Place of Safety
Ruth has been sectioned and she awakes bedraggled, confused and shaking
in a sparse room. Deeply upset, she kicks out at Charlie as he tries to
help her. Resisting attempts to talk to consultant Andrew Brookfield
(guest star Matthew Kelly), she searches for someone in charge. As
Charlie tries to reason with her, she lashes out and has to be
restrained. Later, she phones the Emergency Department and speaks to
Tess, begging her for Jordan's help. Tess is upset on hearing this, but
can't do anything to help.
Meanwhile, in a flashback scene, Ruth
purposefully walks into resus where a patient lies on the slab - it's
Mary, a woman in her thirties, who looks very much like Ruth, and wears a
heart-shaped necklace. In a later session, Ruth starts to open up to
Andrew, explaining who Mary is - a former patient who Ruth suspected of
having Munchausen's Syndrome during their series of fraught encounters.
Later,
Ruth meets a fellow patient, Jim, and forms a bond. Jim is desperate to
listen to music so that he can practise for a concert at the Royal
Albert Hall, but to Ruth's annoyance the staff won't allow him to have
earphones. Not to be thwarted, Ruth takes Jim to the chapel where there
is a piano for him to practise. He plays for her and one thing leads to
another… until they are discovered by staff.
As the story of Mary
unfolds, Andrew realises that it could hold the key to Ruth's problems.
And when Jim tries to harm himself after their encounter, Ruth realises
that it was her fault for enabling him to play music. But just who is
Mary and how can she help Andrew get to the core of Ruth's mental
problems? And is Ruth ready to stop fighting those who are treating her
and accept that she needs help?
