AN :– We couldn't resist writing a quick Christmas story. Set somewhere between series 2 and series 3. Thanks to Diane for her beta work on the story.
Disclaimer :– Doc Martin and its characters belong to Buffalo Pictures Ltd, which is probably a good thing really or the poor Doc would be worn out by now. No copyright infringement intended.
Rating :– T – just for some minor language and slight sexual references.
Santa Baby
by
GuineaGriff
(aka littleguinea & GriffinStar)
"What did you say?" asked Martin, his incredulity evident by the tone of his voice.
"I said…" repeated Louisa, who was by this time getting more than just a little bit annoyed, "Father Christmas has just tripped and launched himself head first into the Christmas tree in the school hall. I think he's injured his arm."
"Well… call an ambulance then. I have a surgery full of people here, Louisa; I can't just keep abandoning them every time you have a minor incident at the school."
"Minor incident…" Louisa's calm, swan like exterior was by now starting to crumble. "Martin, he may be concussed; he certainly looks to be out of it anyway."
"Well, why didn't you say he had a head injury; of course, that puts a different light on the situation. I'll be there as soon as I can," replied Martin as he started to gather up his medical bag.
"Good," said Louisa as she peered through the door, only to see the hall filled with sobbing and hysterical four and five-year-olds.
Martin sprinted down the hill and straight to the school doors where Louisa was waiting for him.
"Thank God, Martin. The children are in a terrible state. They all think that Father Christmas has died and isn't going to be able to deliver their presents on Christmas Eve."
Martin just stood there, transfixed by the sight of Louisa in a very short green tunic, bright red tights, pixie shoes and a green pointed hat to match her green pointy ears.
Noticing that Martin was standing in the doorway of the school with his mouth slightly agape, Louisa said, "I'm one of Santa's little helpers, an elf… hence the outfit."
"Ah, yes, so you are. Makes a change from being a pirate I suppose. Right, where is he then?" said Martin, brushing past her into the school corridor.
Louisa felt herself tingle as his hand touched hers on the way through the door. "Just through there in the hall," she gestured.
As they approached, Martin could hear the children wailing.
"Oh, God, can't you shut them up or something."
"Err, Martin, for a four-year-old, seeing Father Christmas lying unconscious under the Christmas tree is rather a traumatic sight, you know," said Louisa, exasperated that Martin's insensitivity obviously knew no bounds.
"Hmmm, I didn't believe in Father Christmas by the time I was four… actually, I can't ever remember believing in him."
Louisa just looked across at Martin in disbelief. Was there anything at all normal about his upbringing, she wondered?
Martin knelt down beside the man in red. He carefully opened one, then the other of his eyelids to check his pupils. Then he reached for his wrist to check his pulse. Everything was as it should be, so Martin started to carry out a more thorough examination.
He rolled Father Christmas over onto his back and immediately he could recognise the unmistakable smell of whiskey on the man's breath.
As the children all caught sight of Santa, now lying flat on his back, they let out a blood curdling screech.
Martin looked around and saw several "elves" trying to console the hysterical children. He noted that not one of them was any where near as attractive in their outfits as Louisa was. In fact, seeing Louisa in her skimpy costume had stirred something within him. He loved seeing her in red, and the thought of seeing her peeling off those bright red tights was making him rather hot under the collar.
"Oh for goodness sake," he mumbled under his breath before standing and waving his arms in the air to attract the children's attention.
"Listen up."
When they didn't respond he shouted, "Shut up!"
Louisa looked across at him nervously, wondering what he was going to do next.
"Will you please BE QUIET!" he yelled at the top of his voice.
On hearing this, the children all sat quaking in silent terror.
Pointing at Father Christmas, Martin said, "Don't you realise that this stupid cretin isn't going to be the one that deliv…"
Louisa started clapping her hands loudly to drown out Martin's words. "Now then children, maybe it would be a good idea if you went back to your classrooms whilst Dr Ellingham makes Santa all better," she interrupted quickly, as she glared across the hall at Martin. She knew that he was just about to shatter the illusions of the entire infant population of Portwenn and the surrounding areas.
"What do you think you are doing?" she hissed at him.
"Honesty never did me any harm as a child," he stated bluntly.
"That's debatable," mumbled Louisa to herself.
"Pardon?"
"Err, that's an inflatable," replied Louisa whilst pointing awkwardly at a blow-up reindeer that was standing next to the tree.
Martin cast her a puzzled glance and then went back to administering to the prostrate Father Christmas.
Louisa decided it was best to usher all of the children back to their respective classrooms and leave Martin to do what he did best.
As Martin approached, he could see that Father Christmas was just attempting to sit up.
"Whatsssss happened to me," slurred Santa.
"Well, it appears that you've fallen, due to the fact that you are inebriated," said Martin in disgust. "Is there anywhere at all that hurts ?"
"Only my 'ead," replied Father Christmas.
"Hmm, well again that's probably due to the fact that you are out of your skull."
"Jusssst patch me up and then I'll 'ave to get on with disssshing out the prezziessss. Got to drive over to Delabole Primary Ssschool, more sprogs over there to sssee to."
After giving him a thorough going over and satisfying himself that the only thing wrong with the shambles of a man in front of him was an over dependency on alcohol, Martin called PC Penhale.
Returning from the reception class, Louisa was just in time to see the police officer marching Santa out of the hall.
Running across to where Martin stood, Louisa cried, "Martin…tell me I haven't just seen Santa in handcuffs…pleeaase!"
"He was drunk and he had every intention of getting back into his car to drive to Delabole. I reported him to PC Penhale," said Martin rather proudly.
"Well, thank you very much. What do you expect me to say to the children that are sitting through there, already suffering from post traumatic stress disorder," shrieked Louisa.
"Now you're just being ridiculous… as usual," snorted Martin.
"What do you mean, as usual, Martin?"
"He was drunk. There was no way that he should be going any where near those children, let alone a car. You know, you always have to find fault in me don't you? I can't do anything right in your eyes. Tell me, Louisa, what do I have to do to please you?" exclaimed Martin.
Louisa looked at Martin and then ran out of the school hall.
"That's it, just run away. Let's not even bother trying to sort out our damned stupid relationship," Martin shouted after her.
"Shut up, Martin," Louisa shouted back as she reached the front of the school and dashed out into the playground.
"Well, really," he grumbled to himself as he started gathering together his equipment and placing it back into his bag.
He was just about to leave when Louisa came dashing back into the school with a red Santa suit in her arm.
"Here," she said, thrusting the costume into Martin's chest. "Put this on; that'll please me."
"What?"
"You heard me. I am not going to have those children going home disappointed. You'll have to stand in for Santa," said Louisa firmly.
"I can't stand in for… for Santa," spat Martin.
"Why not, Martin? All you have to do is sit there and say Ho! Ho! Ho! a few times. Even you can't mess that up."
"I have patients to see to back at the surgery."
"I'll call Pauline; she'll book them all new appointments."
"But, but I can't, because… um… that man was about five foot nine, I'm six foot three; the costume will never fit me," replied Martin, a wave of relief washing over him.
"It doesn't matter if the trousers are a bit short we'll just tuck them into your boots. Come on, Martin, it'll be good to get you out of that suit… err, and into a Santa suit," Louisa quickly corrected herself and she grabbed the costume back off him, got hold of his arm and dragged him across to her office.
Pushing him inside she said, "There, you can get changed in here. And don't forget your beard. No one will recognise you with that lot on."
The door slammed shut and Martin stood there in horror, gazing down at the bright red outfit that Louisa had placed on her desk.
Maybe if he just did this, then she might actually cut him a bit of slack, he thought.
With a very heavy sigh, he started to get undressed and slowly transformed himself into a rather awkward and uncomfortable Father Christmas.
Several minutes later, Louisa knocked on her office door, before slowly opening it. Standing stiffly in the middle of the floor was the strangest looking Father Christmas she thought she had ever seen. Unable to contain her amusement, she burst out laughing uncontrollably.
"Right, that's it, I can't do this, Louisa," said Martin, his pride well and truly hurt.
"No, no, really… you look, well you look fine… sort of," replied Louisa, still struggling to contain her giggles.
"It's just, well it's your ears Martin, they are sticking out. Can't you pull your hat over them?" asked Louisa, hopefully.
"No, I can not. Don't you think I've tried?"
"Here, let me see," she said, as she reached up and tried to pull the hat further down his head.
"Ouch! Do you mind? I know if an article of clothing fits or not," said Martin indignantly.
"Hmm, that's not going to do at all, is it?" pondered Louisa.
Reaching for a bag of cotton wool balls and a Pritt Stick, Louisa said, "Hang on; I know, I'll just get some of this and glue it on here."
"Hey, wait a minute, what do you think you're doing. You can't stick that onto my ears," said Martin in a very high-pitched voice.
"Don't worry, Martin. The glue is water soluble, it'll soon come off and this will cover your ears up a treat," said Louisa, very pleased with her ingenuity. "There, looks just like hair now. You look rather sweet," she said, as she reached up and pinched his cheeks.
"Now, all that is left is for you to practice your Ho! Ho! Ho's!"
Martin raised his eyebrows, but Louisa raised hers higher.
"Ho, ho, ho," he said, flatly and without feeling.
"Oh, come on, Martin, you can put more passion into it than that."
"HO! HO! HO!"
"That's better. Now all you have to do is sit down, let them sit on your knee if they want to and ask them what they want for Christmas."
"You said I just needed to say Ho, Ho, Ho," grimaced Martin. "And why do they have to sit on my knee?"
"Because that's what Santa does, doesn't he?"
"How do you know? Santa doesn't exist and hasn't ever existed," replied Martin.
Louisa glared at Martin, and he could tell by the look that she was in no mood to put up with his combative behaviour.
"Alright, let's just get on with it," he said through gritted teeth.
~ x ~
"Hello, Santa," said a very excited little boy who was now standing directly in front of Martin.
"Yes," replied Martin.
"I've been a very good boy this year."
"I should hope so," said Martin, grumpily.
"Don't you want to know what I want for Christmas?" asked the little boy, who was now trying to clamber onto Martin's knee with very little help from "Santa".
"Yes."
"I want a Ben 10 Deluxe Omnitrix."
"Never heard of one," said Martin, in an uninterested tone.
"But Santa knows everything, that's what my mum says."
"Well, this one doesn't. Ho, Ho, Ho. Goodbye," said Martin gruffly as he nudged the little boy off his knee.
Louisa passed the boy a present and then went over to Martin. "Can't you at least try and be friendly with them, Martin. You were that age once you know, and I can't believe that you didn't get excited at Christmas; every little boy gets excited at Christmas."
Martin looked at Louisa and opened his mouth, about to reply, when she interrupted him.
"It doesn't matter Martin, I don't think I want to know."
Martin closed his mouth again and put his hands on his lap. He thought that way it might discourage the children from clambering up him.
"Lucy Drew, come on over and meet Santa," shouted Louisa to the little girl who was talking away to her friends and paying little attention to whom was next in the queue or to what Louisa was saying.
"LUCY DREW, COME OVER HERE NOW OR I WILL NOT BRING YOU ANY PRESENTS THIS YEAR," yelled Martin.
On hearing Santa's bellowing voice, Lucy burst into tears and ran towards the nearest elf, who started shaking her head in Martin's direction.
"Well, really. Oversensitive little brat," Martin mumbled.
The next boy that came forward and stood in front of Martin was covered in some sort of white sticky substance. The corner of Martin's upper lip curled in disgust. It was all over the boy's hands, face and hair.
"What is that child covered in?" Martin asked Louisa with a thoroughly repulsed look on his face.
"Oh dear, it's a snowball pudding that they had after their Christmas dinner today. I'm afraid that William had four in a row."
Louisa took out a paper handkerchief from under her tunic and proceeded to dab the child's hands with little success, as the sticky white goo was well and truly attached and wasn't budging.
Martin couldn't help but glance down at Louisa's dress as she returned the tissue, but quickly turned away as she looked over at him.
"Do you feel better now, William?" and turning to Martin she whispered, "He was sick before I'm afraid. Eyes too big for his belly."
"Oh, God," sighed Martin.
"Can I sit on your knee?" asked the sticky boy as he put his hands out to try and grab hold of Martin's arms.
"If you must," mumbled Martin. "Turn around and put your arms down by your sides," he continued, as he got hold of the boy under the elbows and lifted him carefully onto his lap.
The little boy shuffled himself around so that he could see Santa's face.
Martin couldn't believe that one child could be so disgustingly dirty.
"Have you been a good boy this year?" asked Santa. "And what would you like for Christmas?"
Louisa thought that Martin was finally getting the hang of things, so she decided that it might be safe to go and check on the Year 6 class, who were having to make do with a supply teacher for the day.
When she returned, she found the sticky little boy still sitting on Martin's knee.
"Err, come on, William, don't you think you've been there long enough?"
But then Louisa realised that William had hold of the cotton wool on Martin's ears and that Martin was holding on to William's hands to ensure that he didn't rip the cotton wool away.
"Santa won't let me go," moaned the boy.
"That's because his hands are stuck to this bloody stupid cotton…"
"Ahem, Santa, we don't use words like that in this school," Louisa quickly interceded.
"Will you please get this child off my ears," hissed Martin.
Louisa carefully peeled away William's hands. When they were free Louisa could see that there was actually more cotton wool on the boy's fingers than there was on Martin's ears.
"Santa's hair is falling out," cried William.
"Yes, well… erm, he is rather old you know, and that's what happens when people get old," said a flustered Louisa.
"And he was looking at your bum before. Santa's a pervert," said William, glaring across at Martin.
"Well, thank you very much," grumbled Martin.
"Maybe we'll just hurry them along a bit now, times getting on," said Louisa, starting to regret ever asking Martin to stand in for Father Christmas.
Things really went quite smoothly once they got into a good routine and Louisa even thought that she saw Martin smiling at one little girl. She had beautiful long dark hair, large blue eyes and the most gorgeous smile.
Martin was actually starting to at least tolerate his new job and when little Amy came and sat on his lap with her long shiny dark hair and twinkling eyes, he imagined that was what Louisa must have been like as a girl, as she was so pretty and so dainty.
Next another little boy shuffled up to Martin and said 'hello' in a very quiet voice.
"Hello, little boy, and what is your name?" asked Martin in his best Santa voice.
"Alexander," replied the boy timidly.
Louisa leaned over to Martin and whispered, "Alexander's a bit sensitive at the moment. He's having a hard time at home and the other children are being pretty nasty to him, so please don't upset him."
Martin looked from Louisa to the little boy and recognised the vulnerability in him. It reminded him of himself at that age.
"Why don't you come and sit on my knee, Alexander?" said Martin kindly.
The little boy allowed Martin to lift him gently onto his knee. Martin put a protective arm around the boy's waist.
Louisa looked on in amazement as she saw that Martin was actually getting Alexander to open up to him, something the little boy hadn't done for a long time. She watched as Martin said something to the boy that made him giggle and smile.
All of a sudden, Louisa saw the left leg of Martin's costume turn a darker shade of red and moisture started to drip onto the carpet.
Realising that Alexander had almost certainly wet himself, she rushed over, fearing that Martin would start to shout at the boy. Instead, she saw that Martin was consoling the little chap, and he even reached over to find one of the better presents to give to him.
"Come on, Alexander, let's go and get you changed, shall we?" said Louisa. But Martin held onto the little boy's hand and said,
"Remember what I said, Alexander."
Letting go, Martin rubbed his eyes briefly, and Louisa was sure that she had seen a tear trickle down his cheek.
She led the little boy away as the final child approached Santa.
A very snotty, chubby little boy, with short-cropped hair came forward and plonked himself onto Martin's knee.
"Errrrrrr, did Alexander piss himself on your knee?" said the boy. "He's always doin' that, he's a big baby."
Martin glared at the boy and he could feel his hackles rising.
"Santa isn't real you know, you're Doc Martin, you are. I can tell by your big flappy ears," laughed the boy.
"Fine, bugger off then," said Martin through gritted teeth. He parted his knees and the boy fell to the floor beneath him.
The boy stood up, burst into tears and started to rub his bottom frantically.
"Oh dear, did that hurt? What a shame," sneered Martin as he stood up and left the boy standing there with a bruised ego and no present to show for his troubles.
~ x ~
"So how am I supposed to get back to the surgery unnoticed wearing this stupid outfit? I don't want to put my suit back on until I've had a shower, and although Pauline cancelled my appointments, she is still running her phlebotomy clinic, and I am not walking in looking like this," he stated grumpily, once he had finally seen all the children. He was reverting back to his usual grumpy self after having been so sensitive with Alexander.
"Um, well, it's nearly home time, so why don't you come back to my cottage to shower and get changed and then I could cook you something to eat, by way of a thank you?"
"Oh, um, yes, alright, that'd be… nice, thank you."
"What did you tell Alexander by the way? He was like a different boy after he'd talked to you," asked Louisa, curiosity getting the better of her.
"I told him that he was special and that as long as he believes in himself, it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks." Martin looked up at Louisa and he could see her eyes glistening.
"He thought I was going to hit him when he wet himself; he told me that's what happens at home. His mother doesn't have any time for him now she has a new boyfriend," Martin sighed.
"I suspected as much," said Louisa. "I was going to have a word with Social Services about him."
"I think that's a good idea. I noticed a few suspicious bruises on his wrists and arms. If you need any support, just let me know," said Martin very sincerely.
Louisa gathered up Martin's clothes in a bag for him and started to head towards the door. Martin held her arm gently and pulled her round to face him.
"You asked me if I got excited at Christmas when I was a child, but you didn't let me answer." Martin looked towards the floor to compose himself and then he raised his eyes to Louisa's.
"The only Christmas that I ever remember with any fondness was the year when I came to stay with Aunty Joan and Uncle Phil. Mother and Father had decided to go to France over the Christmas period and I was so upset about staying at boarding school over the holidays that Aunty Joan said she'd have me. They made such a fuss of me. The presents I got weren't expensive. Phil had made most of them, but to me they were the most thoughful things that anyone had ever given me."
Louisa reached out and held Martin's hand as he struggled to continue.
"Normally, mother would ask my father's secretary to go and buy me a couple of presents; she thought I didn't know, but I did. She didn't even bother to wrap them or to write the label herself. I was just in the way, I was an inconvenience. An object of disgust in her eyes, something that prevented her from enjoying her extravagant lifestyle when I was around. As soon as she could, she would send me back to boarding school, back to the hurtful and cruel environment that became normal to me."
By this time tears were slowly falling down Louisa's cheeks and she brushed them delicately away.
"I wish I had been one of those excited little boys that I saw today. I wanted to be a normal child, I wanted to believe in Father Christmas, but I had to grow up too quickly. If I hadn't, I don't think I would have survived."
Louisa pulled Martin into her and held him closely. Pulling away slightly, she looked into his eyes and she could see all the lonely years, all the regrets, but most of all she could see a very proud man who had just opened up his heart to her and very courageously taken her into his confidence.
She closed the gap between them and kissed him tenderly on the lips, before carefully cupping her hand around the back of his neck and pulling his head gently down onto her shoulder.
Louisa stroked the hair on the back of his head, like she would do if she were soothing one of her pupils. He raised his head until his forehead rested on hers.
"I care for you very much, Louisa. Thank you for trusting me with the children in your care."
After a few minutes spent together in this way, they both cleared their throats and composed themselves, ready to make their way home after gathering up all their belongings.
As they headed out of her office, Martin looked at Louisa in horror.
"You aren't going out on the streets wearing….just that, are you?" he said, nodding his head at her short tunic. He'd very much enjoyed looking at her legs in it, but didn't like the idea of her walking round the village in it.
"Don't worry, I'm putting my coat on over the top; that's how I came to work this morning. When I get home I'll take a quick shower and get changed – you can join me and shower too …that is I mean…take it in turns…..to shower," Louisa said, all flustered at what she had implied.
"Oh yes, umm…I see," Martin agreed, blushing slightly, helping Louisa to carry all her parcels. It had been the last day of term, and lots of children had given her presents. They hurried along, making a rather curious pair, Santa and his helper. Bert Large chuckled to himself as he saw them, shouting out,
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do Santa, those elves can be a bit of a hand full …lots of naughty tricks, if you know what I mean."
Neither Martin nor Louisa replied, both deciding it was best to draw as little attention to themselves as possible, and it wasn't long before they arrived at Louisa's cottage and quickly made their way inside.
"Just put the parcels over there, would you?" Louisa pointed as she took her coat off.
As Martin complied with her instruction, he couldn't help staring again at her as she took her coat off. He was in no hurry for her to get changed, as he had taken a real shine to her elf outfit. Louisa noticed his look, and was rather pleased at the effect her outfit was having on the normally restrained Doc.
"Thanks again for all your efforts today, Martin, especially with Alexander. I think maybe you deserve a reward," she told him with a saucy smile.
"I, err…was glad to help. And that boy needs monitoring, as I said…" He watched intrigued as Louisa picked up a piece of mistletoe from an arrangement she had, walked over to where he was now sitting at the table, draped herself on his lap, and put her arm round his neck. She held the mistletoe over his head and gently kissed him on the lips. Martin was rather taken aback, but soon got into the spirit of things, putting his hands round her waist and kissing her back. However, just as things were getting interesting, Louisa squealed,
"I think I've been sitting on the knee that Alexander pee'd on, I'm getting rather damp!" as she jumped up.
"Oh, God, yes, right, I'd better have that shower and get changed out of this ridiculous outfit, " Martin replied, embarrassed, but disappointed to have their romantic interlude cut short.
"Okay, well how about I show you where everything is, then I'll make a start on supper while you shower, and then you can watch over it while I shower," Louisa suggested.
"Yes, that sounds like a good plan," Martin said as he picked up the bag with his clothes in and followed Louisa up the stairs to her bathroom, trying not to look too closely at her figure in the skimpy outfit, but failing miserably. She seemed to be wiggling her bottom in a most enticing way it seemed to him, and he thought he would have to have a rather cool shower to calm himself down.
"Right, here's a clean towel, the biggest one I've got. I don't usually have such big….I mean …tall guests," Louisa said as she passed it to him and showed him how her shower worked. "See you downstairs when you're done."
~ x ~
Martin made his way downstairs after his shower, now dressed once more in his usual suit, but for once without his tie which he had been unable to find in the bag of his clothes. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he could hear Louisa singing along to some Christmas music that was playing as she prepared their meal.
"I've been an awful good girl, Santa Baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight….."
She looked adorable, standing and stirring the pan on the hob, her cheeks flushed from the heat, swaying to the music as she sang, making her little outfit ride up just a bit more. He also noticed that she had opened a bottle of wine, which maybe contributed to her flushed cheeks too.
"Umm…You haven't seen my tie have you, it wasn't with the rest of my clothes?" Martin enquired.
"Errr, no, it must have got left behind in my office somehow" Louisa lied. She'd hidden it away in the drawer of her desk at school, because she was determined to see Martin less formally attired for once, and was now a bit disappointed to see that he'd still buttoned his shirt up right to the top. Before he could ask any more questions, she quickly changed the subject.
"Can you just carry on stirring this sauce, it's nearly done; it's to go with this pasta which is also nearly cooked. I'll just go and have a quick shower. Help yourself to a glass of wine if you want – I know you don't usually drink, but, hey, it's Christmas, and you could let your hair down for once," Louisa teased him as she pecked him on the cheek on her way to the stairs.
"No thanks, I don't drink, has an appalling affect on the lover…..I mean liver," Martin hastily corrected himself as he took over in the kitchen.
Louisa smiled to herself as she left the room – Martin had finally told her that he cared for her earlier, which she was pretty happy about - if he would only let himself go and relax a bit romantically. He certainly seemed keen enough when they'd kissed earlier, so maybe if she played her cards right this evening…..
As Martin expertly stirred the sauce to prevent it from catching, he looked around. Louisa's house was so welcoming and cosy it seemed to him. He was really looking forward to spending the evening with her, so he supposed it had been worth the indignity of having to pretend to be Santa to the school children and wear that ridiculous outfit. He hated Christmas, mainly because he had so few happy memories of it to draw on.
The sauce and pasta were now cooked, so he got them ready to serve as soon as Louisa reappeared after her shower. Why women took so long he had no idea; he could be in and out of the shower in five minutes flat. He sat at the table and cast his eye over the parcels he had carried in for Louisa. One was already opened and he stared at it intrigued.
"The perfect boyfriend" the packaging read. "Always at hand to listen and cuddle, this guy is all you ever wanted"
"Ah, I see you've found my Secret Santa present, an inflatable boyfriend. Do you think they're trying to tell me something?" Louisa asked with a wry smile as she came back into the room. "Still I suppose it's a bit better than last year's present – that was willy-shaped pasta, which went straight in the bin"
"Good grief, whoever buys such rubbish?" Martin asked horrified, but was then transfixed as he looked at Louisa. She was wearing a pair of very well cut jeans that showed off her curvy figure, and a red silky blouse that showed just a hint of cleavage. He swallowed hard to keep his feelings in control. She looked stunning.
"Well I have a sneaky suspicion that it was Sally Chadwick who bought mine this year. She thinks I should join a dating agency like her to get a suitable man," Louisa replied.
"You're not going to, are you?" Martin asked, appalled at the idea.
"Well I don't know. Can you think of anyone in the village who might be a suitable partner for me, eh Martin?" Louisa teased as she served up their food.
"I couldn't say…that is….I'm sure there are lots of men who…." Martin still couldn't quite bring himself to say out loud what he really wanted to say, to shout from the rooftops. "Me. Choose me, Louisa. I want to be your partner."
They sat and ate their meal companionably, chatting - well mostly Louisa chatting and Martin listening. But he found himself relaxing and enjoying the evening more and more. He found himself thinking about how nice it would be to spend most evenings in her company, in fact to be with her every day. It would be pretty wonderful, he decided, and as for the nights, spending nights with her, sharing a bed… well, he could feel himself blushing just at the thought of it.
"Are you alright, Martin, you've gone rather red. Is it a bit hot in here for you? I'm doing all the talking, I really shouldn't be such a chatter box, hogging the conversation," Louisa apologised as they sat, having finished their meal and put the plates to one side.
"No, no, I don't mind, really….I like to listen to you actually," Martin said, shyly reaching across and taking her hand in his.
Louisa squeezed his hand back, and then reached over to tenderly touch his cheek with her other hand.
"What are you doing for Christmas? Are you spending it with Joan?" Louisa asked him.
"Probably, she always has a house full of lonely souls. She gathers them up and looks after them, and I get dragged in too. I'm really not bothered about Christmas anyhow, just an over commercialised day like any other as far as I'm concerned," Martin told her.
"Oh, I see. I'm supposed to be going to some friends for Christmas Day. No doubt I'll get the usual grilling about me still being single, can't I find a man, don't I know my biological clock is ticking, etc. etc."
"Sounds ghastly"
"It is, now I come to think of it. I don't suppose…" Louisa looked at Martin tentatively.
"What?"
"Well, this is really nice, just the two of us here, isn't it?"
"Yes, yes it is," Martin agreed. He meant it too; it was pretty much perfect to him.
"Well, maybe we could spend Christmas Day together….if you'd like to. We could share the cooking; after all we made a pretty good team today, didn't we?"
"I'd like that. I'd like that very much, Louisa." Martin felt a kind of warm glow permeate through him at the thought of spending Christmas with Louisa. Joan wouldn't mind if he didn't spend the day with her. He knew she'd be delighted for him to be with another woman, especially if it was Louisa.
"This has been one of the nicest evenings I've had since ….well I can't remember having a nicer one, come to think of it," Martin confessed.
"It's not over yet Martin," Louisa said as she leaned across the table to kiss him. The kiss was a lingering, sensual one, and Martin could feel his temperature rising again.
"Is it me or is it hot in here?" he found himself asking as he gazed into Louisa's eyes.
"Oh, it's hot alright, so why don't you loosen up a bit?" said Louisa as she reached over to undo the top button of his shirt. He had automatically done it up out of habit as he dressed after his shower, even though he had no tie to put on.
Martin felt his pulse race at the touch of her fingers at his neck as she pulled his shirt open. Then she stood up, pulling Martin up too and putting her arms around him as she started to kiss him again.
Just as Louisa thought things were finally progressing nicely, they were interrupted by the sound of Martin's mobile phone ringing.
"Bugger!" said Martin, hesitating for a few seconds; but ever the conscientious doctor, he had no option but to answer it, reluctantly pulling himself away from Louisa as he retrieved the phone from his pocket.
"Ellingham," he barked into the phone.
Louisa sighed as she moved to clear up in the kitchen. As usual, something was going to stop them getting...romantic. She'd really thought, really hoped that maybe tonight she and Martin would make some progress in their relationship, but it seemed it was not to be.
"What? What kind of accident? What kind of health and safety incident?" Martin was bellowing into his phone.
Louisa looked over, concerned.
"What on earth are you prattling on about? Is this some sort of prank, Bert Large? You're talking about 'elf' rather than 'health'? Santa being ministered to by an elf wearing a green tunic and red tights, so you think he needs a doctor? Oh grow up, Bert," Martin said as he slammed his phone shut and threw it down.
"What was that all about?" Louisa asked him in total bewilderment.
"Bert and one of his puerile jokes. You know how he saw us together in our outfits? Well, now he's spreading stupid gossip round the village."
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Martin. I should never have asked you to be Santa, it's made things very awkward for you."
"Well, at least it was a false alarm rather than a genuine call out. So…where were we then?" Martin asked as he boldly took her in his arms and started kissing her again, much to Louisa's delight. Maybe this evening could turn out to be pretty romantic after all, she thought to herself ….
~ x ~