mcleod's daughters - "betwixt and between" - partial transcript
hey, just transcribed parts of the latest episode "Betwixt and Between". thought i'd post it. (there's about 8 scenes, all Stevie and Rose centric.)
McLeod’s Daughters
“Betwixt and Between”
Stephanie Hall - Simmone Jade Mackinnon
Rose Hall-Smith - Basia A’Hern
Michelle Hall-Smith - Tara Morice
Meg Fountain - Sonia Todd
Kate Manfredi - Michaela Banas
(Outside Drover’s - the house. Stevie comes from outside, Rose comes from inside the house.)
Stevie: Oh hey, I was just looking for you.
Rose: Me too. Why?
Stevie: Um, because I thought you might wanna go riding. We could go for a bit of a canter. Can’t go too far, we gotta be back to take the temperatures of the cattle, so…
Rose: Cool, but I’d rather you taught me how to drive.
(She looks over to the Ute, so does Stevie. They look back at eachother.)
Rose: That way we get to chat as well.
Stevie: Okay.
(They both walk over to the Ute, the driver's side. Stevie shoos Rose to the passenger’s side.)
Stevie: Where do you think you’re going? Get around that side.
(Driving on a dirt road, Stevie and Rose are in the Ute, Rose driving.)
Rose: Sorry.
Stevie: No, what’s a bit of whiplash between friends?
(They laugh. Rose stops the car - by accident. Stevie covers her mouth with her hand, trying not to laugh so much.)
Rose: What’d I do wrong now?
(She tucks her hair behind her ears.)
Stevie: You just, you took your foot off the clutch too quick and gave it a bit too much juice, that’s all.
(She shifts in her seat a little.)
Stevie: It’s okay.
(Alex comes up on his bike. Rose looks petrified.)
Rose: Oh geez.
(She ducks her head down, trying to hide. Stevie tries not to laugh.)
Alex: You two girls practising for the rodeo?
(He drives away, smiling.)
Stevie: It’s okay, you’re in the clear, come up.
(Rose lifts her head back up.)
Rose: Why does he always have to be around when I do something stupid?
Stevie: Well, he’s done plenty of dumb things in his life, too. So don’t you worry about it. Okay, put it in neutral.
(She does. Stevie nods, smiling.)
Stevie: Good.
(Stevie’s paying attention to the gearbox - Rose, not so much.)
Rose: Stevie?
(Stevie looks up.)
Stevie: Yeah?
Rose: You left home when you were about my age, didn’t you?
Stevie: Yeah... Okay, start it up.
(She does.)
Stevie: Good girl. Okay...
Rose: Did you go off with a boyfriend?
Stevie: No, now concentrate on your driving.
(But Rose doesn’t wanna, she persists with the questions.)
Rose: I put some laundry in your room, I didn’t mean to snoop.
(Stevie looks at Rose, semi-scared.)
Rose: But I found a plaster-cast of baby feet.
Stevie: What?
(Stevie looks forward again.)
Rose: You had a baby, didn’t you? That’s why you left home, because you were pregnant.
(She stops the car. Stevie covers her mouth with her hand. Rose looks at her.)
Rose: I’m right, aren’t I?
Stevie: Uh...
(She uncovers her mouth. She looks really distressed.)
Stevie: Yeah, you are.
Rose: What happened to it?
Stevie: Why don’t we get out of the car, and I’ll explain.
(Rose gets out; Stevie takes a couple breaths, and looks after her.)
(Stevie and Rose are sitting near a tree - maybe near the rose gums.)
Stevie: ... And neither of us thought about babies, which was naïve, I know. And I didn’t find out I was pregnant until after he left town.
Rose: But what happened to the baby?
(Beat. Stevie looks sad, Rose just wants answers.)
Stevie: Well...
Rose: It didn’t die, did it?
Stevie: Oh, no.
(She smiles, sadly. This is really hard for her.)
Stevie: No. No, I had a beautiful, healthy, little baby girl.
(Rose looks a mix of angry, shocked, disappointed and confused. She moves away the slightest bit.)
Rose: So what happened to her?
(Beat. Stevie puts her hand on Rose’s leg.)
Stevie: Rose, I have imagined telling you this so many times.
Rose: You gave her away...
(Stevie’s smile fades.)
Rose: Didn’t you? You had her adopted.
Stevie: Um...
Rose: How could you? How could you do that?
Stevie: Uh, no, it wasn’t easy.
Rose: Why didn’t you keep her?
Stevie: I tried. I tried for a whole year.
(She just wants Rose to understand.)
Stevie: But I was young. I was as young as you are now.
Rose: Gran and Pop would’ve helped.
Stevie: No, I couldn’t go home, that wasn’t an option.
(Beat. She’s trying not to cry.)
Rose: Have you ever tried to find her?
(Beat.)
Stevie: I know that she went to a good home with loving parents.
Rose: That was a long time ago, things change. Does she know about you?
(She shakes her head a bit.)
Stevie: No.
Rose: Why not?
Stevie: Because I have been waiting for the right time to tell her, and that has just never come up.
Rose: Don’t you wanna know what happened to her? I mean, what she’s like? Don’t you ever think about her?
Stevie: Yeah, Rose, every day. Every single day.
Rose: Why haven't you done anything?
Stevie: Um...
(She thinks.)
Stevie: Because it’s complicated.
(Beat. Stevie looks at her for a moment.)
Rose: I think I’d like to go back now.)
(She gets up. Stevie sits there for a moment, sad. Then she gets up and follows Rose.)
(At the windmill. Rose is trying to get reception on her mobile phone. Stevie walks up to her. Rose looks up and sees her, Stevie walks a little slower. She points towards the house.)
Stevie: You can use the phone down at the house if you like.
Rose: It doesn’t matter.
Stevie: Rose.
(Beat. She really wants her to understand.)
Stevie: Please.
Rose: It’s none of my business. It was your decision. You’re the one who has to live with it.
Stevie: Yeah and I do. Every day. Look, I don’t... expect you to understand...
Rose: I won’t understand, ever.
Stevie: Please don’t hate me.
Rose: What does it matter what I think?
Stevie: Because it... it’s really important to me.
Rose: So, that’s important, but your own baby isn’t?
Stevie: No. No, that’s not what I meant.
Rose: You’ve had fifteen years to find out if she’s okay. She doesn’t matter to you at all.
Stevie: That’s not true.
(You can hear the tears in her voice.)
Stevie: I loved her.
Rose: Then how could you give her away? No mother who really loves her child could ever do that.
(She starts to walk away, Stevie turns after her.)
Stevie: No, Rose, that…
(Beat.)
Stevie: I did what I did because I loved you.
(Rose stops.)
Stevie: I have never stopped loving you.
(Rose turns to look at her, shocked.)
Rose: What?
Stevie: Oh...
(They both just stand there for a moment; a look of realisation comes over Rose’s face.)
Rose: Oh my god. It was me.
Stevie: Rose...
(Rose turns and runs towards the house. Stevie follows her.)
(Closer to the house. Michelle walks towards them. Rose runs up to her, with Stevie following.)
Stevie: Rose, stop!
(Rose stops in front of Michelle.)
Rose: Is it true?
(She looks overwhelmed.)
Rose: Is Stevie my mother?
(Michelle looks at her, shocked. Rose starts to cry a little. Michelle looks at Stevie, infuriated.)
Michelle: What have you done?
(Rose is absolutely taken aback.)
Rose: I hate you. I hate both of you.
(She turns, and starts to run back up the hill, past Stevie.)
Stevie: Rose.
(She runs up to the Ute.)
Michelle: Rose!
Stevie: No.
Michelle: Rose, stop!
(She gets in the Ute, and drives off, them yelling after her.)
(Rose storms into Stevie’s room, smashes the two photos she has on the bedside table and storms out, Michelle following her, trying to calm her down a bit.)
Michelle: Rose. Stevie and I just did what we thought was best for you.
(They go into the room Rose is staying in.)
Rose: And the best was letting me think you and dad... Tom... Who’s my real dad?
(Stevie has appeared at the door.)
Stevie: His name’s Will, he only found out he was your father recently.
(Rose looks away, to the window.)
Rose: I’m not talking to you.
Stevie: Rose, I always planned on telling you the truth. Leaving you was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
Rose: None of you ever cared about me, how I’d feel.
(Michelle places her hands on Rose’s shoulders.)
Michelle: Yes we did. We love you. Stevie loves you.
Rose: She gave me up!
(Michelle looks at Stevie. Stevie covers her mouth with her hands. Michelle looks back to Rose.)
Michelle: You want the truth? Then listen to me, please.
(She sits on the bed behind her.)
Rose: I don’t want her in here.
(Rose angrily goes and closes the door in Stevie’s face. Stevie rests her head, and hands, on the door, trying not to cry, and failing miserably. She can hear mumbling and crying on the other side of the door. She stands there, sadly.)
(Outside the house. Stevie is pacing a little, toying with her locket. She turns when she hears Rose storm outside. Rose sees Stevie and keeps walking, a little faster.)
Stevie: Rose. Rose, I’m sorry.
(She stops.)
Stevie: Please, I am so sorry.
Rose: You lied to me. You let me think Mum... Michelle, was my real mum.
(She tries to walk away, but Stevie stops her.)
Stevie: It was only supposed to be for a year or two, but I kept moving from place to place, I didn’t wanna have to admit to myself. I don’t deserve to be your mother.
Rose: No, you don’t.
(She starts to walk away again.)
Stevie: But that doesn’t mean I ever stopped loving you, not for a moment.
(Rose stops, turns to look at Stevie.)
Stevie: Rose, you’ve always been with me.
(She holds her locket.)
Stevie: In here.
(She places a hand over her heart.)
Stevie: And in here. From the moment that you were born.
(Beat. Stevie looks at her, sadly.)
Rose: I’ve got to go.
(She walks away, sadly, kinda angry, leaving Stevie alone.)
Stevie: Oh, please don’t hate me.
(She tries not to cry.)
(Outside Drover’s - the driveway. Rose is saying goodbye to Roy, while Michelle is packing the car with Stevie standing nearby.)
Michelle: I’m sorry, I tried talking to her, but she’s insisting on going.
Stevie: It’s okay. Whatever Rose wants right now.
(Beat.)
Michelle: Tom and I’ll... We’ll do our best to try and help her deal with this.
Stevie: Yeah, I know.
(Beat.)
Stevie: I probably haven’t thanked you enough over the years for, what you’ve done for her.
(Beat.)
Michelle: Well, we better get going.
(She closes the boot of the car.)
Michelle: Come on Rose. Bye Meg, Bye Kate.
(Meg and Kate walk a little closer to Stevie.)
Meg: See ya Michelle.
Kate: Bye Michelle, Bye Rose.
(Rose gets up and walks to the car. Stevie tries to stop her for a second, to say goodbye, to make things okay.)
Stevie: Uh, Rose, wait.
(Rose stops, but doesn't turn to face her.)
Stevie: I wrote you a letter once, explaining everything.
Rose: I don’t wanna read it.
Stevie: You can’t, I burnt it.
Rose: It must’ve been really important.
(Rose starts to walk to the car again.)
Stevie: “To my precious baby Rose...”
(Rose stops. Get the tissues ready.)
Stevie: “...You are too young to realise what is happening, but I hope one day you’ll understand why Mummy and Aunty Michelle are doing this. I love you so much whatever happens. And like the prince in our favourite stories, I have to go away, to prove that I am worthy of my princess. I will be very brave and strong. And when I return, I will bring a fortune with me. And we will live in a castle of our own, happily ever after. Love and kisses, Mummy.”
(Rose turns to face Stevie.)
Stevie: Everyone has a fairytale they believe in, right?
(Beat.)
Stevie: You were mine.
(Beat. Rose turns back and gets in the car. Stevie puts her hands over her mouth, pained. Michelle and Rose start to drive away. Meg and Kate walk up to Stevie, standing close on either side of her. Kate put her arm around Stevie’s back.)
Stevie: You think I’ll ever see her again?
(Rose looks back. Stevie waves to her.)
Kate: Yep, she’ll be back.
(Kate rubs Stevie’s back. Meg stands next to her, sympathetically. The three women watch the car go.)