Disclaimer :– Doc Martin and its characters belong to Buffalo Pictures Ltd. No copyright infringement intended.
Rating :– T –for some slight sexual references.
Santa Baby – Chapter 2
by
GuineaGriff
(aka littleguinea & GriffinStar)
"No, Marty, I'm delighted. I think it's wonderful that you and Louisa are going to spend Christmas Day together," Joan assured her nephew.
The truth of the matter was that he normally sat in the corner looking as miserable as hell at Christmas when he joined her and her assorted guests – that was if he wasn't working, which he usually did as an excuse to get out of the celebrations. How he had managed to get a beautiful woman like Louisa interested in a crusty old bachelor like him she wasn't really sure, but Joan was thrilled about it. Maybe she could get him to lighten up and become more sociable. She was very impressed to hear that Louisa had managed to get Martin to dress up as Santa, as she would never have believed it possible, so she was full of admiration for Louisa's powers of persuasion. Martin was quite clearly besotted and completely under her spell.
"Well, as long as you're sure you don't mind," Martin said, but he was really only being polite. He was determined to spend Christmas with Louisa come what may and nothing was going to stand in his way.
"So, what are you going to give her as a Christmas present? You do realise that you are going to have to give her something nice, don't you, Marty?" Joan thought about the usual cheque that he gave her for Christmas, which was generous and useful, but hardly very thoughtful.
"Yes, I know, but I really have no idea what on earth to get. What would you suggest, Auntie Joan?" Martin looked hopefully to her for inspiration.
"Oh no, that has to be your choice, something you have thought of all by yourself," Joan informed him.
"But I really have no idea what she would like. I've never been any good at that kind of thing," Martin protested.
"Well you're just going to have to learn then, aren't you? If you really want to make a go of things with Louisa you're going to have to put some effort in to please her… hmm? Just try to think of something she would like, something you've noticed that she hasn't got, maybe?"
So Martin wracked his brains to try to come up with something that fitted the bill, realising that he didn't have all that long to sort it out. Finally he thought of something and quickly ordered it to make sure it arrived in good time and felt quite pleased with himself for solving the dilemma.
Demeaning himself by stepping in as Santa at Louisa's school seemed to have won him an awful lot of brownie points in her eyes, even if it did mean that Bert kept singing stupid Santa-related songs every time he saw Martin and giving him big winks and nudges about naughty little elves. Quite a few of his patients also tried to crack jokes with him about his Santa role, but Martin just cut them dead with an icy stare before pointedly asking them about their medical complaint.
The evening that they had shared had turned out to be the first of several relaxed evenings spent together. He had invited her back to his house a couple of evenings later, where they had again cooked a meal together, and this had started a regular pattern for them.
So now Louisa found that she was getting used to Martin's preference of eating quite early in the evening, and at least it meant they had a lot of the evening left for… other things.
Martin was getting used to the fact that Louisa liked to have music playing while she prepared their meal, and he even found himself humming along to some of the tracks she played.
Louisa was trying to get used to his irritating habit of always having to give a medical explanation for everything. When she'd told him to go easy on the peppers in a dish that they were preparing because they upset her stomach if she ate too many of them, he'd immediately started to diagnose her.
"Hmm, could be irritable bowel disease, nothing to worry about; however, if you notice any change in your bowel habits…"
"Yes, alright Martin, I think I'm aware of that," Louisa hurriedly assured him, not wishing to discuss her bowel habits during a romantic evening together.
And the romance was developing between them, but at a rather slow pace. Louisa was trying to encourage Martin by wearing things she suspected he rather liked. She realised that when he blushed – his ears were always a dead give-away as they turned red first – it meant that he was affected by something she had done or something in her appearance. She was pretty sure he had a thing for her wearing red, so she subtly wore some red underwear and made sure he caught just a hint of it during the evening. He was so much more relaxed with her in the privacy of their own homes; in fact, he was almost like a different person at times.
Martin could feel himself being drawn in deeper and deeper with his feelings for Louisa, and at times it scared him, but there was no going back. He looked forward so much to spending the evenings with her, and he knew that he couldn't hold onto his control for too much longer. She always looked so fantastic to him whatever she wore, but just lately she seemed to have the knack of wearing things that he found particularly attractive. Yesterday he had caught a glimpse of her red bra as she leant over to serve up his meal. He loved her in red, and the thought of seeing her in red underwear took his breath away for a minute.
Louisa had dropped several none too subtle hints about staying over at some point, but Martin hadn't followed this through. Much as he ached to be with her, he didn't want to appear to be a typical man, only interested in one thing, wanting to get her into bed the first chance he got. He wanted to show her some respect, however old fashioned that seemed to be, and wait until the time was right – and that would be when he had resolved a major conflict that he was struggling with. But it was so hard; they kissed and embraced each evening they were together, and she seemed to have a thing for him to have his shirt undone, because she kept removing his tie and undoing his top button. He had to make himself pull away while he still could and make his excuses to leave or for Louisa to make her way home.
In his typical fashion, he'd tried to logically analyse the attraction between them; the pheromones must be particularly strong between them, he had surmised. But nothing changed the fact that he was still her doctor, she was still his patient, so he had to keep himself under control, no matter what. Having a physical relationship was not an option while that was still the case because doctors were not allowed to sleep with their patients and could be struck off for doing so.
~x~
Louisa suggested to Martin that they could go to the pub on Christmas Eve, as she did every year. There would be live music playing with the 'Fishermen's Friends' band of local fishermen. Louisa thought they were rather good; however, Martin was not at all keen.
"It'll be noisy and crowded in the pub with lots of sweaty people who've had too much to drink. Not my idea of fun," Martin told her sourly.
"Oh come on, it'll help you get into the spirit of Christmas, and I think you need all the help you can get, quite frankly, Martin," Louisa told him bluntly.
"Why can't we just spend the evening together at my house – or your house, like we usually do?" Martin was much happier to do this rather than go out to the pub. But he knew that Louisa liked to mix and be sociable, and he didn't want to upset her too much.
"We don't have to stay late; we can just have a couple of drinks, listen to the music. You never know, you might actually enjoy yourself." Louisa cajoled him, knowing that if he had his way, he would never join in any social event.
"Well, I suppose I could tolerate the village idiots if we went for a short while, just for one drink maybe," Martin agreed begrudgingly.
Sure enough, the crowded pub was Martin's worst nightmare, especially as he was the main butt for numerous Santa-related jokes. Louisa just seemed to take it all in her stride, but he found it highly embarrassing.
"Where've you parked your sleigh tonight then? Don't want to get a parking ticket, do we, Santa?" Joe Penhale winked at him.
"Want some carrots for the reindeers, eh? Hope you've made sure they're somewhere safe, don't want to be clearing up lots of reindeer poop from the roads," Pauline teased him.
"'Ere, if you don't mind my saying so, I think Santa had better watch out with that elf. She must have cast a spell on him 'cos his ears are much bigger than last year," Bert told Martin. "You never know what other spells she might use to make other parts of his anatomy grow, if you know what I mean." Bert now gave Martin a big nudge to emphasise his meaning, spilling his drink over him in the process.
"Oh for God's sake, man, watch what you're doing," Martin told him grumpily as he wiped up the mess before heading off to sit in the corner as far away as possible.
As soon as he sat down, he saw Mrs Tishell approaching him swiftly with a very determined look on her face.
"Oh, God, Louisa, where are you?" he muttered in desperation under his breath, whilst looking frantically around the pub.
"Hello, Doctor Ellingham. I saw how those inconsiderate idiots were making fun of you. Terrible, a man of your standing having to dress up in a stupid costume. What was Miss Glasson thinking of, obviously not your reputation, tsk tsk. I would never have put you in that position," Mrs Tishell said in a very concerned tone of voice. She sat down next to him on the seat and put her hand on his thigh.
"That's what happens when older men get involved with flighty young girls. What you need is a mature woman with a similar intellect as yourself and compatible professional interests," she continued whilst slowly edging nearer and nearer to him… and moving her hand further up his leg.
Martin sat frozen to the seat and just looked at her in utter horror and disgust. He got hold of her hand and firmly placed it back onto her own lap.
"Over here, Louisa," Martin shouted rather louder than he would normally do. He gestured for Louisa to come and join him.
Louisa could see that he was obviously in an extremely uncomfortable situation so she came quickly over, having laughed off her share of the jokes good-naturedly.
"Oh hello, Mrs Tishell, are you keeping Martin company for me?" asked Louisa chirpily.
"Well, someone has to take care of this poor, poor man," Mrs Tishell replied, at the same time stroking his shoulder.
Martin's top lip curled up at the corner in disgust as he shrugged off her advances.
"I'll leave you two alone," Mrs Tishell said in a very disconsolate tone, and as she walked away, she cast Louisa a look that could kill.
"Just as I predicted - lots of uncouth, inebriated, idiotic villagers who seem to have nothing better to do than try to maul me or throw their drinks over me and make jokes at my expense," Martin grumbled.
Louisa leant over and kissed his cheek softly.
"Just relax; there's no harm in any of it, just a bit of innocent fun."
"I'm not so sure that Mrs Tishell's advances are all that innocent," Martin said grumpily. "She asked me what size my underwear was the other day when I was at the pharmacy to collect your… err, I mean when I went to collect an order that I'd placed," Martin hastily corrected himself.
Louisa looked at him with a puzzled expression before continuing, "Oh, she's harmless really. She did the same thing with Doctor Simm and he was old enough to be her father. Has a thing for doctors, I'd say"
"Hmm. If you say so."
At least Martin was consoled by the fact that Louisa was happy, and he was enjoying having her snuggled up against him in the crowded pub. She was by far the most attractive woman there, and he had eyes only for her. If he just stuck out an hour or so in the pub, then he could hopefully persuade her to leave, and then he would have her all to himself, for a while anyway. And tomorrow they would be spending Christmas Day together, just the two of them – his idea of heaven.
Then Martin felt his phone vibrating in his pocket as it started to ring. He reached for it and made his way outside to take the call in a quieter atmosphere. Louisa regretfully watched him disappear.
Within a couple of minutes, Martin was back and shouted in her ear,
"Sorry, I have to leave - medical emergency."
"Oh right, that's a shame, but of course I understand, you have to go," Louisa said.
"No idea how long I'll be. It's Beth Sawle up on the moors, having breathing difficulties. Best just say that I'll see you tomorrow, I think."
"Yes, okay, see you tomorrow," Louisa agreed, watching Martin already disappearing out of the pub.
She heaved a sigh, suspecting that Martin was secretly pleased to have a reason to escape. He was never going to enjoy social occasions, was he? But she smiled to herself in anticipation of spending Christmas Day with him when he would be all hers.
~x~
Louisa awoke the following morning, Christmas morning, to find a missed call and answer phone message on her mobile phone that she always kept by her bed.
She had got home from the pub quite late. The Fishermen's Friends had carried on longer than usual. The atmosphere had been very merry and everyone had really got into the Christmas spirit - everyone that is, apart from Mrs Tishell, who became more and more depressed with every drink she consumed, until finally PC Penhale had to escort her back to her flat, as she was unable to make her own way back safely.
Pauline had taken the opportunity to quiz Louisa about her relationship with Martin. Even she had noticed a slight change in his personality, nothing staggering, but he did somehow seem more contented of late. However, Louisa was giving nothing away, knowing how even the smallest piece of gossip could be turned into major news around the village, and she felt that she had already caused Martin enough embarrassment with his Santa performance.
When Louisa had finally got home, she'd just crashed out on her bed and had obviously not heard her phone ringing.
She reached over and grabbed the phone and, putting it to her ear, she listened to her message,
"Um, oh I really hate these things… Erm, oh, it's Martin, by the way. I… err, just wanted to apologise about this evening. Very inconvenient having to dash off to see Beth Sawle. Anyway, just to let you know I didn't get home until now, um… it's midnight. I wanted to tell you that I am really very much looking forward to spending tomorrow with you, Louisa… well… that's it, bye."
Louisa closed her phone and smiled to herself. Even though originally she had been the only member of the interviewing panel that had raised any objections to appointing Martin as the new GP in Portwenn, she had always been attracted to him, right from the moment when he had slammed his head against the door following his interview, but just recently he had shown her a side of him that she suspected very few people had ever seen. As well as spending rather a lot of time kissing, which she found he was really very good at, they had also had some serious conversations about his upbringing, and this had brought about a closeness between them that she suspected he hadn't experienced much before in his life.
She hadn't been that shocked when he'd told her about how his mother regarded him as an inconvenience. Louisa always thought there must be a reason why he was so emotionally challenged. He never bothered to sugar-coat his feelings; he would say exactly what he thought, even if it was offensive or hurtful, but he never seemed to realise that sometimes his observations were inappropriate.
Deep down, Louisa could see that he was a very vulnerable and damaged man. She certainly didn't want to mother him, but she did look upon him as a special project, just as she did with Peter Cronk. He and Martin had so much in common and she could tell that Martin recognised himself in Peter.
It was still very early, so Louisa decided to have a nice long shower to freshen herself up and complete all the necessary ablutions… just in case things went as she very much hoped they would. Then she would choose her outfit for the day very carefully, to hopefully ensure that she was irresistible to Martin.
~x~
Martin awoke on Christmas morning feeling rather tired. If he didn't get his eight hours sleep per night, then he always suffered from the effects the following day. However, today he felt a sense of excitement that overcame his initial tiredness because of whom he was going to spend the day with – Louisa.
He looked at the clock; it was only 6.30 am and although he didn't need to get up so early, he found that he couldn't get back to sleep. He'd had yet another vivid dream about spending the night with Louisa, so it had been quite a restless night. He'd tossed and turned and when eventually he had woken up for the first time at 3 am, he had been very disappointed to find that Louisa wasn't lying beside him, running her fingers across his chest.
The fact that she was his patient made things very difficult for him. Of course he would never ever do anything inappropriate with a patient, but the fact was that his feelings for her had ignited before he knew she was registered at his surgery as his patient. If their relationship was going to advance to the next level, and he very much hoped that it would, then he really couldn't be her GP any longer, but he just didn't know how to broach the subject with her without causing offence, as he always seemed to do so easily with Louisa.
~x~
Louisa spent quite a while in the shower thinking about the day ahead - the present that she had bought Martin, and what he might have bought her. She couldn't imagine that he would buy her anything romantic, as he simply wasn't the type, but she could always hope.
Louisa was rather worried that Martin seemed to be scared of making the commitment of sleeping with her – either that or his lack of experience with the fairer sex meant that he lacked confidence in the bedroom. Either way, she was doing her best to encourage him to take the next step with her, but he seemed to be reluctant and to be holding back despite her best efforts. It was a puzzle to her, and she was trying to get to the bottom of it. Louisa had no doubt that Martin was very attracted to her - she could tell that in more ways than one - so it was a bit of a conundrum that he wouldn't even allow her to undo more than one of his shirt buttons.
Then she remembered back to a conversation that they had when they had really only just met. She had been dressed as a pirate, wearing the silly eye patch that she had been forced to use following her treatment for acute angle-closure glaucoma.
"It should clear up in a couple of weeks, if not, go and see your doctor," Martin had advised.
"I would, but I got off to a bad start with him," she replied.
"Ah, no, your doctor's a professional… err, am I your doctor?" Martin had asked.
Thinking back now she remembered that he had seemed a little bit disappointed when he'd found this out. Maybe that's what was stopping him from committing himself to a physical relationship with her, that and the fact that Martin was a true professional meant that he would never do anything that went against the Hippocratic Oath. It would certainly explain the conflict that he seemed to be experiencing with her, wanting to be with her, kissing her, but always stopping things from developing any further between them. Now that she had worked this out, she didn't feel rejected by him any more, and it made her look at him in a new light. Most men would simply have given into their desires, but not Martin. It showed his true strength of character.
There was nothing else for it, the only solution that she could see was that she would have to withdraw her name from his patient list and enroll with the Wadebridge practice. It would be a small price to pay, and she was sure that she would always be able to turn to him for his advice, in any case. She just hoped that he would understand why she felt it was necessary and not take offence thinking that she didn't want him to be her doctor.
~x~
After taking his shower, Martin stood in front of his wardrobe and looked at the many suits inside. He wanted to choose one that would please Louisa, so he picked out a dark blue suit that he had been keeping for special occasions – and this was a special occasion as far as he was concerned. Knowing of Louisa's passion for him in an open- necked shirt, he decided that for once he would do without a tie. At least it would mean that Louisa wouldn't need to undo it for him. Her touch was so intoxicating to him that he feared it would be the undoing of his control if she did it again today. Just the memory of her touch on his neck was enough to make his temperature start to rise again.
He had some breakfast and then he slowly got dressed. He had decided upon a dark blue shirt to complement the suit, and when he was finally dressed, he stood in front of his mirror. It took him a while to get used to looking at himself without his tie because he felt as if he wasn't properly dressed, but he was determined that today he was going to make a supreme effort to please Louisa, and that's what she seemed to prefer.
He'd bought some attractive paper for Louisa's present and after carefully wrapping it, he placed a large silver bow on the front and sat down to write the label.
Flowery words weren't really Martin's style, so he just wrote a simple message and then cleared away his breakfast things, in readiness to set off for Louisa's house.
~x~
Louisa stared into her wardrobe. She wanted to pick the perfect outfit that would ensure that Martin wouldn't be able to resist her, and hopefully she would be able to persuade him to stay the night once they had cleared up the conflict of him being her doctor.
She pulled out a short red dress that she thought would raise his temperature nicely. As for her hair, today for a change she decided to leave it down, no ponytail, as she wanted to look elegant and sophisticated for him.
Wrapping his present was going to be a bit difficult because it was an awkward shape and rather large, but she was determined that it would be nicely presented, particularly after what Martin had told her about his Christmas experiences as a young boy. She hoped that these little touches would help to make him realise how special she thought he was.
Once the present was dealt with, Louisa set about preparing the food for their Christmas dinner. As had become their usual routine, Martin would be helping her to prepare it, but because they were eating at her house, she had decided upon the menu, having now got some idea of his likes and dislikes. She'd entrusted Martin with the responsibility of providing some wine for the meal. He may not drink, but he did know a good wine from a bad one, so Louisa felt confident that he wouldn't let her down.
The vegetables were prepared, so all that was left now was to get dressed. Louisa was tingling in anticipation of seeing Martin that day, so she quickly went back upstairs to get ready, as he would be arriving soon.
~x~
After a final look in the mirror, Martin grabbed Louisa's present and the bottle from the table. He put on his coat and then locked up the surgery and started to walk down the hill towards the village.
It wasn't long before he bumped into Bert Large, who was about to open up the restaurant to serve Christmas dinner that day.
"Hey, Doc, I didn't think we'd see you up and around so soon today. Did you get all your prezzies delivered early then?" Bert chortled.
"Very funny Bert. Try not to give all your customers food poisoning today, won't you," said Martin dryly before striding away.
"Don't worry, Doc, we'll try not to disturb your little liaison. Oh… and we'll make sure to raise a glass to your good 'elf'!"
Martin looked back at Bert and gave him a stern stare before carrying on towards Louisa's cottage.
To Martin's relief, he managed to get virtually all the way to the cottage without meeting a single villager. Christmas did have its advantages he decided; it kept them all inside and out of his way for once.
However, just as he knocked on Louisa's door, predictably the group of village girls that seemed to take great delight in stalking him came round the corner singing Christmas songs. As soon as they saw Martin, they abruptly stopped singing and started giggling and whispering. As they approached him, one of the girls started singing again and the rest quickly joined in.
"We'll hear Louisa shout, we'll hear Louisa cry, we're sure Louisa won't pout,
We're telling you why,
Santa Claus is foolin' around"
Martin ignored them and knocked even harder. As the door opened, Martin barged quickly past Louisa and into the cottage.
"And a Merry Christmas to you too, Martin," said Louisa sarcastically.
"Sorry, just had to get away from those idiotic girls," he said in a very flustered state.
"Oh, just ignore them; that's what I do."
"Yes, well, that's easy for you to say. They don't spend all of their waking hours stalking you, do they?" Martin grumbled.
"I think that's a slight exaggeration, Martin," Louisa said as she took his overcoat from him. She immediately noticed that Martin didn't have a tie on and that his top button was open. He looked extremely handsome and she was impressed that he had been thoughtful enough to make a huge effort for her.
Martin thrust a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne into her hand and said,
"I got this; I hope you think it's acceptable."
"Oh, I only expected you to bring a bottle of wine, so this is lovely. Thank you, Martin."
"Hmm, well… it is a special occasion, so I thought it would be appropriate," said Martin, managing a brief smile.
Louisa went to put the bottle of champagne in the fridge. As she turned, Martin noticed that she was wearing a very short red dress. Her silky smooth hair was flowing majestically down her back. She looked beautiful and he wasn't sure if he would be able to control his feelings for her as the day progressed.
He followed her down the steps into the kitchen. He placed the present on the table and then turned to face Louisa. He took hold of her hand and pulled her slowly towards him. His lips captured hers and they shared a gentle, lingering kiss.
"Happy Christmas, Louisa."
"You too, Martin."
"Your present is over there." He gestured towards the table.
"Oh, thank you. I thought we could eat first before we unwrap our presents. Does that sound okay?"
"Yes, yes, that's fine. What can I do to help?" asked Martin.
Louisa gave him a couple of tasks to do, and they worked together in the kitchen, enjoying each other's company, making a very good team.
Finally it was ready and then they sat down to eat. They talked about Christmases past, about themselves when they were younger. Louisa could see that Martin had had a pretty privileged upbringing in financial terms, but had been neglected completely in his emotional welfare. She, on the other had, had always known that her dad loved her, but he had been unreliable and useless in providing any kind of financial security.
As a result of letting go and confiding in each other, they grew closer still over the course of the meal. Martin found himself really relaxing in Louisa's company in a way that he hadn't been able to do with anyone else, so much so, that he even allowed himself a glass of champagne. He was hoping that some Dutch courage would help when he had to tell Louisa that he couldn't be her doctor any longer. He just hoped that she would understand that it showed the depth of his feelings for her.
After clearing away the dishes, they both retired to the lounge. Louisa brought the bottle of champagne through with her and started to top up their glasses.
"Louisa, I have to tell you…"
"Martin, it's only a couple of glasses of champagne; it doesn't mean that I'm an alcoholic."
"No, I really have to say something…"
"Don't spoil it, Martin. We've had a lovely day so far, so why don't we open our presents now?"
With a heavy sigh, he agreed and went to get Louisa's gift from the table. He really just wanted to say what he had to say to her, to get it off his chest and not put it off any longer.
Louisa had already placed Martin's present by the side of the sofa, so she reached for it and placed it on his knee.
"Oh, erm, thank you," he said awkwardly. "Really, you should open yours first," he continued.
"Okay," agreed Louisa as she reached for it on the coffee table.
She carefully tore off the paper to reveal a solid green box with a white cross on the front.
"I'm not very good at buying gifts, and Aunty Joan suggested that I should get you something that you didn't have. I've noticed that you don't have a proper first aid box in the house, and I really think that you should have one. You never know when it might be needed," explained Martin.
A little taken a back by the gift, Louisa just smiled."Oh, well, thank you Martin, it's very… thoughtful of you. Although I hope that I won't have to use it any time soon."
"I also got you this," he said, passing her an envelope, very tentatively.
Louisa opened it and took out a piece of paper. At the top it said, "Wadebridge Health Centre, New Patient Registration Form". Louisa stared at it in disbelief.
"I'm sorry, Louisa, I can see that I've upset you. If I can just explain…"
"No, Martin, there's no need, really," she said as she gestured to Martin to open his present.
Martin felt sure that he had deeply hurt Louisa's feelings, but he thought it best if he did as she wanted.
He looked at the gift tag and read Louisa's message, "To Martin, with much love always, Louisa." He opened his present, which he noticed had been very carefully and thoughtfully wrapped. After tearing off the paper, he found a decent- sized bag. Louisa told him to open it up, so he unzipped it and inside he found a toiletry bag with toothbrush, toothpaste and shaving accessories. There was also a towel, a flannel and some silk pyjama bottoms. Louisa then handed a very puzzled Martin an envelope. He looked at her before opening it up, and inside he found a letter, asking that she be taken off his patient list.
Finally the penny dropped. Louisa had worked out for herself the reason why he had been holding back, and she had come up with the same solution as he to their problem. Her present was obviously a less than subtle hint that she really wanted him to spend the night with her, whatever it took.
"I've grown very fond of you, Martin, and I hope you feel the same way about me. The last few days that we've spent together have been wonderful. I know you find it hard to express your feelings and sometimes you are rather rude, but you still make me feel special."
Martin just listened in astonishment as Louisa poured her heart out to him.
"If you had wanted to, I would have been more than happy for you to have stayed that night after you dressed up as Santa for me. I want to feel you lying next to me, I want you to take me into your arms and I want you to make love to me. But most of all, I desperately want to wake up beside you in the morning. I want you to be mine."
Martin pulled her into him and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, unable to quite believe that Louisa wanted him, really wanted him, in just the same way that he wanted her.
"It's the thing that I want more than anything else in the world, Louisa. You are the only person that has ever made me feel the way that I do now. I know that I'm not an easy person to get on with. I know that sometimes I can seem… rude, but believe me when I say that I only ever have your best interests at heart. The thing is, if we are going to… um… make love, well then I just can't be your doctor any longer. It's against all sorts of rules, for very good reasons actually, but you know that I will always be here for you no matter what, and all you have to do is pick up the phone and I'll be here."
Tears slowly welled up in Louisa's eyes and started to trickle down her cheeks. Martin gently wiped them away before kissing her gently on each cheek. He felt just as emotional as she did.
He cupped her face softly in his large hands and kissed her deeply. She wrapped her arms around him and her hand reached for the back of his neck as she pulled him to her, increasing the passion between them.
"Oh, Louisa, I love you."
"I love you too, Martin. I think I always have," replied Louisa. "There's something else in that bag other than the PJ's that I was hoping we might find a use for," she continued somewhat coyly.
Martin undid the front zip of the bag to find a packet of condoms; he looked at Louisa and could see a smile spreading across her face.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" he said as he took hold of her hand and led her up the stairs.
He felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders as he led her into the bedroom and closed the door, finally able to unleash the passion that he had been struggling to keep in check all the time that she had officially been his patient.
~x~
Louisa smiled happily as she looked over at Martin, still asleep next to her the following morning. He looked so different, vulnerable somehow, with his hair mussed up. He always looked so immaculate normally, so she loved seeing him like this, how no one else ever saw him. She watched him breathing as he slept, taking the opportunity to study him closely, loving his craggy features more than ever now that they had shared the most intimate experience together.
She quickly slipped to the bathroom while he was still asleep to brush her teeth and use a mouthwash. Ever since he had commented on her bad breath, she had been obsessed by her dental hygiene and wasn't going to take the chance of him commenting on it again. As she got back into bed, he stirred, opened his eyes and slowly smiled at her.
"Good morning, my lover," Louisa whispered to him as she lay on her side to look back at him.
"Umm, yes, good morning," Martin replied, taking a moment to recall where he was, and what had passed between them, not quite believing it was true and not one of his erotic dreams.
"No regrets?" Louisa had to ask as she looked at his rather worried face.
"No, no, but, well I just wish that I… that it… well that things had lasted a bit longer," Martin confessed rather shamefacedly.
It had been an amazing experience for him, and he'd wanted to make it a wonderful experience for them both, but he was concerned that he had somewhat let her down in being unable to control his excitement.
"Don't worry Martin; it was great for me too. And this is just the best Christmas present I could have wished for, waking up with you, just being so close to you. It's what I've wanted for a long time," Louisa reassured him.
He had been so sweet, so concerned for her last night, asking her if she was really sure that it was what she wanted, before he had made love to her.
"Yes, me too." Martin reached over to kiss her gently. Louisa giggled at him.
"You're all bristly. I rather like it, actually," she told him as she ran her hand over his chin.
"Ah, yes, I should get up and have a shower and shave, use some of the things you gave me in my bag." Martin started to make a move, but was stopped by Louisa holding onto his arm.
"There's no hurry, is there? We've got all day, I know you said about going to Joan's for Boxing Day tea, but that's ages away. Maybe you could use one particular present of mine before some of the others," she hinted, eyeing the packet of condoms on the side.
Martin relaxed and smiled. "Well, I wouldn't want to seem ungrateful for any of my presents, so I should really make use of all of them I suppose."
"There you are then. Would be rude otherwise," Louisa said as she started kissing him.
"Perish the thought that I could be considered rude," Martin said, as he took her in his arms, knowing that this was the best Christmas he had ever experienced.
~x~