The Madness of Mrs. T

by robspace54

The characters, places and situations of Doc Martin, are owned by Buffalo Pictures. This story places no claim of remuneration or ownership, nor do I make any attempt to infringe upon any rights of the owners or producers.

Chapter 1 – Tales

His strong hand roved from her waist, up her side, and then to her neckline. The large, strong fingers played briefly with the top of her nightdress, then moved up to her ear. She lay quite still, enjoying his gentle touch, but her breath caught in her throat when his hand slowly trailed down her neck to her shoulder, and then to her bosom which was swollen and warm with desire.

"Oh Martin," she moaned.

"Sal? you still readin'? Can I switch off the light?" Clive asked, disturbing Sally from her imaginings. He had rolled onto his side and was reaching towards the bedtable where the lone lamp shone in their bedroom.

"Clive!" Sally said, taking a half-swipe with the paperbound book at her husband's shoulder.

"Ought not to waste electricity," he added, looking up at her from under raised eyebrows.

"Fine! Fine," she said through gritted teeth. She closed the book with a snap, tossed it across the room and turned away from Clive. She jabbed at her pillow several times, then dropped her head with a thump on it.

Clive switched off the light and asked, "Have I upset you, Sal?"

She snapped back, "No," in a frosty tone. "My book just slipped, is all."

Clive replied, "Right." Then he yawned.

She turned to stare at him. "So, I can't read my book? Because you want to sleep."

He froze, for Sal was in one of her dark moods and had been since this afternoon. He ran back through his memories. Her bad disposition had started about when Louisa and Ruth Ellingham came into the shop for calamine lotion – said that little James Henry had a rash.

Clive was cleaning the shop windows so he could see how his wife's demeanor had shifted from happily chatting with Mrs. Rudd, who was just leaving with her medications, into guarded wariness as she faced the Ellingham women.

Of course, he had heard about what happened when he was away; Sal having taken the Doc and Louisa's son to the Castle. That was when her breakdown had started. But they said it was the drugs she was takin' which had caused it. But she was fine now; been through her probation with the pharmacy board – and all that.

Sal would be very careful around Louisa Ellingham no doubt, and with the Doc's aunt being a psychiatrist it stood to reason that she'd be extra alert. How to act and what to say. After the two women left, Sal started yelling at him how he was doing a bad job on the windows. Streaks, blotches! She'd ripped the Windolene spray bottle out of his left hand, snatched the cleaning rag from his right, and told him to go and find something else to do.

Clive took a deep breath. "Sorry Sal." He got up, retrieved her book from where she thrown it, and handed it to her. It was one of her romance books; the ones she liked to read at bedtime. He returned to his side and the bed, and turned the lamp back on. "You…. go right ahead and read. I'll just lie in bed quietly."

Sally thumbed through the romance book until she found the page where Clive had interrupted her. She put a finger between the pages to mark the place. "Good night, Clive," she said.

"Night, Sal," Clive answered. He gave her a quick peck on the lips. Her lips were dry and hard. "I love you."

She ducked her head. "I know that."

He waited a second for more response then he lowered his head to his pillow. "You have no idea how much I love bein' off the oil rig. No high-pitched compressors. pounding waves, screaming winds, or yellin' supervisors. Ahhh."

She nodded her head. "Glad to have you home," she said. Then she put the book on her bedtable. "You can turn out the light now."

"But I thought you wanted to read?"

She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. "No."

Laying on his back, Clive saw the faint smile she gave him and her blue eyes were wide. He did as directed, and the room went dim, lit by the full moon. He looked at her face again. "How are you?'

She pulled back. "How am I? I'm fine." Her arm reached across his broad chest and rubbed it. "And how are you?"

"I'm… quite well, Sal."

She put her mouth to his ear and whispered, "We could… be together?"

That made him chuckle. Then he rolled onto his side to face her. "That would be marvelous, Sal." He put his lips to her cheek and kissed it enthusiastically.