have been released from prison by now. I was notorious. Even in my early days working for the police, I made more arrests than anyone else in my department. I’ve always done my best to protect the city from crime.
AMY
I know the feeling. Leave it with me. I’ll take your address and we can stay in contact. I will get your daughter back.
NATHAN
I need to stay. I am not well. I have no one to look after me and I could die at any moment. I have outlived my days. I need to find my daughter.
Amy gets up and pivots on the spot.
AMY
Okay… okay, we can work like that. If it’s a ransom, they’ll contact us soon. If it’s anything else there could be ways of tracking them. MR POND!
RORY WILLIAMS enters, rubs his eyes; he’s been asleep.
AMY
Get Sam.
RORY
Hmmm...?
AMY
Quickly!
RORY
Oh, uh, okay…
NATHAN
Is it always like this?
AMY
That’s recent.
NATHAN
How long can we-
AMY
What’s that on your hand?
NATHAN
I’m sorry?
AMY reaches out and grabs Nathan’s hand. There’s a couple of dashes; short parallel lines, across the palm.
AMY [Distant]
Nothing… I’m… sorry. I thought I recognised it.
RORY
So what’s happening then? Bit late for a case, Amy. I was having a really great dream that you were dressed like Greta Garbo-
AMY
And I’ll stop you right there. [Turns to Sam] He’s fitting in well, isn’t he?
NATHAN
So what are we going to do? Please! I need my daughter!
AMY
There’s very little we can do, Mr Patterson. Sam, you go out. Knock at doors. Prowl the streets.
NATHAN
Fifth Avenue.Here’s the exact address…
NATHAN scribbles an address and hands it over. SAM is impressed. He knows the area well. He leaves, silently.
NATHAN
And tomorrow-
AMY
If we haven’t heard anything, we’ll launch the investigation properly, yes. For now, we…
She stops, mid-thought, heading over to her record-player.
AMY
Do you like Glenn Miller?
Title sequence. Cut to…
3. INT. Angel Detective Agency-Amy's Office (Night)
Glenn Miller’s ‘Fifth Avenue’, ironically, is blaring from a phonograph. Rory sits at his desk, dosing off – or trying to. AMY and NATHAN are playing Scrabble over her desk.
AMY
Oi, Rory! Do you like this one?
RORY
I know I should have driven home…
AMY
We’re working late!
RORY
There’s working late, then there’s playing Scrabble at midnight. And it’s nearly Christmas.If we’re playing this many board games the week before…
AMY
[Back to Scrabble] Oh. Oh, this is difficult. Hmm. [She turns her head. Nothing changes from another perspective.] I know. [A knowing smile. She plays her letters.]
NATHAN
Shakri isn’t a word!
AMY
It is! It is.
RORY rolls his eyes.
NATHAN
Maybe in England.
AMY
Scotland!
NATHAN
Maybe in Scotland.
AMY changes the word. Shark. NATHAN takes his turn.
AMY
Margaret? You’re not allowed names.
NATHAN
It’s my daughter’s name. [He slams his fist on the board, startling Amy and knocking the tiles.] I’m dying. Do you understand that? I have no time. My daughter is out there with some stranger and I’m here playing Scrabble and listening to Glenn Miller!
AMY
Time. We just need time, Mr Patterson. My colleague will be back soon, and we’ll be able to come to a decision then. [Sotto voce:] Yes, you’re dying. Don’t put yourself under more pressure.
4. EXT. Fifth Avenue (Night)
SAM strolls the street. Fedora on head, jacket swinging behind him. The paradigmatic detective. He stops, turns. He hears a sound in an alley. It’s just a cat.
The odd person passes, blankly. Life is dying down early tonight.
SAM [Whispering; to self]
Find something… anything. Out of place.
He runs his hand up a drainpipe.
SAM
That’s not right. Why isn’t that right?
He crouches down, looking for dips in the road. It’s hard to concentrate in Fifth Avenue – even at night. He dips his finger in one.
SAM
No water.Bone dry.
5. INT. Angel Detective Agency-Amy’s Office (Night)
NATHAN
How long have you been living here, then? [He sips from a hot coffee.] Your reputation is certainly recent.
AMY
Not long. I moved from somewhere a long way away. Somewhere ‘Shakri’ is a word. Somewhere a blue door brings a new world; somewhere the sound of wheezing and grinding brings a wave of joy.
NATHAN
You’re an enigma.
AMY
[Laughs]I wish I wasn’t. I grew up idolising an enigma. It was damaging. They’re never as perfect as you expect.
NATHAN hides his hand under the table. The cut on his palm has got bigger. Each parallel line has curved, slightly, but inwards on each other. They’re not far away from meeting.
NATHAN
If this is something I’ve done – I swear, I’ll never forgive myself. Not that there’s much time to do that anyway. But when you’re dying, it makes you think.
AMY
I’ve nearly died a few times. But never in a situation where it’s happening slowly. Where you can really consider it.
NATHAN
And I hope you never are. I was happy, though, in Margaret’s care. You bring up your children when they can’t even wash their own faces. You just don’t consider that one day they’ll be the ones putting you to bed, keeping the lamp on for you because you’re suddenly scared of the dark. The reason for living was to get ready to stay dead a long time. As I Lay Dying – William Faulkner. [He finishes his coffee, leaving AMY to ponder over the quote.] You’re a writer, aren’t you?
AMY
Yes. Sometimes, when I’m not a detective.
NATHAN
That’s the way it is. I wanted to write. I grew up wanting to write. But I could never find the inspiration. So I decided to join the authorities in the way I did. That’s the way it works, Miss Williams. You don’t write and you die. You live a life worth writing about and leave that life before the words are written.
6. EXT. Fifth Avenue-Rooftop (Night)
SAM hops across the roof, dodging puddles and admiring the beauty of the city in front of him.
SAM
Of course. [He picks up a soggy scarf.] Where else?
7. INT. Angel Detective Agency-Amy’s Office (Night)
SAM bursts in. He’s holding the scarf. Soaking wet, like it’s been in the rain, but there’s not a drop on his clothes.
SAM
Is it hers?
NATHAN [Crying]
No! Not my Margaret!
AMY
It’s only evidence, Mr Patterson. Just further evidence. Find anything else, Sam?
SAM
Yes. Water on the roof and down the drainpipe. Loads of it. None on the ground. It’s been sprinkled like a shower from the side of something. When I asked the locals, they hadn’t seen theChevrolet Eagle. Not one of them had seen a single one pass in the last day. She wasn’t taken down and put in a car. She was taken onto the roof.
RORY
Flying car?
AMY
Oh no…
SAM
What, this means something to you?
RORY
Chitty-chitty-bang-bang, probably.
SAM
Chitty-what-wang?
AMY
Nathan… your hand.
NATHAN holds up his hand. The scar has widened to form a circle.
AMY
The circular scar. I knew I recognised it. Rory.
AMY beckons RORY outside, leaving SAM on his own with NATHAN.
SAM
So [pointing at scar]. How did you manage that?
NATHAN
I don’t know. It just appeared.
Awkward silence. As typical with such moments, both characters start talking at once.
SAM NATHAN
They won’t- I suppose-
SAM
Sorry. You first.
NATHAN
No. It’s fine.
SAM
They won’t be long. Sometimes Amy just knows things and has to discuss them. It might be good news.
NATHAN
The last time I heard good news, it was pretty dark anyway.
SAM
How so?
NATHAN
My boss died.
They both laugh.
8. INT. Angel Detective Agency-Outside Amy’s Office (Night)
RORY
Flying cars? Strange circular marks on hands? Hold on, flying cars that stop off on roofs and spray water while they’re there? Sorry, where do you recognise it from?
AMY
Something the Doctor and I dealt with once. Not one of our easier moments. In fact, you could say it was the toughest. The creatures – if you want to call them that – they’re known as the Snatchers. All across the universe.They set up bases in specific times and places, keeping a portal open to their own time – that must have been the artron energy trace we noticed last week.
RORY
Okay, and what do they do?
AMY
They kidnap people. Particular people. No one knows why they choose certain people but it happens.
RORY
And, what? The fly away in chitty-chitty-bang-bang and scratch their families circular?
AMY
Exactly. It’s their mark. The flying car – it’s only seen by the people they choose. The scratch across the hand on their nearest relation. Water on the roof, spilt deliberately as the car takes off. It’s how we know.
RORY
We?
AMY
There are people like us all across the universe. Out of our time, protecting this one. And the Snatchers are known everywhere, everywhen. If we see a flying car and a scratch across the hand, it’s no theatrical joke. It’s a warning to us. Stay away. No one interferes with the Snatchers, not even the law enforcement.
RORY
The Doctor did, though? You said.
AMY
I said the Doctor and I encountered them. I didn’t say we stopped them.
RORY
How could you-
9. INT. TARDIS (Night)
Flashback. AMY and THE DOCTOR in the TARDIS. AMY is teary-eyed and angry. Angry with raw, Scottish fury. THE DOCTOR is, coldly, pulling at switches.
AMY
How could you-
THE DOCTOR
Do you think if there was another way I wouldn’t have found it?
AMY
There’s the link. You told me about it. The base, you said there’s a link to their world-
THE DOCTOR
People have been and no one has ever come back. It’s a suicide mission. I am not going!
AMY
And if it was me? If I was taken?
THE DOCTOR
If you were taken I would tear the whole universe apart, Amy, but you weren’t. One day I’ll find out what they’re doing. We don’t even know what these creatures are or what they look like. We just know their mark. We know they want us to stay away. Someone will deal with it, someone more powerful than-
AMY
Us? We’re not even powerful anymore? One minute you’re defying the laws of time, the next-
THE DOCTOR
Do you think leaving is easy, Pond? Do you think if I thought there was the slightest chance of us surviving and saving them that I would still be doing this? It kills me. But the Snatchers were a myth from my own childhood. No one dares kill the Big Bad Wolf.
10. INT. Angel Detective Agency-Outside Amy’s Office (Night)
RORY
And if it was me? If I was taken?
AMY
I can get onto the Shadow Proclamation. See if they can just guide the Snatchers away from the city, slowly and subtly. But I can’t get Margaret back. [Lowers voice] If you were taken, Rory, I would tear New York apart.
RORY
Which one of us is going to tell him?
AMY
Leave it to me.
AMY opens the door, and slowly looks back at RORY. She’s so angry at herself that she’s cold. Bitter.
AMY
And just to think, a few hours ago, you weren’t even interested.
11. INT. Angel Detective Agency-Outside Amy’s Office (Night)
Mid-conversation.
NATHAN
But… where have they taken her? Is she safe with them?
AMY
Very safe. Well looked-after.
RORY [Entering]
Possibly. Possibly not. As a matter of fact, Amy doesn’t actually know. No one knows.
AMY looks daggers at RORY.
RORY
Oh, what, you want me to pretend because he’s dying? No. He deserves to know.
AMY
I wouldn’t suspect nefarious intent. The Doctor once told me that they go to paradise – that’s what he was told growing up. That those people were selected to join a better world.
RORY
The Doctor said a lot of things.
12. INT. Amy and Rory’s Apartment (Day)
It’s Christmas Day. Tree’s up in the corner, lavishly decorated; there are warm flames brewing in the fireplace and the curtains are half-closed, letting a panorama of the city be viewed. RIVER is present. Crackers are opened; Christmas dinner is obviously over. Presents are being opened.
RIVER
Family Christmas. Is this the first one we’ve ever had?
AMY
If we count when we thought you were our best friend, nope.
RIVER
Oh, yes… those were the days. Did your mum ever forgive me for the turkey?
AMY
Once it had stopped pecking.
RIVER
Shame my husband couldn’t make it. We never did get that full Christmas together, did we?
AMY
We had some birthdays, though.
RIVER
Oh, did we just? And some anniversaries… shame you missed 2013.
AMY
Let me guess-
RIVER
Spoilers! Dad – you alright? You seem a bit quiet today.
RORY
Yeah, I’m… good…
RORY looks down at a piece of paper. We can’t see what it says.
RORY
Just popping out for some air.
13. EXT. Graveyard (Day)
Solemn for Christmas. Dead leaves blowing in the wind, evident chill to the air. The camera pans as RORY approaches a bench to reveal…
NATHAN. Different this time, calmer. More collected, wrapped up in a warm coat and scarf.
NATHAN
This is where my wife was buried.
Flashback. AMY and THE DOCTOR in the TARDIS. AMY is teary-eyed and angry. Angry with raw, Scottish fury. THE DOCTOR is, coldly, pulling at switches.
AMY
How could you-
THE DOCTOR
Do you think if there was another way I wouldn’t have found it?
AMY
There’s the link. You told me about it. The base, you said there’s a link to their world-
THE DOCTOR
People have been and no one has ever come back. It’s a suicide mission. I am not going!
AMY
And if it was me? If I was taken?
THE DOCTOR
If you were taken I would tear the whole universe apart, Amy, but you weren’t. One day I’ll find out what they’re doing. We don’t even know what these creatures are or what they look like. We just know their mark. We know they want us to stay away. Someone will deal with it, someone more powerful than-
AMY
Us? We’re not even powerful anymore? One minute you’re defying the laws of time, the next-
THE DOCTOR
Do you think leaving is easy, Pond? Do you think if I thought there was the slightest chance of us surviving and saving them that I would still be doing this? It kills me. But the Snatchers were a myth from my own childhood. No one dares kill the Big Bad Wolf.
10. INT. Angel Detective Agency-Outside Amy’s Office (Night)
RORY
And if it was me? If I was taken?
AMY
I can get onto the Shadow Proclamation. See if they can just guide the Snatchers away from the city, slowly and subtly. But I can’t get Margaret back. [Lowers voice] If you were taken, Rory, I would tear New York apart.
RORY
Which one of us is going to tell him?
AMY
Leave it to me.
AMY opens the door, and slowly looks back at RORY. She’s so angry at herself that she’s cold. Bitter.
AMY
And just to think, a few hours ago, you weren’t even interested.
11. INT. Angel Detective Agency-Outside Amy’s Office (Night)
Mid-conversation.
NATHAN
But… where have they taken her? Is she safe with them?
AMY
Very safe. Well looked-after.
RORY [Entering]
Possibly. Possibly not. As a matter of fact, Amy doesn’t actually know. No one knows.
AMY looks daggers at RORY.
RORY
Oh, what, you want me to pretend because he’s dying? No. He deserves to know.
AMY
I wouldn’t suspect nefarious intent. The Doctor once told me that they go to paradise – that’s what he was told growing up. That those people were selected to join a better world.
RORY
The Doctor said a lot of things.
12. INT. Amy and Rory’s Apartment (Day)
It’s Christmas Day. Tree’s up in the corner, lavishly decorated; there are warm flames brewing in the fireplace and the curtains are half-closed, letting a panorama of the city be viewed. RIVER is present. Crackers are opened; Christmas dinner is obviously over. Presents are being opened.
RIVER
Family Christmas. Is this the first one we’ve ever had?
AMY
If we count when we thought you were our best friend, nope.
RIVER
Oh, yes… those were the days. Did your mum ever forgive me for the turkey?
AMY
Once it had stopped pecking.
RIVER
Shame my husband couldn’t make it. We never did get that full Christmas together, did we?
AMY
We had some birthdays, though.
RIVER
Oh, did we just? And some anniversaries… shame you missed 2013.
AMY
Let me guess-
RIVER
Spoilers! Dad – you alright? You seem a bit quiet today.
RORY
Yeah, I’m… good…
RORY looks down at a piece of paper. We can’t see what it says.
RORY
Just popping out for some air.
13. EXT. Graveyard (Day)
Solemn for Christmas. Dead leaves blowing in the wind, evident chill to the air. The camera pans as RORY approaches a bench to reveal…
NATHAN. Different this time, calmer. More collected, wrapped up in a warm coat and scarf.
NATHAN
This is where my wife was buried.
RORY sits down.
RORY
I got your note.
NATHAN
I know. It’s funny how I always knew you’d end up caring in the end. The one who spent that whole night on the couch.
RORY
Mr Patt-
NATHAN
Nathan, please. I’m so alone now and there’s no one else to call me that.
RORY
Nathan. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can do. Amy might seem harsh and blunt, but she really would help if she thought there was any means of getting your daughter back.
NATHAN
And you? Do you think there are any means?
RORY
She’s the expert.
NATHAN
Exactly. Experts do calculations. They play with statistics and reached a balanced conclusion. This is my daughter. The little girl who thought she was a cat so she climbed up the wall and pulled down the curtains. And when she did I just…
He wipes a tear from his eye.
NATHAN [Cont’d]
I just laughed and cried. I can still remember it today. I tried so hard to be angry. I don’t need statistics to tell me what can and can’t be done, Mr Williams. I need a man who understands. Maybe your wife has forgotten what it’s like to be a parent, due to circumstances-
RORY
How did you know?
NATHAN
I can see it in her eyes. I can see a lot of things, Mr Williams. And when I look into you I can see constant glimmers of doubt being extinguished. But please, just hold onto it. Do whatever you can.
NATHAN gets up to leave.
NATHAN [Cont’d]
I don’t have long left.
14. INT. Amy and Rory’s Apartment (Night)
New Year. River is still around. Champagne glasses clank to the sound of ‘Auld Lang Syne’. RORY stares disconsolately out of the window.
NATHAN [V/O]
I don’t have long left. I won’t live beyond this for obvious reasons, but ask yourself another question – will your conscience?
AMY
Hi-
RORY [Startled]
Whoa. Sorry. Didn’t see you coming.
AMY
Just got word. Nathan Patterson’s been taken into hospital. I feel guilty. I just wish there was something we could have done.
RORY
Yeah.
NATHAN [V/O]
Do whatever you can.
15. INT. Amy and Rory’s Office (Night)
Night, almost completely dark save the light of a couple of candles. RORY brainstorms ideas onto a board. Voice-over symbolises his thoughts.
RORY [V/O]
We traced the artron energy. We found an exact location. Nobody sees a car flying over New York but every time someone sees it take off. It flies supposedly into the sky and across the universe yet there’s a base nearby.
The shot slows and pans out. RORY must have been working for hours; the board is full. He focuses.
RORY [V/O]
Conclusion: the car doesn’t fly, it teleports. It’s a transport system.
And the thoughts end – RORY opens his mouth.
RORY
She’s here. She’s in New York.
15. EXT. New York Street (Day)
A small building amidst greater ones. Quiet street. RORYwalks around nervously like a student on work experience. He checks the address. Muttering to self…
RORY
It’s definitely here.
He picks open the padlock and enters. Damp corridor with dodgy lighting. Dripping water. Rory pulls a gun from his pocket and holds it close to his chest with shaking hands.He pushes a door, and…
There he is, in a place that seems completely different to the corridor. Bright monochrome office, polished, air-conditioned. Modern.
KENNETH enters. Well-dressed, mid-50s, completely symmetrical face. And English!
KENNETH
Well. This is the first for a while.
He sits down at his desk and offers Rory a seat.
KENNETH
What can I do for you?
16. INT. Amy and Rory’s Office (Day)
AMY
Have you seen Rory today? He vanished last night.
SAM
No. But he did seem a bit off…
AMY
I wonder what-
Instant cut to:
17. INT. Kenneth’s Office (Day)
RORY
-the hell is going on?
KENNETH
Well, as you’re here, I suppose there’s no point in hiding it. But out of curiosity, who did you come about? Margaret Patterson, I suppose?
RORY
Yes. I’m a detective. So go on then, get it all out. What’s with the random flying car and the kidnappings?
KENNETH
Oh – two very different things.The first? It became our trademark across the universe. Leads people to staying away. Especially journalists.
RORY
Journalists you’ve murdered? Butchered, in cold blood?
KENNETH
Oh, I wouldn’t say that.
RORY
Okay, journalists you’ve ‘removed’.
KENNETH
No. I mean I really, seriously wouldn’t say that.
KENNETH smiles enigmatically.
RORY
What? What happened to them, then?
KENNETH
They left; assumed new identities.Some of them are, unfortunately, locked up. You can’t please everyone. But most of them stopped when they realised what we were doing was for the greater good.What we’re still doing.
RORY
No… no. How can you justify kidnapping?
KENNETH [Standing up]
Like this…
18. INT. Amy and Rory’s Office (Day)
SAM
Look at all this on the board! Someone’s been busy.
AMY
Oh, no husband… you haven’t…
RORY
I got your note.
NATHAN
I know. It’s funny how I always knew you’d end up caring in the end. The one who spent that whole night on the couch.
RORY
Mr Patt-
NATHAN
Nathan, please. I’m so alone now and there’s no one else to call me that.
RORY
Nathan. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can do. Amy might seem harsh and blunt, but she really would help if she thought there was any means of getting your daughter back.
NATHAN
And you? Do you think there are any means?
RORY
She’s the expert.
NATHAN
Exactly. Experts do calculations. They play with statistics and reached a balanced conclusion. This is my daughter. The little girl who thought she was a cat so she climbed up the wall and pulled down the curtains. And when she did I just…
He wipes a tear from his eye.
NATHAN [Cont’d]
I just laughed and cried. I can still remember it today. I tried so hard to be angry. I don’t need statistics to tell me what can and can’t be done, Mr Williams. I need a man who understands. Maybe your wife has forgotten what it’s like to be a parent, due to circumstances-
RORY
How did you know?
NATHAN
I can see it in her eyes. I can see a lot of things, Mr Williams. And when I look into you I can see constant glimmers of doubt being extinguished. But please, just hold onto it. Do whatever you can.
NATHAN gets up to leave.
NATHAN [Cont’d]
I don’t have long left.
14. INT. Amy and Rory’s Apartment (Night)
New Year. River is still around. Champagne glasses clank to the sound of ‘Auld Lang Syne’. RORY stares disconsolately out of the window.
NATHAN [V/O]
I don’t have long left. I won’t live beyond this for obvious reasons, but ask yourself another question – will your conscience?
AMY
Hi-
RORY [Startled]
Whoa. Sorry. Didn’t see you coming.
AMY
Just got word. Nathan Patterson’s been taken into hospital. I feel guilty. I just wish there was something we could have done.
RORY
Yeah.
NATHAN [V/O]
Do whatever you can.
15. INT. Amy and Rory’s Office (Night)
Night, almost completely dark save the light of a couple of candles. RORY brainstorms ideas onto a board. Voice-over symbolises his thoughts.
RORY [V/O]
We traced the artron energy. We found an exact location. Nobody sees a car flying over New York but every time someone sees it take off. It flies supposedly into the sky and across the universe yet there’s a base nearby.
The shot slows and pans out. RORY must have been working for hours; the board is full. He focuses.
RORY [V/O]
Conclusion: the car doesn’t fly, it teleports. It’s a transport system.
And the thoughts end – RORY opens his mouth.
RORY
She’s here. She’s in New York.
15. EXT. New York Street (Day)
A small building amidst greater ones. Quiet street. RORYwalks around nervously like a student on work experience. He checks the address. Muttering to self…
RORY
It’s definitely here.
He picks open the padlock and enters. Damp corridor with dodgy lighting. Dripping water. Rory pulls a gun from his pocket and holds it close to his chest with shaking hands.He pushes a door, and…
There he is, in a place that seems completely different to the corridor. Bright monochrome office, polished, air-conditioned. Modern.
KENNETH enters. Well-dressed, mid-50s, completely symmetrical face. And English!
KENNETH
Well. This is the first for a while.
He sits down at his desk and offers Rory a seat.
KENNETH
What can I do for you?
16. INT. Amy and Rory’s Office (Day)
AMY
Have you seen Rory today? He vanished last night.
SAM
No. But he did seem a bit off…
AMY
I wonder what-
Instant cut to:
17. INT. Kenneth’s Office (Day)
RORY
-the hell is going on?
KENNETH
Well, as you’re here, I suppose there’s no point in hiding it. But out of curiosity, who did you come about? Margaret Patterson, I suppose?
RORY
Yes. I’m a detective. So go on then, get it all out. What’s with the random flying car and the kidnappings?
KENNETH
Oh – two very different things.The first? It became our trademark across the universe. Leads people to staying away. Especially journalists.
RORY
Journalists you’ve murdered? Butchered, in cold blood?
KENNETH
Oh, I wouldn’t say that.
RORY
Okay, journalists you’ve ‘removed’.
KENNETH
No. I mean I really, seriously wouldn’t say that.
KENNETH smiles enigmatically.
RORY
What? What happened to them, then?
KENNETH
They left; assumed new identities.Some of them are, unfortunately, locked up. You can’t please everyone. But most of them stopped when they realised what we were doing was for the greater good.What we’re still doing.
RORY
No… no. How can you justify kidnapping?
KENNETH [Standing up]
Like this…
18. INT. Amy and Rory’s Office (Day)
SAM
Look at all this on the board! Someone’s been busy.
AMY
Oh, no husband… you haven’t…
19. INT. Kenneth’s Office (Day)
KENNETH clicks his fingers.
The perfect white walls fade slightly, becoming transparent. And behind them are people – all tied up, unconscious, with tubes feeding into them.
KENNETH
This place is a research facility. There’s a contagious disease throughout the universe.It’s spreading. We call it the Broken Clock.It speeds up your lifespan drastically and hits suddenly. But we’ve found ways of detecting it – radiation; partly how it’s spread. So we track the locations and stay, for a while. The mark on the hand – that’s our antitoxins working. They’re released into the air near the victim, helping to provide immunity for those exposed to them. Then we kidnap the diseased person, pack them into the car and leave, teleporting here, and showering down disinfectant as we go.
RORY
So you kidnap them and experiment on them? Look for cures?
KENNETH
We’re still learning how the Broken Clock works. We can’t prevent it once it’s been diagnosed yet so we try different remedies on each person. Some work, some don’t.
RORY
And these lab-rats don’t get any say in it.
KENNETH
These lab-rats wouldn’t live more than a number of months! This way they have a chance. Yes, it’s unorthodox – but the investigations have to be discreet. It’s technically illegal. But without doing these things, the whole universe could be at risk. The Broken Clock could kill everyone and everything.
RORY
And does anyone recover?
KENNETH
Some don’t, sadly. Others, after a few weeks of treatment, do. The treatment is extraordinarily expensive and rare. We couldn’t ever treat a whole population, but on individuals, we can slowly ‘slow up’ the clock. People age slower and usually we can catch them as they hit middle-age. They get all those years they’d never have had and they can do what they want with them.
RORY
So it’s not just a medical research facility… it’s a hospital?
KENNETH
Run by people who feel truly… passionate about their work.
RORY
You mean…
KENNETH nods.
KENNETH
I’m an ex-patient, yes. I caught the disease at fourteen. I’m now sixteen years old.
RORY
So the system runs itself! There’s not even structure!
KENNETH
I knew you wouldn’t understand. And I know you won’t take sides. You’re a detective. It’s what you do.
RORY
I’m not actually-
He realises.
RORY
I’m a nurse.
20. INT. Amy and Rory’s Office (Day)
The phone rings. AMY answers.
AMY
Rory! Where the hell have you been?
21. INT. Kenneth’s Office (Day)
RORY’s speaking on a classic phone connected to the wall. Slightly old-fashioned in the setting.
RORY
Listen to me. The people they’re kidnapping have a disease, this rare thing that’s somehow contagious. They don’t know how it works, but they’re here, and Kenneth-
AMY
Who’s Kenneth?
RORY
The man who runs it.
22. INT. Amy and Rory’s Office (Day)
RORY [VO/OS]
Find Nathan, bring him here now. We can wake Margaret temporarily.She’ll be able to say goodbye to him.
23. INT. Kenneth’s Office (Day)
NATHAN’s state has worsened. He’s pale and frail, pushed into the room on one of the facility’s ultra-modern stretchers. The rest of the patients are covered by the wall, leaving only Margaret behind the glass. She opens her eyes weakly.
NATHAN uses the last of his strength to push himself up.
NATHAN
They say I’ve got hours now… can’t I touch her?
KENNETH
I’m afraid it’s just through the glass. Sorry.
NATHAN reaches up to touch the glass. So does Margaret. She’s already aged by at least six years.
NATHAN
My daughter…
MARGARET tries to mouth something.
NATHAN
Can she hear me?
KENNETH
Yes. I’ll give you some time together.
KENNETH ushers AMY and RORY out of the room.
24. INT. Outside Kenneth’s Office (Day)
KENNETH
I’m going to release a soporific into the air as soon as Margaret starts to lose consciousness. They’ll get to say their goodbyes but Nathan won’t be left alone. This will be it for him.
RORY
That’s…
KENNETH
Humane. It’s compassion. What the world lacks.
25. INT. Kenneth’s Office (Day)
NATHAN
Do you know the best thing, Margaret? Knowing it wasn’t my fault. Knowing that I hadn’t done this to you. I worried it was all me, somehow. But here you are. You’re going to be better. You’re going to be… more than better. Do you want to hear a story?
He laughs softly, but it hurts.
NATHAN
I don’t need a book. I remember the words.The river itself is not a hundred yards across, and pa and Vernon and Vardaman and Dewey Dell are the only things in sight not of that single monotony of desolation leaning with that terrific quality a little from right to left, as though we had reached the place where the motion of the wasted world accelerates just before the final precipice. And here we are. The final precipice. Goodbye, Margaret. Loveyou.
As MARGARET closes her eyes, NATHAN falls back onto the stretcher, his eyes slowly shutting. The room slowly fills with mist, and as his hand slips to the side of the stretcher, his eyes close fully.
He smiles. And as the mist clears…
AMY, RORY and KENNETH are standing over, paying their respects. A tear in RORY’s eye. SAM enters.
SAM
What’s-
AMY stops him in his tracks.
SAM
Oh.
SAM takes off his hat and holds it down as a sign of respect.
And the scene ends slowly, as the camera zooms out. Fade to black.
26. INT. Kenneth’s Office (Day)
AMY
I really should report you.
KENNETH
But you won’t?
AMY
No, I really should.
KENNETH
And there it is again. The American Dream. If it is ever to be lived, it needs that chance. Life is precious. The Broken Clock… it’s like trying to watch a film in the space of forty-five minutes.Can’t be done. You need to make the time, somehow; however you spread it out.
AMY
So where next?
KENNETH
We’re going to leave New York soon, head somewhere else. There’ll be a signal soon enough. Margaret might want to come with us.
AMY
I really thought there was something more to this. But after all this time, there wasn’t. You’re just a mad and brilliant doctor who looks like an ordinary man, picking up people and travelling through the stars with them.
A brief pause as AMY finishes abruptly.
She realises.
KENNETH clicks his fingers.
The perfect white walls fade slightly, becoming transparent. And behind them are people – all tied up, unconscious, with tubes feeding into them.
KENNETH
This place is a research facility. There’s a contagious disease throughout the universe.It’s spreading. We call it the Broken Clock.It speeds up your lifespan drastically and hits suddenly. But we’ve found ways of detecting it – radiation; partly how it’s spread. So we track the locations and stay, for a while. The mark on the hand – that’s our antitoxins working. They’re released into the air near the victim, helping to provide immunity for those exposed to them. Then we kidnap the diseased person, pack them into the car and leave, teleporting here, and showering down disinfectant as we go.
RORY
So you kidnap them and experiment on them? Look for cures?
KENNETH
We’re still learning how the Broken Clock works. We can’t prevent it once it’s been diagnosed yet so we try different remedies on each person. Some work, some don’t.
RORY
And these lab-rats don’t get any say in it.
KENNETH
These lab-rats wouldn’t live more than a number of months! This way they have a chance. Yes, it’s unorthodox – but the investigations have to be discreet. It’s technically illegal. But without doing these things, the whole universe could be at risk. The Broken Clock could kill everyone and everything.
RORY
And does anyone recover?
KENNETH
Some don’t, sadly. Others, after a few weeks of treatment, do. The treatment is extraordinarily expensive and rare. We couldn’t ever treat a whole population, but on individuals, we can slowly ‘slow up’ the clock. People age slower and usually we can catch them as they hit middle-age. They get all those years they’d never have had and they can do what they want with them.
RORY
So it’s not just a medical research facility… it’s a hospital?
KENNETH
Run by people who feel truly… passionate about their work.
RORY
You mean…
KENNETH nods.
KENNETH
I’m an ex-patient, yes. I caught the disease at fourteen. I’m now sixteen years old.
RORY
So the system runs itself! There’s not even structure!
KENNETH
I knew you wouldn’t understand. And I know you won’t take sides. You’re a detective. It’s what you do.
RORY
I’m not actually-
He realises.
RORY
I’m a nurse.
20. INT. Amy and Rory’s Office (Day)
The phone rings. AMY answers.
AMY
Rory! Where the hell have you been?
21. INT. Kenneth’s Office (Day)
RORY’s speaking on a classic phone connected to the wall. Slightly old-fashioned in the setting.
RORY
Listen to me. The people they’re kidnapping have a disease, this rare thing that’s somehow contagious. They don’t know how it works, but they’re here, and Kenneth-
AMY
Who’s Kenneth?
RORY
The man who runs it.
22. INT. Amy and Rory’s Office (Day)
RORY [VO/OS]
Find Nathan, bring him here now. We can wake Margaret temporarily.She’ll be able to say goodbye to him.
23. INT. Kenneth’s Office (Day)
NATHAN’s state has worsened. He’s pale and frail, pushed into the room on one of the facility’s ultra-modern stretchers. The rest of the patients are covered by the wall, leaving only Margaret behind the glass. She opens her eyes weakly.
NATHAN uses the last of his strength to push himself up.
NATHAN
They say I’ve got hours now… can’t I touch her?
KENNETH
I’m afraid it’s just through the glass. Sorry.
NATHAN reaches up to touch the glass. So does Margaret. She’s already aged by at least six years.
NATHAN
My daughter…
MARGARET tries to mouth something.
NATHAN
Can she hear me?
KENNETH
Yes. I’ll give you some time together.
KENNETH ushers AMY and RORY out of the room.
24. INT. Outside Kenneth’s Office (Day)
KENNETH
I’m going to release a soporific into the air as soon as Margaret starts to lose consciousness. They’ll get to say their goodbyes but Nathan won’t be left alone. This will be it for him.
RORY
That’s…
KENNETH
Humane. It’s compassion. What the world lacks.
25. INT. Kenneth’s Office (Day)
NATHAN
Do you know the best thing, Margaret? Knowing it wasn’t my fault. Knowing that I hadn’t done this to you. I worried it was all me, somehow. But here you are. You’re going to be better. You’re going to be… more than better. Do you want to hear a story?
He laughs softly, but it hurts.
NATHAN
I don’t need a book. I remember the words.The river itself is not a hundred yards across, and pa and Vernon and Vardaman and Dewey Dell are the only things in sight not of that single monotony of desolation leaning with that terrific quality a little from right to left, as though we had reached the place where the motion of the wasted world accelerates just before the final precipice. And here we are. The final precipice. Goodbye, Margaret. Loveyou.
As MARGARET closes her eyes, NATHAN falls back onto the stretcher, his eyes slowly shutting. The room slowly fills with mist, and as his hand slips to the side of the stretcher, his eyes close fully.
He smiles. And as the mist clears…
AMY, RORY and KENNETH are standing over, paying their respects. A tear in RORY’s eye. SAM enters.
SAM
What’s-
AMY stops him in his tracks.
SAM
Oh.
SAM takes off his hat and holds it down as a sign of respect.
And the scene ends slowly, as the camera zooms out. Fade to black.
26. INT. Kenneth’s Office (Day)
AMY
I really should report you.
KENNETH
But you won’t?
AMY
No, I really should.
KENNETH
And there it is again. The American Dream. If it is ever to be lived, it needs that chance. Life is precious. The Broken Clock… it’s like trying to watch a film in the space of forty-five minutes.Can’t be done. You need to make the time, somehow; however you spread it out.
AMY
So where next?
KENNETH
We’re going to leave New York soon, head somewhere else. There’ll be a signal soon enough. Margaret might want to come with us.
AMY
I really thought there was something more to this. But after all this time, there wasn’t. You’re just a mad and brilliant doctor who looks like an ordinary man, picking up people and travelling through the stars with them.
A brief pause as AMY finishes abruptly.
She realises.