CHAPTER ELEVEN REMEMBRANCE
The Characters, places and situations of Doc Martin are owned by Buffalo Pictures. This story makes no claim of remuneration or ownership, nor do I make any attempt to infringe upon any rights of the owners or producers.
Careful - there are spoilers for Season Six Thank you for reading. I welcome your reviews and input.
CHAPTER ELEVEN - AN INTERLUDE
"Let's check your heart rate Martin."
I tried to take Natalie's advice and allow Martin to be as attentive as he wanted to be with me and the baby. At times attentiveness turned to what felt like smothering, but I tried to be patient. I really did. Outbursts were close to the surface, but I was quite proud of myself. I rarely let them break out.
Thing is, Martin thought he was being subtle but it was quite obvious. He would be holding my hand and I knew he was taking my pulse. He would hold my tummy as if to feel the baby. A bit later, here he would come with that doppler thingy to check the baby's heartbeat.
Food took us to another level altogether. He was really sweet to indulge me and bring my smoked herring and chocolate digestives. I knew he hated doing it but he did it and did not go into lecture mode. Of course the way he said, "Here are the things you asked for." was said in such a way as to not miss his feelings about the delivery of said items. Martin is a really good cook and we have good and nutritious meals. It is just that when I start growing gills I have to have some meat. I gave him the "beef is a good source of iron" pitch and he agreed to have beef at least once a week.
One night James Henry was settled and we were lying close to each other. It was sweet being close like that. We often held hands when we went to sleep and frankly I loved it. Martin is so fastidious in caring for himself. His hands are just an extension of his perfection. Whether rubbing my feet or caressing my back they are so soft and gentle. His hand held mine that night as we settled in to sleep. I felt his finger creep to my wrist. Oh, here we go again, checking my pulse. I remembered something I had always told my students. Turn a negative into a positive.
At this point I should point out a reality of pregnancy. Some women want nothing to do with love-making during that time. Erogenous zones are hands-off zones. Well I can assure you I am not in that category. During this pregnancy I have been quite frisky. With James' pregnancy I thought of myself as fat and clunky. Even in those days of non-communication Martin said, "Louisa, you are not fat. You are pregnant." Well I couldn't see the difference. But this time, while I could see this fat woman in the mirror, his comments and sincere admiration of my "pregnant beauty" as he called it overrode all. He loved me and really thought I was beautiful. How could that not melt a woman's heart...as well as other anatomical areas? Well, let me tell you, it did mine!
"Martin, perhaps it would be better if you checked for my heart rate here." With that I placed his hand under my gown onto my breast.
"Louisa, one cannot feel a heartbeat through adipose tissue."
There was a time when I would have taken his comment seriously because he was so clueless, but now it is not always clear. He knows I know that, and I know he may just be playing along. So I take it further.
"Well, the face is very sensitive. Perhaps if you place your face here you can feel a pulse." With that I pulled him to where his face was touching my other breast. He responded with a sweet nuzzle and I knew we were on the right track. Adipose tissue my foot!
"Let's check your heart rate Martin." With that I moved my hand south and told him, "Hmmm, what have we here? I detect a definite "rise" in your pulse. Oh my, I think you definitely have hardening of the arteries. This will have to be dealt with. I know Martin! You let me be the doctor and you will have to follow my prescription. I always wanted to play doctor with you."
I rolled Martin onto his back and moved to sit astride him. I leaned down and we kissed deeply. It was a wonderful long and delicious kiss. It was a kiss that painted stars in the sky and brought the fire of those stars into every fiber of our being. This was not a night for a long walk though the woods of gentle foreplay. No, this was the night when all the passion that is present through the days of living and loving come to a point of need as horses racing through a field. It is hard to imagine any two people being as close and euphoric as we were in those moments.
How we kept from awakening James Henry I will never know. We allowed the full expression of what we felt to flow freely. I just hoped the neighbors had not heard. I sat watching Martin's peaceful and spent expression. We simply looked deeply into each other's eyes.
"There. Did that fix everything? Heart beat back to normal now? Owww!"
"What, Louisa? Did I hurt you?"
"No. Oh no Martin. This baby is complaining in the only way she can. She is kicking the hell out of me for waking her up and who knows what else."
Martin moved his hand and began caressing my bump and in no time our little one settled down as did we. He took my hand again, and the three of us fell into a dreamless and peaceful sleep.
With thanks to GriffinStar.