Afterlife (2005–2006): Season 2, Episode 8 - A Name Written in Water - full transcript

Hi, this is Robert. I
can't talk right now.

Leave a message and
I'll get back to you.

Hi, Robert, it's Alison. Call me.
If you get this, will you call me,

when you get this, will
you call me, please?

I'm trying to find a J Bridge. Jude.
Short for Judith, I presume.

But I don't know. I can't find
her in the book anywhere.

I'm sorry, I'm not being very clear.
Erm, I'm trying to find...

Erm, he works at Cabot University in
the, erm... psychology department.

Er, no, actually. I'm trying to find out if
there's been an accident anywhere tonight

in Bristol anywhere... Well,
it's a bit obscure...

I do know what time it is! Yes,
of course I know what time it is!



Robert!

Hello? Can I help you?

- Who are you?
- Who are you?

Tutte le volte che sto facendo qualcosa
d'importante c'e qualcuno che rompe...

- Chiudi quella porta, ho freddo.
- Allora... Non fare il bambino.

I want Robert. This
is Robert's boat.

Sorry, this is our boat now.

Can you tell me if you've got a patient
here by the name of Robert Bridge, please?

- When did he come in? Do you know?
- I don't know.

- Do you know what ward he's in?
- I don't know anything.

- Robert Bridge.
- Yep.

- B-R-I...
- D-G-E!

Barbara?

Barbara? Barbara!



- He's dead, isn't he?
- What are you doing here?

- I saw him. He appeared to me. I knew...
- Oh, please!

Well, for your information, you're wrong.
He's not dead.

Oh, thank God. Thank Christ.

So... And what's happened?
I don't understand!

Oh! Your powers seem
to have deserted you.

- He collapsed while he was driving home.
- Oh, OK. OK.

So his heart must have stopped beating. Is
that what they said? Did they say that?

Go away!

I... can't!

Oh, God. He didn't tell you.

Erm...

He found out he had a
tumour in the brain.

The doctor said it was inoperable.
Terminal.

- Where is he?
- They gave him months, weeks.

- He was coming to terms with it.
- Where is he?

- Now they don't know...
- Where is he?

He's in intensive care.

Excuse me. Can you tell me the
way to intensive care, pl...?

Excuse me! Excuse me!

Excuse me...

Can I help you?

Can I help you?

I'm starving!

Excuse me. I've come to see Robert Bridge.
He's your patient.

Could you let me know
when his visitor's gone?

- I'm sitting over there.
- He's allowed two visitors at a time.

No, it's OK. I'll wait.

We're helping him to breathe at the
moment because he can't do that himself.

Can you tell how bad things are?

You'll have to talk to
Dr Pran about that.

There's been no change
since he got here.

Sometimes no change is good.

Why didn't you tell me?

What did you think I'd say?

Why didn't you let me help you?

What were you afraid of?

Don't you know that you
could have talked?

Just talked.

Just...

talked.

And I'd have listened.

It's getting late, love. Maybe you
should go home and get some rest.

Just a while longer.

I'm Zoe.

- I'm Alison.
- Are you a relative?

No.

I'm his friend.

- He's a fighter.
- Yeah, I know he is.

Have you known him long?

I'm sorry.

Hey, listen. You stay
as long as you like.

Wh... What's that
woman doing here?

I don't want her here.
Get her out of here.

Jude...

Don't talk to me. Don't be here.

No, wait a minute. It's all right.
Let me talk to you.

You see, he's not ready to die.
He told me.

What?

He, er... He came to me.

W- When it happened, I saw him. When his
heart stopped beating he came to me.

He came to you?

He came to YOU?

You bitch! You bitch!

You bitch! Get out! Get out!

Get out!

- Get out!
- It's OK, she's gone, she's gone. Shh.

- Get out!
- It's OK. She's gone, she's gone.

She's gone now. She's gone.

I always talk to them.

Sometimes you'll see the
flick of an eyelid.

Any sort of response, really.

Sometimes they can't move or
even breathe, but they can hear.

Robert?

Robert...

I don't know what to say.

It doesn't matter.
Just anything.

Just so long as he
hears your voice.

"Once upon a time, in the heart of a
deep, dark forest, there stood a castle.

"And in the castle lived
a king and queen.

"One day, the queen was
walking in the forest

"and she found a pretty bird
trapped in a thorn bush.

"She released it.

"Soon afterwards, the queen gave
birth to a lovely daughter.

"And all the fairies of the land
were invited to the celebrations.

"One gave her the
gift of beauty.

"One the gift of
a singing voice.

"And one the gift of dancing."

Now, I should tell you, it's rare for a
coma to last more than two to four weeks.

Thank God.

However...

the other possibility is that he might
not come out of a coma at all...

and instead slip into what we call
a persistent vegetative state.

Oh, God.

I'm telling you these possibilities,
Mrs Bridge, because...

as next of kin, there may be
difficult decisions ahead.

Decisions?

What decisions?

His mother's in a nursing
home, his father's

dead, and there's no
other close family.

Well, if there's anyone
else who needs to see him,

- now would be a good time to ask them.
- What? What are you saying?

He's not going to die. He's
not ready to die. He's not.

- He's not! He's not!
- Excuse me.

- Sorry, do you know who this is?
- He needs someone with him.

Robert! I want to see him. You
can't stop me seeing him!

I want to go to him
and be next to him.

He knows me, he needs me.
He doesn't know you.

You don't care about him. You don't
understand me. He doesn't know you.

- Robert!
- I'm going to have to ask you to leave.

Come on.

I listen to them and it's
like nails going in.

And I'm not even listening.

And I know I should. I have to.

And then I hear her and she's
saying, "His spirit"...

"His spirit says" and...

There's this feeling
in my heart.

Of course. You wouldn't
be human if there wasn't.

No, I mean real feeling.

Jude, people like
Alison feed on...

People like Alison... Not people
like Alison. Alison saw him.

- She says she saw him.
- I know.

I know. I'm not looking for a
rational argument, Barb, I'm just...

I just want support.

What Alison offers isn't
support, it's madness.

What's more, it's a madness Robert spent
his entire academic life exposing.

- Exposing or exploring?
- What's the difference?

Everything.

It's the very thing he despised, the
exploitation of the vulnerable.

- Thank you.
- Oh, come on!

You know what I'm saying.
You're an intelligent woman.

At times like this, especially
at times like this,

the urge to believe
must be overwhelming.

But you've got to listen to
the doctors, for God's sake.

For Robert's sake.

You know I'm right.

Look, I-I don't care what you
believe or don't believe.

What I care about is Robert's
welfare and whether he's suffering.

- Oh, and I don't?
- Of course you do.

And that's why it's hard.
It's harder for you.

But you've got to find the
courage not to be selfish,

not to give over to miracles
and life after death

and the idea that Robert's going to
spring back to life because she says so.

Because it'll hurt you, and I
don't want to see you hurt.

I don't think he
did despise her.

I don't think he ever did that.

It's Alison Mundy to see
Robert Bridge, please.

I'll just come and get you.

- Has his wife been back in?
- Yeah.

- Is she there now?
- No.

Can I come in, please?

Dr Pran said not to admit
you in the future.

- Dr. Pran isn't working tonight.
- Thank you.

Are you all right?

Alison, maybe I've got
this wrong, but I...

I thought I heard you say
that you saw Robert's spirit.

I did.

He's still alive.

What does that mean?

I don't know.

What's it like? Do...

Do they come to you?
What do you do?

I try to help them if I can.

And sometimes I can,
sometimes I can't.

And...

Now I... I want to help him.

But I don't know how.

Zoe.

I saw... a nurse...

wearing an old-fashioned uniform standing
by that old lady just before she died.

You saw her?

Who is she?

Well, you hear lots of different
stories over the years.

Who is she?

They say she's a night
nurse who lost her lover.

He was in this awful accident.

She was on duty when he was
brought in with these burns.

She tried to save
him but couldn't.

And she died of a broken heart.

He died in agony.

And now it's her mission to take people
away peacefully when their time is due.

So I was told.

What was her name?

Nobody knows.

Like I say, maybe
it's only a story.

Hi, this is Robert. If
you want to leave a

message for me or Jude,
do so after the beep.

Hi, this is Robert. If
you want to leave a

message for me or Jude,
do so after the beep.

Sweeping you up in my arms...

Type... number...

Mm...

I'm gonna have to
take a rain check.

Certainly.

Have they been good to you?

They've been great.

That's what I'm doing...

in here.

Sweeping you up in my arms.

Me too.

Hey...

Hey, fine, fine.

It's strange.

The gift of beauty.

The gift of dancing.

The gift...

What was the other gift?

Jude, he probably
needs some rest now.

Maybe you should take a
break as well, yeah?

Whenever you're ready, though.

When will he be
able to come home?

Let's take this one step
at a time, shall we?

The progress of the tumour may make that...
unachievable.

No. You hear stories
all the time.

People are told they have six months to
live, the cancer goes into remission.

Those cases are rare.
Very rare indeed.

But it happens. They can't
explain it, but it happens.

Robert's awake.

- He's talking.
- Oh...

- Erm, well, I'll just get...
- No, he needs rest.

I just came to get a few things,
someone to look after the baby.

I'm going back as soon as I...

Erm, do you want to come in?

Take a seat.

Would you, er... Would
you like a drink?

No, thanks.

He was on his way round here
with that when he collapsed.

Was it on the passenger seat?

Yes.

The nurses said that
they'd call but they're

probably busy, they've
got better things to do,

much better things to do
like looking after Robert.

I didn't mean to hurt you but when he
appeared to me I knew he was still there,

he was still fighting,
still clinging on and...

He was.

The thing is, Alison...

why didn't he appear to me?

He would've if he could.

- But you're special.
- No.

Not special.

Different.

He said he wanted to help you.

Did he help you?

He held my hand and
took me to the past...

and told me not to be afraid.

He saved my life.

He thought my life
was worth saving.

He's the first person I think
I've ever met who did.

I should go.

Well, thank you very much for coming.
I do appreciate it.

You didn't have to.

Yes, I did.

Do you want to come with me?

I'm sorry, he...

He's been unconscious
for the last two hours.

He's not responding.

I'm sorry.

I'm, er, gonna go and get a drink of water.
Do you want one?

Did he ever talk
to you about Josh?

Yeah.

Please tell me the truth
when I ask you this.

In the beginning...

did Robert come to you
to contact our son?

No.

But from the very first
time that I met Robert,

I saw Josh.

Josh needed his daddy...

to let him go...

so that he could be at peace.

And then... so could
Robert be at peace.

When we talked
recently, I think...

he was nearing an
acceptance of the tumour.

Almost ready to
accept the mystery...

He said to me recently...

"I don't know what it all
means but I love my life."

Maybe that's all the
meaning you need.

After all this time
listening to...

Robert's scepticism about
faith and religion.

I think he's the most spiritual
person I've ever known.

I just want my husband back.

Wait!

Wait!

Stop!

Don't take him!

It's not his time. Tell
me that you won't.

You can't.

Wait.

You know what it's like to lose
someone that you love, don't you?

You know what I'm going through.

I don't want to have
to watch him die like

you did and I don't
have to if you help me.

Please. I don't want to have
to suffer like you suffered.

You don't take them
till they're ready, do

you? Well, he's not ready.
He's not, he's not.

He told me that he's not.

He's struggling.

Take somebody else.

Take anybody else, only please,
please, don't take him.

Please don't take him.

What do I have to do?

What do I have to do? All my
life I've done things for you!

And now I ask this,
this one thing.

Tell me what I have
to do and I'll do it!

He's not ready to die, but I am.

Is that it?

You don't have to take him.

Take me. I'm not afraid of death.
I've been there. Twice.

Do you want me to help you? Do you want
me to help you pass over? I-Is that it?

I can do that, I know I can.

For you, I'll do it for you. We'll
do it together. We'll go now.

Tell me that you'll let
him be and I'll do it.

Tell me that you'll let
him live and I'll do it.

Take me instead.

Are you OK?

Sometimes... I think the
spirits are good...

and just.

And sometimes I think
they're evil...

and selfish.

I'd like to think that they can
be more than human beings.

But they're not.

They can do good.

They can help.

But they don't.

Maybe there are some things
that they can't interfere with.

Or stop.

They just have to happen.

He has so much more to
live for than I do.

Oh, that's not true.

How can you measure the
value of a life anyway?

I know this is Robert's slot.

I'm going to take it today.

You all know why he's not here.

I just thought it might
be appropriate to read

these notes that were
typed up on his desk.

I don't know if he was going
to share them with you.

They're from a chapter from his unfinished
book on the psychology of mediumship.

I'll read them.

"To quote University of Chicago
sociologist of religion Andrew Greeley,

"'Humankind is born with
two incurable diseases.

"'Life, from which
it inevitably dies,

"'and hope, which hints that
death may not be the end. "'

"Unquote.

"I have spent my life hoping,

"hoping, I now realise, to find
undeniable proof of life after death.

"But the truth is,
as it must be...

the only proof we
will ever grasp

is in the moment
when it happens.

"The moment we die.

"Then I have no doubt
all will become clear."

Robert?

Listen to me. I...

I want a few more arguments
with you, all right?

Cos, erm... it... it's
good for the soul.

My soul.

I need it.

It's time, isn't it?

It is. You know it is.

Help me.

I can't.

I thought it would be
so clear but it isn't.

I thought all the questions
would be answered

but they're not.

It's so hard.

- It's so hard to let go.
- I don't want to lose you.

What I'm leaving behind

is so precious to me.

You know that, don't you?

Yes.

I do.

I'm afraid.

Don't be afraid.

I'm right here.

I'm right by your side.

There's nothing to be
afraid of any more.

You just leave that behind and
take all the good things.

My body.

My life.

Your body let you down.

But your body isn't you.

What am I, then?

Free.

No!