As usual, Doc Martin belongs to Buffalo Pictures. I just like to play with the characters. I just jotted down some different ways scenes could have been written. I cut the will they, won't they suspense quite a bit shorter. Got to say that the scenes written for the show are the absolute best!
Alternate scene 1
Holly had just been taken away in the ambulance and Louisa watched Martin walk back into her house. Her emotions were in complete chaos as she followed him in.
He knelt over the bloody mess on the floor and started carefully picking up the shards of glass. She knew instinctively that he was doing it to protect her, not wanting to risk her getting cut on the glass despite the feeling of nausea he must be feeling. The sadness on his face was palpable. She knelt close to him and, in spite of his mumbled objections, started helping.
"Don't. I'm almost through. There's no need to risk a cut." he said.
She stood up and backed away slightly, wanting to say something but was still too hurt from the comment about urine.
He finished, stood looking at her with what could only be described as defeated yearning and said. "Well, I'll go now." And he picked up his bags and turned to leave and slowly walked toward the door.
"You're an extraordinary man, Martin." She told his back.
"No, I'm not." Was his typical, self-effacing reply.
He stopped, just standing with his head down, not wanting to leave but unable to think of another reason to stay.
Louisa watched, desperately wanting him to stay. Then determination and a little anger showed on her face. "I love this man and he loves me! There has to be a way for us to communicate better." She thought furiously, wanting to grab him and hold him back.
So just as he retreated into his 'doctor mode' when uncomfortable or nervous, for the same reasons, she retreated into her teacher mode and spoke to him with her voice of authority. If it worked with children, it might work with an inhibited and graceless Martin.
"Martin!" she almost yelled
He turned and the tortured look on his face tore at her feelings for him. She closed the distance between them, eyes glittering and determined, took his case and defibrillator, placed them on the floor and pulled him back down the stairs.
His expression changed from defeated sadness to wary sadness. "Yes?"
Her hands gripped his arms and, trying to shake him, she said in a fierce voice, "Martin! If you ever tell me I smell like pee again, I'll strangle you!"
Without giving him a chance to stick his foot in his mouth again, she pulled his shocked face down to hers and kissed him with all the impatience and love that had pent up inside her over the years of disappointments and waiting for some sign from him.
After the first moment of shock, he held onto her like a life raft and returned the kiss with all the relief and passion his guarded heart was capable of.
Stopping for breath, he said shakily, "But you did! There's a perfectly simple explanation…"
She gave him a warning look and he stammered. "I mean, you did…very faintly. Louisa, you smell and feel…No, I didn't mean to hurt you. Let me explain!"
"Absolutely not!" she replied and kissed him again.
He broke free while maintaining his grip on her. "No, no! I have to say this. Just listen! I would never intentionally hurt you but this is who I am! I'm a doctor. That's how I think. I have a wide and varied knowledge. I notice or see things that concern or interest me, things that could affect someone's health and I have to say something."
"Just a minute." And she hurried to lock the door and turned off their phones. "If there's an emergency, they can call Wadebrige. Just this once Mar-tin!"
"Now, you cause problems for yourself and make people unhappy, you…" She started to say.
Becoming agitated, he interrupted and started to pace. "Louisa, we have to finally sort this out! I am who I am. Do you expect me to alter my beliefs, my habits – everything about myself? You told me once that you quite like the way I am. Is that only at certain times? When it's convenient? Or when I'm not embarrassing you?"
She was startled into silence.
He continued, "We have to at try to accept each other. What do I ask of you? Nothing! I love YOU! The good and the bad."
Sighing, she said, "You're right. You don't ask anything of me and I'm sure you could. I did say I like the way you are. More than that, I love you. There's so much good about you, Martin."
He snorted at that and muttered, "Here comes the but!"
She continued. "You're honest to a fault, super intelligent, a wonderful and dedicated doctor. You're honorable. And you're incredibly sexy and handsome." His eyes widened at those words and his ears turned red.
She continued, "I know all those good things about you but couldn't you try to be a little circumspect sometimes? Do you always have to be quite so blunt? You hurt people, Martin! You can't mean to do that. As a doctor, you surely think of all the needs of your patients."
"What needs? You mean ignore their general lack of hygiene? Their total disregard of proper eating habits? Their inability to follow the simplest of instructions?" He asked contemptuously.
"Goodness! Nobody could ever accuse you of exaggerating! I can name dozens of people here who live healthy lives. And follow your instructions. And I know they come to you only for emergencies because they trust your knowledge as a doctor. They don't come sooner or engage with you or open up to you about any other problems because they don't trust you as a person. Couldn't that lead to more serious health problems? Aren't you failing them?"
"They fail themselves! They're seeing me for my skills as a doctor, not for a cosy chat. The only thing a patient needs from a doctor is his or her knowledge and their ability to use it! I use my knowledge to the best of my ability every day and with every patient who requires it. It's up to them to answer my questions about their problems fully and honestly. If they want to chat or whinge about something, they can go to the pub."
She thought it best to lower the tension so said calmly, "You know, this is the longest conversation we've ever had. Are you hungry? I have a fresh loaf and some eggs. Oh, and some cheese and apples."
It worked. He stopped pacing and, with his voice lowered, answered, "Yes, I am. I can fix omelets if you like."
She laughed and answered, "Yes, please. My efforts probably wouldn't please you. But, I'd like to help."
"Of course. Help me lay every thing out. Would you mind making some coffee? I'm a little tired." And with a wry glance, he continued, "For some reason, I didn't sleep much last night."
"Neither did I. For some reason." And they smiled at each other, he more at ease than she thought possible.
They ate in companionable silence and shared the washing up.
Without words, they moved to the sofa and sat close to each other, legs and shoulders touching. He held her hand, fiddling with her fingers.
They sat quietly until Louisa felt ready to make clear to this intelligent but difficult man why she had become angry with him. She doubted he would ever be more receptive to her than now.
And he had the attitude of a man waiting for something. And here it came.
"Martin, listen to me. You're smart enough and worldly enough to understand that, when a woman kisses you and opens up her heart to you, YOU DON'T tell her she has bad breath or smells like pee! Varied and medical knowledge be damned! Crikey! Haven't you ever had girlfriends before? You must have known women. No man can kiss like you do without some practice!"
He sat silent and she could feel him tensing up so said, "And, don't worry about saying the wrong things again, I'm determined to not get angry with you…well tonight anyway. Just talk to me!"
He sat silent for several moments and maintained a death grip on her hand. "Just one – a very long time ago. We were in med school together and…I don't want to talk about her."
"H-m-m, sounds like she dumped you." Louisa guessed. And waited in silence for more information.
"Yes, she did. There was an opportunity in Canada that was far more important to her than I was so she left."
Still Louisa waited.
"I thought that I'd never recover but soon realized that it was intercourse that attracted me, not anything special about her."
She stroked his thigh and asked softly, "Tell me just a little about her and we'll never speak about her again. Ok?"
He sighed, raised her hand to his lips and answered, "She's brilliant, one of the few that could keep up with me. If I told her she had bad breath, she would ask what it smelled like and take measures to correct it just as I would if you told me that. There was no tenderness between us, no affection. Just our studies and sex. I enjoyed helping her write her papers and studying together since we had different disciplines. I learned a lot about women through her. Believe me, what I feel for you is a completely different from what I felt for her – what I've always felt for you. Is that a satisfactory answer?"
Still curious, she continued, "No other special woman ever?"
Matter of fact, he replied, "No. If a woman was interested, I made it plain that it was just sex and no emotions were involved. When it was over, it was over." She thought that the women probably couldn't dismiss him so easily! She could feel him tensing up so when he asked, rather tersely, "Is that enough?"
She smiled, nodded and said, "But I have another question. Not about her, about us. Do you want to be with me Martin? I mean…this is embarrassing…" She took a breath and looked him in the eye, "Do you desire me? Physically I mean? Do you want to be with me?"
His answer was completely satisfying and it was the beginning of a night neither of them would ever forget.