Offspring

By Robspace54

Doc Martin is a production owned by Buffalo Pictures. This is a work of fanfiction, written for enjoyment, and in no way presumes to impose on the legal rights of the property owners or any copyrights thereof.

I could not believe what I was hearing, so I asked her, "Say again?"

Louisa plumped up her pillows and then settled her back against them. "I was just asking if you've thought about having more children. With me, that is." She batted her eyes at me and smiled.

"Who else would it be with? That is, assuming that you, erh, we, wished to."

She rolled towards me, pulled the BMJ out of my hands, and looked up at me expectantly. "Right. If we wished to." She then tossed the journal towards the foot of the bed and snaked her hand under my pajama top.

I grabbed her hand through the cloth to stop its exploring. "What are you saying?"

"I'm only asking if we should think about having more children."

"More? We have one already. James Henry is not one-and-a-half yet and we have that dog…"

"Whatever, Mar-tin. Another then? A baby?" Her right knee rose and trapped my legs about the shin area. "So, should we… can we? At least think about it?"

I swallowed hard. Aren't we busy enough? "Louisa, you've just started this study program. All they work you'll have to do." I watched her eyes plead with me, so I said, "No harm in thinking about it I suppose."

She squirmed closer and she was now pressed against me. "No harm, you say. We're not getting any younger. I'm about past my sell-by date."

"No, you're not."

"Ah, so you think we could have another baby?"

"Uhm, yes, we could… if we wanted to…" Suddenly I felt flushed, the blood rising to my face. "We'd have to do prenatal tests. The incidence of genetic disorders rises with maternal age…"

She shook her head up and down. "I know. But I'm not forty yet."

I sighed. "Louisa… there is no discrete age which determines the absolute end of child-bearing." I saw her roll her eyes. "What?"

Her hand was starting to make circles under my shirt. "I'm an only child and so are you. Don't you wonder sometimes how things would have been for us growing up, if we had a sister or brother?"

"The thought never occurred to me."

She bit her lip then said, "Well it has to me. Would have been nice to have had a backup."

"Backup?"

"When mum and dad were, you know… fighting. All that."

I flashed back to my parents. "Seems to me that my parents could barely abide one child, let alone two."

She pulled her hand out of my shirt and put it on my neck, as she kissed my cheek. Her hand rubbed my neck softly. "Martin, I am sorry that you had to go through all that."

I shrugged. "But it's the truth." My mother told me that I was a mistake; that getting pregnant with me had destroyed her relationship with my father. And of course, since his affections had strayed, then hers did as well – one from the other. They became strangers in the same house. They ought to have divorced, I mused. But I had seen the affects when that happened with classmates – shame, sadness, and depression. "My parents…" I let the sentence die.

Louisa hugged me tighter, then rested her head on my shoulder. "Just… think about it, okay?"

I reached to my left to switch off the light, but Louisa kept me trapped in her arms. I turned off the lamp, and answered, "Yes. We can. Pros and cons." I saw her grin at me in the dimness. I got my head settled then kissed the top of her head.

"Good," she said and then she kissed me softly and tenderly. "Good night, Martin."

"Good night, Louisa." This was the woman who never gave up on me, and I never gave up on her, despite our ups and downs. She was even prepared to marry me twice, and actually did once. Thank God that she did! I rubbed her shoulder, letting my hand linger.

Suddenly she kissed me full on the mouth, so I returned her kiss and then we were stroking one another other, caressing backs, kissing lips, ears, cheeks, and necks, hands and arms roving, and then…