Suddenly it seemed that every moment Jane Werren was in the house, speaking to Louisa, picking up James, or dropping him off, she made it a point to ask after Terry, or if he was around to talk for a few minutes.

Louisa picked up on it right away and had to discuss it with Martin. He scoffed at the very idea that a woman of thirty might be interested in a man thirty-five years her senior. "No, Martin, something is going on," she told him, chewing her lip. "Unless I'm wrong."

Morwenna on the other hand, being like Argos, the mythological giant who had a hundred eyes, was uniquely placed to note Jane's comings, goings, and more. Just this morning she'd found Jane and Terry chatting amiably in the kitchen when she made tea, and in the lounge when Jane was getting James ready for a walk, and then she watched while Jane ambled beside Terry as he pushed the buggy. So Morwenna was quite certain the Cupid had been plying his bow and not just in her own direction.

"Oh, Janie," she muttered to herself. "You really want to do that? With Louisa's dad?" Then she stopped herself, given what had been going on under her own roof. "Ah, well, her funeral."

Surgery went crazy; well it always was crazy, with new patients popping in, cancellations left and right since people were too busy although sick to come by, along with any surprise emergency when the Doc would sprint off.

"Morwenna!" the Doc yelled at her from his office door. "How do I get to Dales Farm?"

"Take the B road up to milepost elven, right on Hector lane, then onto Dale Road," she told him. "You been there before."

"Have I?" Martin screwed up his face as he marched towards her desk nearly bowling over old Mr. Coverly who was creeping back to his seat from the loo.

She smiled at the Doc. "Yeah you do. A broken foot and trapped up in the attic? Leastwise it was last time."

"Yesss," he sighed at her. "The oaf went into his attic to retrieve something and broke his foot slipping off a rafter beam. Fool!"

"Accident?" she suggested. "Can't imagine anybody would do that twice or on purpose."

"Well he did, but now it's the barn and a hayloft – and now the other foot," he grumbled.

Morwenna smiled. "Then you best be off." She rose and opened a file. "Billy Dale – here," she gave Martin the slim folder of patient notes. "And don't forget he's got COPD as well," she whispered.

"Right, better take some O2 in case he's out."

Morwenna looked at him and found his eyes scanning her from head to toe. "What?"

"You were late again today." Martin looked sharply at her. "That makes three times this week and it was four last week?"

"Sorry Doc." Morwenna frowned as he went back to surgery and she to her desk. The Doc had noticed something. Damn! She twitched at the pleated skirt she was wearing so it sat fuller across her.

"You alright dearie?" Mrs. Mills asked her. "You went white as a sheet there."

Morwenna smiled. "Fine, just fine. I'm okay," she said but she wasn't fine. Well; no she was fine, just not totally fine… she sighed in her head.

The inner door flew open again and Martin ran out like a madman dragging his medical case. "Hold my patients. I'll be back in an hour!"

"Hour and a half," muttered Morwenna and adjusted her skirt again, trying not to call attention to her waistline.

At school Louisa was in the gymnasium helping Pippa set out the props for the pageant.

Louisa was at school and Pippa Woodley came in to help her set out the school pageant props and costumes.

"I thought it went pretty well," Pippa told Louisa. "Last night."

Louisa smiled. "I do like the Light Up."

Pippa crossed her arms. "How are things at your house?"

"Oh, fine. Need to wrap the presents and such but things are…"

"Oh yeah," Pippa sighed, "my two boys are climbing the walls thinking about goin' to the Grotto to talk to St. Nick. You wait until James is a little older."

Louisa had seen her dad the other day in the altered costume for Santa and it made her quite weepy for some reason. "Dad?" she whispered as he checked himself out.

Terry saw her in the mirror as she stood behind him. "Sweetheart? Something amiss?"

Louisa sat down on his narrow bed. "Oh, I don't know. Just… missed chances."

Terry sat down next to her, pulled off his red cap and rubbed his face. "I know."

Louisa thought back to the years that her dad had been alone, after mum left. "It was hard, I know, for you; so hard."

He sighed and shook his head. "Harder for you than for me. I left but you came back to the village."

She shrugged. "Home."

He nodded but then chuckled. "You recall the time me and your granddad decided to build bonfires out on the seawalls for Light Up?"

That made her laugh. "You both got a bit burned as I remember and the Lifeboat crew had to go get you."

"Well, you know I didn't actually fall into the harbor. I was trying to fish your gran outta the drink when he fell off the ladder from his dinghy."

Louisa laughed then set her head on his shoulder so he put an arm around her. "My little girl," he said. "All grown up; married and a mum."

"Not necessarily in that order," she muttered.

Quietly they sat together like that for some time but then she looked up at his bearded face. "Thanks."

"Fer what?"

"For being my dad."

Terry gulped hard. "I won't let you down, not any more, and not when I play Father Christmas in a couple days."

Louisa stood up and looked around the tiny room. "I wish we had a better room for you."

He waved her off. "Listen this is a palace, a palace, compared to some places I been."

"I can guess that."

He smiled. "Leastwise I can be Father Christmas or try to be."

"Don't try to play anybody else, just enjoy it. I mean you don't have to try and imitate anyone else. Just let the…"

"Spirit of Christmas," he said slowly. "Bert's been coaching me."

Louisa smiled. "Martin's just finished bathing James. Want to read him a bedtime story?"

Terry stood up and started pulling the red coat and pants away. "Just stop me."

Louisa went to the door and looked back. "And you must have been lonely."

He eyes twinkled. "Well things worked out in that department. I… uhm, was alone but not…" He stopped. "When your mum left, well we never divorced, see, so I figured…"

Louisa cocked her head to one side. "You and Eleanor – never – got divorced?"

He shook his head. "Never had the money. We just went our separate ways."

"Oh, I always thought…"

"And I never been lonely," he added then he shook his head. "Now a story for James?"

Louisa was pulled back to present as Pippa switched on the address system and checked it out. "Good to go," Pippa told her. "And I was right proud of your Martin last night. There was some taking bets on the side he'd either not show or…"

"Well he did!" He did show up!" Louisa nearly yelled.

"Sorry love. Just…"

"Yeah," Louisa snapped. "Let's help Mr. Colley get more chairs in here."

Martin made it to Dales Farm and back and he was dirty after scrabbling up a ladder into an ancient stone barn, treating the victim who was stranded in the loft. Fortunately his ankle was not broken but badly sprained but he lambasted the farmer for climbing about with a cast on his other foot.

"Well howinhell am I gonna to get things done around here?" Mr. Dales argued as Martin guided / half carried him out of the loft.

"Hire someone," Martin told him as he looked around the prosperous farm. "I see you have a new tractor, you could afford that."

Muttering under his breath while Martin wrapped his bent ankle it was the ending to another typical home visit. So when Martin returned to surgery so late, his waiting room was empty but for Morwenna who sat at her desk addressing Christmas cards.

"I'm not paying you to do personal things!" he admonished her.

Morwenna put her pen down. "Right. Where are your shoes?'

"Kitchen – muddy – and where are my patients?"

"Gone home, left; gave up."

Martin tiptoed across the linoleum trying not to leave mud from his wet socks on the floor. "Get a mop at least and clean this up. Do something."

The girl shook her head. "I got something for you though." She held out a manila patient packet and he took it.

"Who's this?"

"A patient," she stood up. "Me."

He sighed. "Come in then."

Morwenna twisted her hands together. "Uhm, so…"

"So?"

"Well… you see…"

Martin got his blood pressure cuff onto her and took her vitals and a temp. "All normal."

She pursed her lips. "That's good."

"Any reason it might not be?"

Morwenna stared at the floor.

Martin sighed. "Morwenna? What is the matter?"

"You said I was late to work, and that's true…"

"Tell me something I don't know."

She left the room then returned with a small vial. "I think you oughta check this."

Martin peered at the small capped container filled with fluid. "What is this?"

"It's mine," she said softly. "I... I wanted to buy one of those things at the chemist but Mrs. T bein' all nosy and everything," she shrugged. "I come to you."

Martin looked at her more closely paying attention to the skin of her face and neck and the backs of her hands. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "Me and Al…"

"Stop! I don't want the details!"

"Well they're gonna come out anyway. Me and Al are gettin' married."

"Ah." Martin replied. He looked at the vial once more. "When did you collect this? If it's what I think it is."

"Been about six weeks since, well I'm late, see?" She blushed. "Collected that this mornin' after I quit throwing up."

Martin slid into the back of the school gymnasium under the watchful eyes of too many parents and teachers and he knew they'd be making comments about how he was late once more. He stood against the back wall trying to remain unobserved, but for him to hide in plain sight was both ridiculous and impossible.

The kids were singing some silly song, at least to him, about a how a magic whale had carried Father Christmas on its back when his reindeer were sick and couldn't fly.

Louisa sidled up to him. "You are late," she whispered.

"With a patient," he told her. "Sorry."

"I didn't think you'd show up."

The test was positive so Morwenna took a tissue and blew her nose. "Al already asked me to get married and I said yes. We were gonna get hitched in the Spring after the B&B gets goin'. Figured your Aunt Ruth would be happy if he could put all his attention on the business for a while." She sighed. "We didn't tell anybody and then… this." She waved at the strip which showed the results in a tiny window.

Martin said to her, "Not planned then."

"God no."

"Not the end of the world."

"You and Mrs. E… well," she shrugged. "That wasn't quite our plan."

"Does Al know?"

"He suspects… well, he's been buggin' me to come see you."

"You have." He stood and went to a file cabinet. "There is literature you should read and I can give you a starter pack of vitamins. Now, I'll examine you, unless you'd rather see someone else."

"Now's fine. I guess this is an early Christmas present, ain't it?" she smiled up at him.

Louisa stood next to Martin when the Pageant was ended and the kids were slurping punch and munching biscuits while Martin sneered at the consumption of unnecessary sweets.

"Anyway, Martin, I am glad you showed up; a nice surprise," Louisa told him, squeezing his hand once before she walked away to speak to parents.

Martin looked around at the kids downing calories they did not need, especially the chubby ones, heard the hubbub of people and quivered slightly. "Surprise, yes. A surprise."