This story takes place after episode 3-01. Parts in italics are from Doc Martin, Series 2, Episode 9, the Christmas Special: "On the Edge" - written by Jack Lothian.
Disclaimer: Doc Martin and recognisable storylines belong to Buffalo Pictures.
Initiative - Chapter 1 - Saturday
'Was that Martin? In jeans?' wondered Louisa. She saw him walking down the street in Wadebridge on a Saturday afternoon as she was driving home from shopping. Because she needed to pay attention to driving, she couldn't do the double-take necessary to verify that it was him, and not someone who looked like him. She'd like to think she knew his walk by now, but who knows? Stranger things have happened. Then again, she thought, what could be stranger than Martin Ellingham in jeans?
-oo0oo-
Back home in White Rose Cottage, Louisa stood on her deck overlooking Portwenn's beautiful harbour. She was thinking about how much she'd like to spend nice evenings like this with a partner. Martin crossed her mind, and she looked over the water at his surgery. And didn't the man himself pull up in his silver car? She watched as he pulled a couple of large, brown bags from the trunk of the Lexus and began carrying each, in turn, around the side of his cottage. And he was most definitely NOT wearing a suit.
This, she had to see, so she put away the remains of her tea and headed down the hill on her way over to the surgery.
-oo0oo-
Martin finished unloading bags of humus and potting soil from the trunk of his car, then got in it and moved it to its parking space. He entered his kitchen and washed up at the sink, then got out the fish he'd bought for dinner. He thought he'd get it started before changing his clothes.
A couple of minutes into this task, there was a knock at the kitchen door, so he grabbed a cloth for his hands and walked over to open it.
"Louisa," he said, in surprise. He then watched her eyes travel down and back up, looking at him, and realised what he must look like. Bugger! He hadn't had a chance to change out of these silly clothes. Joan had asked him to change a rear light on her pick-up truck, and he'd bought the beginnings of a project he'd recently decided to take on. The tough texture of the jean material seemed appropriate for the task he had planned. He'd ruined enough suits in the course of duty here in Portwenn over the last couple of years.
Louisa was smiling at him now, as she entered the kitchen. He closed the door, but didn't miss her scanning him, again, this time from behind.
"Martin?"
"Yes?" he said, guardedly.
"How long have you owned jeans?"
"Are you... um..."
"Checking you out?"
"Um... hm."
"Yes. I think I was."
She watched him redden, which only made her smile more.
Luckily for Martin the phone rang and he went to answer it. She looked at a diagram of an herb garden on the table. She recognised his neat (for a doctor) handwriting, and liked the way he sketched the geometric shapes.
She heard Martin tell the caller, "I'm sorry, but I haven't the time."
He listened for a moment, then asked, "What type did you say it was? ... Hm. That's nearly rare."
She saw how his long fingers idly traced the table surface.
"I, um..." He was looking over at Louisa now. "I can't at this time. ... Yes. ... I'll call if I can. ... Yes. Bye."
Martin hung up the phone and returned to where Louisa stood by his drawings.
"Was that about a clock?" she asked him.
"Yes." He looked uncomfortable, like he had a secret.
"Are you still fixing clocks?" Louisa asked. She tried very hard to sound interested and not accusatory.
"Well, I thought you wanted me to do something new."
"Is this garden because of what I said?" She sounded like she was figuring something out.
"I thought it's what you meant. Get a new hobby." He sounded confused now, trying to remember their somewhat cryptic conversation.
She knew that the conversation hadn't been clear. She had needed to drive Delph's mother back home, at the time. But, she realised, they had definitely not been thinking along the same lines.
"Oh." She looked sheepish. "Well, better get back," she said, to escape this now slightly uncomfortable situation.
Martin, realizing their conversation was off, tried to think of something helpful to say.
"Um, have you eaten?"
That was unexpected, she thought. But she didn't think now was a good time.
"I, um, just had a late tea before taking a walk." Her mind worked away. "Maybe some other time?" she asked, hopefully.
"Some other time," he said, agreeably. She thought he looked relieved. She walked to the door.
"Bye, then," she said, as she opened the door, and then walked through.
"Bye," he replied. He'd followed her to the door, and watched her out of sight before closing it.
He thought, I don't think she meant get a new hobby. Oh, God. Had she meant? Was it possible? He looked at the door and once again felt sure he would never get it right with her. He had told her some weeks back that he found her hard to understand in the best of times.
Understanding. Wasn't that...
He went to his desk and opened a folder containing the paperwork for the Understanding Others course he'd agreed to take. Under duress, as it happened. He had been so worried about Louisa being tied up in his surgery by that fool Jonathan that he had agreed to Gavin Peters' "initiative" without an argument. He'd forgotten about it until the course pack had arrived a couple of days ago.
He remembered the initial conversation...
-oo0oo-
"Dr. Ellingham, there's a recent initiative. A training course focusing on people skills," Gavin had said.
"Oh, God."
"It's two weeks and it will teach you how to relate to your patients as people, not just medical complaints. After that, I'll return to see how you've taken it on board."
"And what if I choose not to attend your initiative, Gavin?"
"Well, then, I'll recommend you be removed. It really is down to you, Dr. Ellingham."
"Right."
-oo0oo-
He recalled walking out, mostly because he could not believe that he'd had to sit for any length of time with pasty filling drying on his face.
Martin then thought about that horrible afternoon when he had been taken hostage in his surgery, along with Louisa and Pauline. When Gavin showed up, Martin desperately tried to get him to go away so he would not also be held hostage...
-oo0oo-
"Look, Ellingham, you've forced my hand. I'm going to recommend your removal."
"Fine. Fine. Just send me the relevant papers and I'll be off." Martin was flipping out because Louisa was on the other side of that door with Jonathan!
"This could have been avoided if you'd agreed to the course."
"I'd love to go on the course."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Uh, yeah. A-a-absolutely. Count me in." He turned Gavin around and led him to the door.
"Well, I'll sign you up, then."
"I'm your man."
"It's two weeks, you know? People skills."
"Sounds super." Martin didn't care how he sounded at this point.
"I will be checking your attendance."
"Thank you."
"Thank YOU."
"No, thank you."
-oo0oo-
The first step was to take a Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator test online. Upstairs now, Martin signed in on his laptop with the password provided.
Meanwhile, the phone in the surgery went to voice mail. It was Gavin informing him he was released from the Understanding Others course due to extenuating circumstances, those being the hostage situation and the cliff rescue. Gavin couldn't resist reminding Martin that the need for the course could be revisited in future, if necessary.
End of Chapter 1