Buffalo Pictures owns Doc Martin. In dealing with family issues recently, have begun thinking about conversations between the generations about who people are in the present, and who they've been in the past. How did we get to where we are today? Generally adheres to the canon of the series, but no idea where the next season is going; no intent to mirror anything other than what's in my head. Serious Doc Martinitis is the diagnosis … hope I get over it soon! Cheers.

Past as Prologue

Chapter 4

Peter's own mother had always been a hard worker, focused on raising him and seeing him successfully off on his own. Once he launched his own business, she went to work for him helping with the books on a part time basis. He set it up so she could do a lot of the work from home and take advantage of the fact that he was so successful. But other than the work, he didn't really spend a ton of time with her, other than Sunday dinner once a week.

In fact, Peter would also, from time to time, consulted with Martin as a stand in for his completely absent father. They weren't exactly friends in the traditional sense, but they did enjoy occasional conversations about a wide variety of topics. Of course, Martin had saved Peter's life when he ruptured his spleen in PE, so he had many reasons to respect and appreciate Martin. Once the nexus of their relationship became Martin's daughter, Martin realized that although Peter was a bit older than Alexandra, they were really quite satisfactory together. In him, Martin saw a younger version of himself, sort of. He could see that Peter was quite smitten with Alexandra, and vice versa. He also recognized that Alexandra would benefit by having a husband who was grounded and thoughtful.

But Martin was also a little jealous, irrationally, that he would no longer be the main man in his daughter's life. Louisa cautioned him not to be short with Peter, that Peter had Alexandra's interests at heart in everything that he did, and that he would be a great son-in-law.

He took Peter for a walk one evening, to have a man-to-man chat. They walked along the cliffs, looking out to sea, neither one saying anything. Honestly, a conversation between these two was a lot like silence to most normal, hearing people. Peter finally broke the ice, saying "Martin, I want you to know, you know I love your daughter, and I'll take care of her to the best of my ability. Hopefully, that will be enough. She's been spoiled by having you as her father, because you are such a great dad."

"What are you talking about?" Martin asked. "When we had her, I was still learning how to be a father to Philip, never mind a husband to Louisa. It's a miracle we survived because I can assure you, we struggled at first."

"Well, all I can say is, the example that you and Louisa have provided for them and for me has been a pretty good one. You two have weathered some tough times, and you've also come out the other end, still talking to each other, reasonably healthy, and, from what I can see, still in love with each other. I can only hope we'll be half as successful. I do know she makes me happy, and oddly enough, she says I do the same for her," confessed Peter.

"Then I think you're onto something. I was really lucky that Louisa gave me a second chance when we'd blown it so spectacularly only months before. I've tried not to look back, and for the most part, I've been successful in that regard. But every once in a while, I remember those dark days when we managed to drive an impossible wedge between us. Peter, if I can give you any advice, I would offer this: don't let small misunderstandings grow into big misunderstandings." With that, Martin stopped and looked at the younger man who was going to marry his beloved Alexandra.

"Oh, and another thing. It might be a good idea to talk about some of the bigger marital issues well in advance of actually marrying – things like do you want a family, if so, how many children, how will you raise them, etc. Don't make assumptions about each other," Martin lectured. He remembered how he and Louisa could make a mountain out of a molehill in an instant. All of a sudden, it seemed that neither was speaking English, let alone communicating coherently. The good news, after they married, was that those occasions occurred much less frequently. Those few times when things escalated between them into actual fights, they also offered opportunities for them to make up after (minor) rowing. Martin had learned that make up sessions could be quite pleasurable. But that was not something he was prepared to share with Peter. He could learn that on his own.

It was like watching a old movie that you had seen a long time ago, thinking back to the early days of his and Louisa's marriage. It hadn't been easy, agreeing to live together and raise their son when they were so different. The common cause of raising Philip, and later deciding to have Alexandra, did make them into a team, however. In their dealings with the villagers, they were surprised to learn that they had as many similar opinions about the village, as they had different ones. Their core values were remarkably aligned; it was their approaches to dealing with people that provided the greatest source of tension. Once they kind of worked that out, life got a lot easier.

Martin began to understand that Louisa's way of dealing with the people," rather than bodies," as she had once termed it, was extraordinary. She was bound to those people by purpose and by genuine warmth. She accurately observed that no one acted on the villagers' behalf with greater care than Martin, even when he was being frustratingly opaque in hiding his motivations. In fact, his goodwill was demonstrated through his actions, not his words.

Over time, as people began to think of them as a unit, they accepted that Martin was the practical side of Louisa, and that she was the heart of Martin. The villagers made allowances for the two of them, simply because they were together. Even though they seemed a bit of the odd couple, they stood up for each other, backed each other's causes, and showed up for each other's events. Martin, who had never had anyone be wholly committed and on his side before began to appreciate how valuable it was to have Louisa in his corner. Louisa was beloved in the village, and Martin naturally benefitted from being in her orbit.

Neither had Louisa ever had the luxury of living with someone as dependable as Martin. Just knowing he would be there every night, helping with the children, preparing dinner, assisting around the house, offering advice and counsel, or even just holding her when she needed some reassurance, made Louisa relax and enjoy their lives together so much more.

The fact that their children had turned out to be bright, energetic and well adjusted proved that their own abysmal upbringings did not have to be the final determinant in how they themselves turned out.