Sing Together

Author's note: Luk, the new vicar is back in this sequel to Martin and Louisa at the Font. How is our Doc faring as a newlywed? Be sure to read "Martin and Louisa at the Font" first as this is a sequel to that story!

Doc Martin and recognizable characters belong to Buffalo Pictures. This is a work of fiction and for entertainment only. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter One

"Finally," whispered Louisa in a groan as she lay back down on the bed. What a night, she thought. Poor James Henry. Don't know what made him so gassy last night. Martin seems to think he is fine though, thank goodness. He says babies just do this from time to time and I am not to worry. That's hard though when James is crying and crying and nothing seems to make it stop.

Martin and Louisa had been taking turns walking him up and down all night long trying to soothe him. Finally after a brief sleep, Martin had gotten up at his customary hour and began to prepare some breakfast. Louisa had been rocking James at that point and had indicated with hand motions that she was going back to bed for a while if the baby fell back asleep.

This was fine with Martin. He loved Louisa and James Henry but he craved time alone as well. That was one of the most difficult parts of being married, he had found. Carving out time for himself, when he could do just what he wanted, was nigh on to impossible. So on the occasional day that he had some time to himself, he tried to take full advantage. He prepared his breakfast meticulously and sat down to eat. Shortly he heard Louisa stop rocking and assumed, since he heard no more crying, that James had settled and that she would be going back to bed.

Thankfully, he did not have surgery hours this morning. Since his marriage, he had made arrangements with the GP in Wadebridge to trade off Saturday mornings. Every other Saturday, they took each other's calls and Morwenna made no appointments. Morwenna loved the arrangement as well, since it meant at least two Saturdays per month when she could get up late. It made for some busy days, but it was worth it to Martin and Louisa. Even if he occasionally had to help someone on Sunday, it was still nice to have a whole weekend twice per month.

This morning though, Martin could not understand how Louisa could just lie back down when the sun was fully up and the day starting. He tried to keep to his habits as much as possible and he felt that getting up and around at his usual hour was better for his overall health. He went down the hallway to the consulting room, went in and opened a window and took a deep breath. Nice day for a change, he thought. It is finally getting a bit warmer. We can get outside for a while today.

He took down his latest clock. It was another of his grandfather's which Aunt Ruth had found in her continuous cleaning out of Joan's home. This one was lovely, walnut with sterling silver around the clock face. Martin could not remember in which room his grandfather had kept it and neither could Ruth. She had confided to Martin once that she had intentionally blanked out of her memory many rooms from her childhood home. Too much pain and sadness. He sighed for a moment, lost in a reverie, but quickly brought his mind back to the task at hand, unrolled his tools and began to work.

Louisa tried to doze. She knew that today would be the only day for having a lie-in this weekend. She had promised Natalie, the new chemist and the vicar's wife, that she would bring some refreshments to the church the next morning for a Bible study class that Natalie was teaching for some of the older ladies in the village. That reminds me, she thought, I need to run out later and get some things to make biscuits or maybe I'll just go and see Ted for croissants. I'll phone Natalie later and ask her which would be best, she thought as she closed her eyes.

She tried to blank her mind so that she could go back to sleep, but the noise of the gulls kept her awake. She left her eyes closed and let her mind wander a bit. Much as she loved Martin, some of his habits grated on her nerves so badly. Why would he get up at such an early hour when he didn't have to? She would have liked to have him here beside her. She loved feeling his strength and just his presence. He was always so methodical though.

Oops, not always, she thought. Just a lot. She had to stop using that word so much in her thoughts. Never, too. When she and Martin had gone through their "marriage book" with Luk, this was one of the topics that came up. Always and never aren't good words to use when communicating with those we love, the book had stressed. Anyway, very few people always do things or never do things. Even our most ingrained habits aren't usually that extreme, the book had continued. So, those two words are best left out when talking with, or even thinking about, our mates.

Easier said than done, Louisa thought. With someone who was as much a perfectionist as Martin, never and always seemed to be pretty descriptive, she thought. Still, it wasn't true that Martin never had a lie-in. She smiled as she remembered a Saturday about a month ago. James had slept longer than usual and, when she awoke, Martin had been watching her with that "almost smile" of his. His eyes wrinkled on the sides and one side of his mouth slightly lifted in that look that she loved to see. He had leaned over to kiss her and that had been the start of a lovely morning.

Come to think of it, she thought, maybe I could convince him to stop playing with his clock. She opened her eyes, trying to get accustomed to the bright sun streaming through the window. Dental hygiene might help, she thought laughingly, and went in to quietly brush her teeth. Maybe a change of attire as well. She quickly took off her pyjamas and put on just her dressing gown. When Martin got going on a clock, he could take a lot of convincing to stop.