It's just after dawn. Pale blue light seeps through the net curtains. A clock ticks loudly above the oven. The smell of scorched toast lingers in the air. The kitchen is tidy, but tense. MAXINE TROUGHTON leans over the counter, still in her dressing gown. Her eyes are heavy, lips bitten raw. Across from her, BARNEY TROUGHTON sits at the kitchen table, silent, staring into a cold cup of tea. ALAN TANNER, tall and sharp-eyed despite his age, paces in a beige jumper and tartan slippers. No one's touched the plate of toast between them.
ALAN
(mutters)
Four bedrooms. Garden. That bloody extension I paid for. And they took it like it was nothing.
MAXINE
(softly)
It was nothing to them, Dad. Just another repossession. We were barely out before the bailiffs were walking through with measuring tapes.
(Barney doesn't respond. He's barely blinking. Alan stops pacing and eyes him.)
ALAN
What I don't understand is how Andrew got access to everything. Weren't you watching the accounts?
MAXINE
He used Barney's emergency access. The medical proxy from when he was in hospital.
(Beat. Alan frowns.)
ALAN
That was months ago.
MAXINE
I know. But Martin Nash—his surgeon—apparently coerced him into it. That's what Andrew said yesterday.
(Alan lets out a low whistle.)
ALAN
Martin bloody Nash. Thought he was clever with his jazz ties and his Harley Street handshake. Always smelled like pine needles and gin. But coercion? That's serious.
BARNEY
(barely audible)
I operated with that man. Trusted him. I stood next to him in theatre. We cracked chests together.
(Barney trembles, his voice tight)
He told Andrew to take everything I had. Every last penny.
ALAN
(sits, firmly)
We don't know if that's true. Andrew says a lot of things. He's lied since the day he could speak.
MAXINE
He didn't deny draining the accounts. He just said he didn't want to. That Martin Nash put the fear of God into him.
BARNEY
(finally looks up, eyes hollow)
So what am I supposed to do now?
(Maxine walks over and crouches next to him.)
MAXINE
We get through it. Together. I've already said—we can ask Dad. He can buy the house back. Put it in the kids' names. Or a trust. You won't owe anything to anyone but family.
BARNEY
(shakes head)
I can't accept that.
ALAN
(firmly)
Why the hell not?
BARNEY
Because I'm a doctor. A father. I've always done things the right way. Worked my arse off. Paid my dues. And now what? I'm supposed to crawl back to you? Let my father-in-law pick up the pieces like I'm some weak, pathetic—
MAXINE
You're not pathetic, Barney. You're grieving. You're tired. You're human.
BARNEY
(snaps)
I let it happen, Max! I let Andrew into our lives again. After he pushed Mum down those stairs—after he burned down the bloody pub. I let him stay with us, even after all of that. And then I watched him rip everything away from me like I was nothing. Like Mum meant nothing.
(He breaks down. Maxine clutches his hand tightly.)
BARNEY
And the worst part? I keep thinking maybe I deserve it. Maybe I always have.
(A thick silence falls. Alan stiffens, eyes sharp with emotion. He gets up slowly and walks to the sink, staring out at the back garden before speaking.)
ALAN
You think I've never hated myself?
(beat)
ALAN
I used to wonder if I'd ruined Maxine's childhood by being too hard, too cold. I missed her school play in '88 because of a business dinner. Never told her I was proud of her when she married you. Not once. You think I don't lie awake at night thinking maybe I'm the reason Andrew turned out the way he did?
(He turns, voice low and dangerous)
ALAN
But that's the trick. Guilt eats men like us for breakfast. And shame… shame lives in your lungs. Makes every breath feel like a punishment.
(walks closer, eyes locking with Barney)
ALAN
You don't get to die, Barney. Not like this. Not before you've took David to Leeds. Not before you've seen Kelsey become a academic leader. Not before you've walked Daisy down the aisle and cried in public like a real man.
(Barney's chin trembles. He nods slowly, as if anchoring himself to Alan's words.)
BARNEY
I… I just don't know how to get back to who I was.
MAXINE
(quiet)
Maybe that version of you is gone. But the one I see now? The man who's still here despite all of this? That's someone even stronger.
(Beat.)
MAXINE
Please. Let Dad buy the house back. For the kids. Not for your pride.
(Barney looks at her, then Alan, then his cold tea. He exhales shakily, like a man unclenching after holding in everything for weeks.)
BARNEY
Alright.
(Maxine exhales in relief. She squeezes his hand. Alan nods approvingly.)
ALAN
We'll sort the paperwork this afternoon. I'll call Mitchell & Anderson and have them look at the deeds. You're not losing that house without a fight.
BARNEY
Thank you.
(Alan raises an eyebrow.)
ALAN
Don't thank me yet. Wait until you see what I'm charging you in emotional interest.
(Maxine chuckles, wiping her eyes. Barney even lets out a broken laugh.)
BARNEY
You're a difficult man, Alan.
ALAN
I've buried friends, outlived enemies, and dodged many medical emergencies. Difficult is how I survive.
(He starts making another cup of tea as the sun rises stronger through the blinds. The Troughton family, bruised and battered, begins to feel the faintest warmth of hope again.)