| Baby, Baby | |
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| Broadcast Date | 15 July 2005 |
| Season | 2 |
| Broadcast Order | 24th |
| Episode Number | 37 |
| Production Number | 214 |
| Writer | Morrie Ruvinsky |
| Director | Geraint Wyn Davies |
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Next Story: Partners of the Month
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| “ | That's sweet. You murder me, then you lecture me on ethics. | ” |
— Serena, Baby, Baby
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Summary[]
At a murder scene, Nick once again encounters the vampire Serena, who resents him for bringing her across in the 1920s. He strives to solve the crime, not realizing that she intends to use the chief suspect for the murder, Calvin Trilling, in her plans to regain mortality. According to ancient legend, a female vampire will become mortal if she bears a child; but for her to conceive, the father must be "a very special sort of man"—which Serena interprets to mean that he must have an extra Y chromosome, which Trilling has. Therefore, when Nick arrests him for murder, Serena contrives his escape from jail. This puts Nick in a quandary. Should he save Trilling, who will die at the climax of consummation? Or should he reconcile the wrong he did Serena by letting her continue with her attempt to become pregnant?
Guest Cast[]
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- Denise Virieux......Serena
- Page Fletcher......Calvin Trilling
- Richard Blackburn......Sgt. Mandrake
- Pierre Peloquin......Armand
- Maxim Roy......Louise
- Nicu Branzea......Emile
Detailed Story Recap[]
The episode opens at an off-line plant construction site, centering on the food wagon. We hear a scream and a thud as startled workers react to an off-camera accident. We cut to Nick and Schanke arriving at the scene. Schanke identifies the deceased as Stan Erickson, a steelworker, and explains that it could be a suicide, but witnesses claim Erickson's last words were "I was pushed."
As Schanke expounds on the horrors of falling to one's doom, Nick reaches into the dead man's hand, wrinkling his nose in distaste as he lifts a cross by its broken chain. As the cross dangles in front of the camera, the focus shifts to an exotic brunette dressed out in full welder's gear. Seeing Nick, she leaves quickly.
Schanke explains that the deceased had a disagreement with co-worker Calvin Trilling; Trilling insists he was with his girlfriend, Serena. As usual, Schanke turns around to find that he's talking to thin air again - Nick has disappeared.
We cut to some exceptional footage of Nick's vampiric pursuit of Serena around corners and down an alley. He finally catches up with her - and she isn't happy to see him.
At the Precinct, Nick questions Calvin Trilling. Trilling admits that the cross is his, but says he lost it last week. We cut to Schanke questioning Serena in another room, as Nick and Cohen watch the interview from behind the one-way glass. As Cohen leaves, Nat arrives. Nick finally admits that he knows the woman. When Nat asks him who she really is, he replies, "A Mistake."
Serena lived in Paris in the 1920s.
Nick flashes back to a Paris café, sometimes in the 1920s, where Serena, hair slicked back and dressed in men's clothing, shares a table with a couple. The wife is very pregnant, and invites her to feel the baby kick. Serena is enchanted by this "miracle." She leaves the table to get another drink from the bar. As Emile, the bartender, pours her drink, Nick {looking quite chic in a red scarf} enters. He orders his usual from Emile, and learns that Serena has already claimed his tab.
Back in the present, Nick intercepts Serena as she and Trilling are leaving the Precinct. In frustration, Nick grabs Serena's arm; she shakes him off, leaving him flustered and embarrassed.
Cut to the Nightcrawler discussing whether emotional pain is the worst pain of all. Nick is sitting in his Caddy, parked at the construction site. As he drinks up Lacroix's words, his thoughts slip back to sitting alone at a small table in the same Paris café, as Serena slips in beside him, singing Me and My Baby. She tells Nick he is her "perfect" man. Their kiss dissolves into the kiss of another couple at the Raven.
Nick and Janette discuss Serena.
We move past the kissing couple in the Raven, through the chains, to see Nick and Janette discussing Serena. Janette moves left, disappearing behind Nick, and we cut back to the Paris café as Serena steps out from behind Nick, completing the motion begun by Janette. She asks Nick to give her eternity.
Back at the Precinct, Schanke tells Natalie that he understands what Nick is going through. He explains his sixth grade crush on Julie Dershowitz, and its humiliating outcome. While commiserating with Schanke, Natalie checks the computer and finds that Trilling was part of a prison study group - he has the extra "Y" chromosome. Cohen authorizes a chromosome work-up.
At the construction site. Nick is stalking Trilling, spying on him and Serena. Watching them kiss, his mind wanders back to his past lovemaking with Serena. Consumed with jealousy, he goes back to the loft, where he slugs down a bottle of cow blood as he remembers bringing Serena across. Desperate now, Nick asks Lacroix for help. Lacroix recalls that Serena had wanted Nick to give her a baby, not bring her across. They discuss whether that's still what she wants. Reluctantly, Lacroix explains the legend that claims a vampire female can mate with a "special" mortal man, under certain conditions.
Nick goes to see Natalie in the morgue, and is frustrated that she can't shed any light on this old "vampire wives' tale" of sex and mortality. Schanke arrives as Nat gets the lab results: the chromosome work-up implicates Trilling.
Nick and Schanke arrest Trilling (after a scuffle in which Schanke is punched) at the construction site - and Serena is mightily displeased. She visits Nick at the loft later to play the "angst" card. According to the legend, if she becomes pregnant, she will become mortal.
Serena goes to the Precinct and hypnotizes the guard to release Trilling. She plans to take Trilling to a place "higher than high," as per the legend, to consummate their relationship during the full moon.
Nick goes to CERK to consult LaCroix.
Meanwhile, Schanke visits Holding to find Trilling gone, and the officer on duty thoroughly whammied. Nick slips away to find Serena and Trilling. His first stop is at CERK, to wheedle more information about the legend out of Lacroix. Finally, and with great distaste, Lacroix recites as much of the "bad Celtic poem" as he can remember. When Nick presses him for a location, he replies, "Legends don't give zip codes." Lacroix urges Nick to leave Serena alone - to give her what she wants - but isn't surprised when Nick ignores his advice.
Communicating via phone, Nick searches one location after another, as Schanke examines Serena's apartment for some hint of where she may have taken Trilling. Schanke finally finds the info Nick needs - on a postcard stuck on Serena's fridge.
Nick tries to comfort Serena
At the top of the "World's Tallest Freestanding Tower", Serena and Trilling are heating up. Nick appears, nearly spoiling the mood, until Serena again plays on Nick's never-ending guilt - reminding him that she is trapped in this undead existence only because of him - and begging him to let her have this one chance to become mortal.
Nick lets Serena have her way with Trilling.
Predictably, Nick acquiesces. His behavior, however, is inexplicable: instead of leaving, he simply turns his back on the lovebirds while standing just a few feet away. (Ewwwww...) As Serena coaxes Trilling back into the moment, Nick stoically stands his ground, wearing the agonized expression of a conflicted voyeur. Hormones prevail, and Serena and Trilling immediately proceed as if there's no tomorrow. For Trilling, there isn't. Serena survives the encounter, weeping copious blood tears as she realizes that it was only a legend. There is no mortality for her, no baby. And there is no love lost for Nick. She rebukes his offer of help, preferring to clean up her own mess and her own life, as far away from him as possible.
Minutes later, a defeated-looking Nick meets Schanke at the gate to the tower, telling him that, "if Serena and Trilling were ever there, they're gone now."
Epilogue:
Afterward, at the Precinct, Schanke visits with Cohen. Frustrated when Schanke stumbles over her questions, Cohen finally tells him to go home and get some rest. We cut to Nick at the loft, dwelling on Serena, and ending with a memory of her raising her glass to him in salute.
Flashbacks:
All flashbacks in this episode are set in Paris, sometime in the 1920s, and focus on Nick's meeting and subsequent romantic entanglement (and ultimate communication disaster) with the notoriously independent, unconventional beauty, Serena. There is substantial intercutting between flashback and real-time action, a technique which serves to advance the story while simultaneously providing background information.
Vampire Lore[]
- Vampires also have old wives' tales, including one that suggests female vampires will return to a human condition if they manage to become pregnant.
Fan Fiction[]
Quotes[]
- Nick: Sometimes in our desperation, we'll believe anything. We'll do anything.
- Natalie: Do you think he loved her?
Schanke: Oh, and they say women are sensitive. C'mon! It was like a neon sign emblazoned across his forehead. Of course he loved her. Probably still does.
- Natalie: You loved her.
Nick: Ah, it doesn't matter. In her eyes, I betrayed her.
- Serena: He's a murderer. Violent scum! The world won't lose anything.
Nick: That's not for you to decide.
Serena: Are you telling me you wouldn't sacrifice another human to regain your own mortality? I know you better than that.
Nick: We have laws, Serena.
Serena: Thanks to you, they aren't mine.
Notes[]
Behind the Scenes[]
- The German title for this episode was "Vollmond" ("Full Moon").
- This episode was the directorial debut of series lead Geraint Wyn Davies.
- GWD did not write Me and My Baby. That song comes from Chicago, the Musical. GWD composed incidental and background music for this episode.
Continuity[]
Canadian Content[]
- Portions of the episode climax were filmed on location at the CN Tower in Toronto.
- Canada, like legends, does not have zip codes. (Canada uses postal codes.)