Disclaimer: Doc Martin and recognizable storylines belong to Buffalo Pictures.

Questions - Chapter 1

Louisa could still hear how harsh she sounded. It really was unfair of her, laying that on Martin as he prepared to travel to the conference. He had those details in his mind, as well as all the travel intricacies. There was even a bit of bad weather thrown in, and she picked that moment to tell him her disappointment with how little time he spends with their son. Maybe she was just projecting, feeling the pressure of two careers, a spirited four-year-old boy, and how little time she and Martin spent together as a couple.

Martin looked sad, of course, bordering on the deep sadness his face would show back in the days when they were trying to be a couple, and failing miserably.

Yet, even that had tried her patience. She ended up just waving him out the door. "Just go, Martin! You'll be late."

"I'll call," he'd said, then turned and left.

- oo0oo –

Louisa went upstairs and helped James finish getting ready for school.

She was completely upset with herself for her bad timing, and tried to keep it out of her voice and her actions. Martin and James had had a very nice parting, after which James had gone upstairs to dress and Martin had switched all concentration to his departure preparations. Louisa realised she felt a twinge of jealousy, of James getting that attention and her being secondary at that moment. She shook it off, knowing it was silly.

James was chattering away now, as they headed downstairs, his mind turned towards a school project he knew would be happening that day. However, as Louisa started making him a sandwich, he turned his attention towards her.

"Did you wash your hands, Mummy?"

"Yes, James. I always wash my hands before touching food."

"Good, because there is a lot of dirt that you can't see. Remember the bread spearmint?"

This Louisa did remember. She had come across the bags of mouldy bread in the pantry. Martin had forgotten to tell her about THAT particular experiment. She was thinking about how Martin did different things with James than she did, while James was telling her the whole story.

- oo0oo –

During the flight, Martin was remembering James Henry's "fever of unknown origin" - jotted haphazardly on his medical notes as "FUO" - when James was only 9 months old. He could picture the baby boy's stoic face, perhaps inherently there for his mother, who was quite worried. Louisa slept in the hospital three nights running, although "sleep" may not have been the proper term.

It had frustrated Martin to no end, because neither he nor the doctors in Truro could figure it out. And poor James suffered several IV sticks, because his tiny veins kept closing up!

Luckily, James had been a healthy toddler. Well, Martin would like to think he'd had a hand in that. And now he was a healthy, happy, rambunctious little boy.

- oo0oo –

Martin had taken James to the playground one Saturday after lunch, and thought of a way to teach the boy about germs. He needed to control the situation somewhat, so he told James they were going to do an experiment when they got home from the playground.

First, he asked James if he thought his hands were clean.

James looked at his palms and said, "Yes!"

Martin kept his scoff under control and said James should at least wipe his hands on a towel. So, the boy complied. Martin then asked if he thought his hands were clean. James wondered why he asked again, then thought about how his parents said, and quite often, 'Wash your hands.'

"They look clean, Daddy, but I didn't wash them like you always say."

"That's right, James. For our experiment, we are going to see how clean, or dirty, your hands are before you wash them."

Martin had already placed a bag of wheat bread nearby, and two plastic zipper-style bags.

"I want you to rub your hands on this slice of bread."

"Oh, Mummy wouldn't like that," said James, knowingly.

"No, she wouldn't, but it's for our experiment, and we will not be eating either of these two slices."

He handed one slice to James, who rubbed the bread with his hands with a big smile. Then, Martin helped his son use tongs to place an untouched slice of bread from the original bag into one of the plastic bags, and the touched slice into a separate one. Using a plant mister, they took turns spritzing each slice in its own bag, then zipping the bags closed.

- oo0oo –

James had just finished telling his mother about the bread in the bags. Louisa could picture how one slice had been very mouldy, while the other had very little mould. She thought about what she'd said to Martin as he'd left that morning. He did spend time with James, of course. Why had she decided it wasn't "enough" all of a sudden? She felt ashamed at how she had acted and spoken to Martin.

- oo0oo –

The flight had been non-eventful, and Martin had hurried enough to make the Gatwick Express train connection to Victoria Station, and from there caught a taxi to the conference.

He checked in and found his hotel room was nice enough. They always were. He didn't know what people meant by "cheap hotel," and didn't spend time imagining it, but he knew he had a good life. He'd worked hard for it. Yet even though the last four years had included being a father, and a husband, both of which he'd thought he'd given sufficient time to, it bothered him that Louisa did not seem to agree.

He could picture her wrinkled brow and downturned mouth as she sarcastically said she'd be taking time off after he returned, since she already spent more time with James than he did and would be worn out by the extra time this week.

Had she really meant that? Did he really not spend enough time with James?

He still worried about his ability to be a good father, not having had a good role model. He thought about the time he spent with James. It was short in the morning, and only part of the hours of weekday evenings. If he'd had emergencies, or home visits, he often ended up finishing notes and such after dinner. He had been alone with James only a couple of nights over the years, when Louisa had gone off to school-related conferences. Those were routine, having been on weeknights, so the evenings were easily filled with dinner, bath, and a story. Although he'd spent time alone with James, he'd never spent a whole day alone with his son.

Maybe that's what Louisa wanted. Time completely to herself, with neither himself nor James around. He knew he had to give this more thought, but for now he needed to concentrate on the first seminar.

Questions - End of Chapter 1