Chapter 38

Thursday morning bright and early, Louisa was up and ready for the day. She got up even before Martin or James woke up. By the time he and James came downstairs, she already made breakfast and coffee. She was casually dressed and her hair was in the usual ponytail. Her cheeks were a little flushed as she was scampering around in the kitchen. Martin was holding James, who was a little fuzzy since he woke up. He cuddled his face into Martin's neck and together they watched Louisa who didn't even realize they were standing in the door. When she turned to walk out of the kitchen she walked straight into them.

"Oh, morning you two sleepyheads." She leaned over and kissed James' soft cheek and then did the same For Martin. She smiled as she thought how different they both smelled. Different but equally good. "Breakfast is ready".

Martin placed James in his chair but the little one immediately started crying.

"What's wrong sweetheart? Why are you crying?" Louisa picked him up and settled him on her lap. He cuddled into her chest while sticking his fingers in his mouth and drooling all over Louisa's top. She rocked him a bit till his whining stopped. Louisa looked up at Martin with worrying eyes.

"Uhm, I checked him over. He was a bit warm before I got him dressed. We'll have to ask Je…the girl to keep a close on him today. I suggest Calpol after breakfast." Martin placed his two fingers against James' forehead and his frown deepened.

"Oh, no. I really hope he haven't caught a bug! Come on James, let's get something in your tummy so we can give you some medicine." She tried again to place him in his chair but he was having none of that.

"Louisa, I don't think it's a bug, as you call it. Toddlers at this stage develop the sharp, pointed teeth called Canine or Cuspids. I tried to feel if I could feel anything, but he wouldn't open his mouth. I suspect it might be hurting."

Louisa looked from Martin to James and as to acknowledge his farther suspicions, James pressed his lips together tightly.

"Ah, I'm sorry sweetheart. I hope they don't take long." She made him some baby cereal with warm milk and with a struggle managed to get him to eat a few spoons full. Then she and Martin had a tough time giving James the Calpol. He was being a stubborn little boy and no matter how they tried, he refused to open his mouth. In the end, they had to trick him into talking and when he opened his little mouth, they quickly put in the spoon. He was so surprised that he could only swallow.

When Janice arrived, Louisa informed her that James wasn't a very happy boy as he might be teething, so she made Janice promise to let her or Martin know immediately if he was feverish.

Janice took James and cuddled him and he seemed quite happy to be with her.

Louisa saw how quickly James was soothed by Janice and it made her a bit jealous. She knew she was being silly, but she actually hoped James would have been more reluctant to let go of her. She looked longingly at him and felt how her heart twitched. That Louisa, is what happens to a working mum, she said to herself. She sighed heavily and turned when there was knock on the door.

Al arrived with two young men. After the Doc called him on Sunday to ask for his help with the move, he called on Dave and Pete, two locals who was always willing as long as there's a pint or two in it! Al himself was quite desperate for some extra money as there was this very nice necklace that he wanted to buy for a beautiful receptionist for Christmas.

Louisa opened the back door and greeted them with her huge smile. She was dressed in black slacks and a jumper with comfortable sneakers. Al could not believe that this lady, he knew for most his life, were slowly approaching 40 as she looked not a day older than 29-30. Or maybe he's just bad with age-guessing. He smiled as he remembered how she used to babysit him when he was young. There was not a single person in the whole wide world that was better at reading bed time stories! Even though she herself was still in school, she was a very good reader. She made sounds and pulled faces. It always made him laugh. He was glad she and The Doc seemed to have sorted out their issues. She looked happy lately. She deserves to have someone special in her life…and the Doc sure is…special.

"Mornin' Louiser. Ready?" Al walked through the kitchen door and looked around at all the boxes standing around. Dave and Pete was not sure if they were supposed to go in or not.

"Good morning Al. Hey Dave, Pete. Come in. Thank you all so much for coming to help today. I am as ready as can be. Do you want a cuppa before we start? It's quite a chilly morning, but at least the sun is out." Louisa was busying herself and talking non-stop. Al cold see she was in a great mood, and looking as lovely as ever. Looking over at Dave and Pete, who stood like logs, he said: Uhm, I think we'd better just start." The two young lads nodded in agreement.

Louisa stopped what she was doing and looked at them, biting her lip. "Oh, yeah, Ok. That's is probably best. There are quite a lot of boxes and a couple of furniture pieces that needs to be moved to the new house. You will see on the outside of each box, I've marked in which room the boxes needs to be placed when you get to the new house. I will go with you on the first trip, so that I can open the house and show you the different rooms. I'll stay there, but you know the kitchen door here at the surgery is always open. But first, let me take you through Fern Cottage and show you what you're supposed to take on this side as we are leaving a number of things here, that won't go to the new house at all."

The four of them had a quick tour just before the first patients arrived for the day. Al assured Louisa that he was fairly sure of what was expected.

Just as Dave and Pete started carrying the first couple of boxes, Martin appeared in the Kitchen.

"Al, a word? " He turned, ducked his head from the low panels and walked to his office, with Al following short on his heels.

After Martin closed the door, he went to his desk drawer and pulled out an envelope. "I will leave this with Morwenna, so you can collect it at the end of the day when you are finished." He kept holding the envelope while looking awkwardly at Al. "Thank you…for… helping."

Al grinned and said: "My pleasure Doc. Glad I can help" he turned to walk out the office when he heard the Doc say his name. He turned around and saw that the Doc looked worried.

"Al," clearing his throat he continued, looking a bit awkward. "… please look after her today. She'll be wanting to do more than she should. Don't let her pick up anything heavy or shift anything. I…uhm….she …"

Al knew what the Doc was trying to say. Louisa could be stubborn, and like to be involved in anything she tackles. She's not a lady that can simply sit back and bark orders for anyone else to do the work. She's too used to doing it herself. He understood the Doc's fears and knew they had some grounds.

"Sure Doc, no problem. I'll keep a close eye on her. She gave us quite a scare, we won't want a repeat of that."

Martin just looked at him with big eyes. "Yes. Thank you".

Al headed to the kitchen and started helping the other two, and so the big move started.

When Martin came to the kitchen at lunch time, he noticed two things. Firstly, all of the boxes that was standing in his way for half a week, was gone. Thank God, he thought. The untidiness of it started to get on his nerves, so he was quite glad that it was no longer filling every moveable space. A couple of other furniture pieces were also missing. What's left was only what they planned to leave at the surgery.

Secondly, he noticed a very unhappy little boy. Janice was trying desperately to feed James his lunch, but James was just crying! When he saw Martin, he immediately lifted his arms and his bawling increased in intensity.

"Doc, he's been fuzzy all day. I've tried everything to calm him down, but he's been whining a lot. Cuddling helps, but only for short periods of time. I thought he'd be hungry by now, but he hasn't taken one bite. Louisa called a couple of times to check up on him, but I know she's busy so I didn't want to worry her." Janice looked defeated and miserable. James Henry is usually the cutest sweetest baby, but today was not a good day. She tried her best to try and get him in a better mood, since she knew that the Doc had patients and Louisa was busy with the move.

Martin picked James up and walked to his consulting room. He sat with James on the bed, took out his stethoscope and started examining his son. He had a higher temperature than the morning and his cheeks were red. But Martin was certain it was just teething problems. He picked up James who stopped whining for a bit and walked to the kitchen.

"I'm going over to Mrs Tishell's to see if I can get him something to sooth and numb the gums. You can take a break. Go have lunch, or take a walk." Martin could see that the young child-minder was overwhelmed by his son's behaviour. He needed to calm the both of them, so that she'll be fine for the afternoon stretch.

With a sombre "Thanks Doc" Janice grabbed her coat from the hook and left thorough the kitchen door.

Martin dressed James in his coat, and thought about taking the stroller, but decided to just hold James in his arms for the quick trip to the Chemist. James rested his head against Martin's shoulder as they walked downhill. He did not cry but Martin could see that his son was very unhappy. He felt how his own heart ached. He was a doctor, he should know how to make his son feel better. Plus, he's a farther. From what he'd gathered from others, fathers should take care of their kids, especially when their ill. He's seen many fathers walk through his consulting room door with worrying faces when they brought in an ill child. He knew the look by now. However, he has only learned it from the villagers in town. He has never seen that look on his own parents' faces, he would have remembered. The times he was ill, his nannies looked after him. When he asked where his mom was, they said she didn't want to become ill as well, so she did not come to his room, even when he called for her. The explanation for his absent father was that he was a Surgeon, and could not afford getting germs when he's supposed to operate on people. Even as a young lad, it made sense to him. However, Martin knew that there would be nothing in the world keeping him from his son when he was ill, so clearly it was just another form of neglect from his parents' side. It was also proof that he was nothing like his father, and that made him proud.

When the two Ellingham's walked through the door of the Chemist, there was no one at the counter. It was quite odd for Mrs Tishell as she never left her door unlocked if she was not present at the front.

"Hello" yelled Martin. Just then he heard something banged against the wall and … giggles?

"Mrs TISHELL!" Martin could hear mumbling and suppressed laughter and then a dishevelled looking Mrs Tishell appeared from the back.

"Dr Ellingham! How ARE you? I was just… taking stock. What can I do for you today?" She tucked at her clothes and tried to straighten her hair with her right hand, while smiling at the Doctor.

"I need some Dentinox Teething Gel and a bottle of Calpol. For my personal account please." Martin sighed as he was sure endless amounts of questions and comments were to follow from the nosy woman.

Without a word, Mrs Tishell turned and took the required items from the shelve, wrote it in the book and placed it in a paper bag.

"What is that…on your arm?" Martin could see something pink dangling from her left arm, when she selected the items. He probably would not have noticed it if she wasn't visibly trying to hide it by only using her right hand to do everything.

"Oh, uhm…it's nothing. Thank you Dr Ellingham. Have a great day" She turned around and disappeared to the back again, but not before Martin saw what the suspicious object was. It was pink fluffy handcuffs!

Martin was so surprized by the item and her weird behaviour that he did not move for a couple of seconds. It was only when James started squealing, that he was able to move.

"Completely Insane, the whole bunch of them", He mumbled as he and James left the store and walked back home.

When they arrived at home, Martin saw that James was asleep on his shoulder. He went upstairs and placed him in his cot. He then collected a cotton bud from the bathroom, placed a considerable amount of teething gel on it and gently rubbed it on James' gums. He was happy his son was asleep, as he was not sure if he would have allowed his father to go near his mouth otherwise. He could see the spots where the teeth would soon appear, were swollen and red. He hoped that the gel would ease the pain considerably. Hopefully James will also eat when he woke up, so he'll have to tell the minder to ensure she gives him one spoon of Calpol again.

As he entered the kitchen, Janice came through the back door.

"James is asleep. When he wakes up, try giving him his lunch and then a spoonful of Calpol. I rubbed some Dentinox on his swollen gums. It might help."

"Ok, Doc." Janice smiled as she did not know what else to say. It's not often that the two of them are completely alone in one room. Janice didn't like the awkwardness of being around Dr Ellingham. She often feels that he doesn't even know she exists or appreciates the fact that she does. With a wife like Louisa, she can understand why…but she's there for James. The least he could do was acknowledged her existence for James' sake.

After the Ben incident, Janice kept a close eye on both Martin and Louisa, without them realising. She wondered what the Doc's reaction was when he heard about the kiss. She was looking to see if she could see any signs of strain on their marriage. But the same night Louisa had the fall, that caused the village to find out about the baby. She wondered if the Doc only forgave Louisa because of the new baby on the way. Although Louisa said that the whole Ben debacle was an accident…and she explained it nicely, she still wondered if the Doc would believe a story like that. But they both seemed happy enough. Well, Louisa seem happy. For the moment. She is a hard woman to please. Everyone knew that the Doc worships the ground Louisa Ellingham walks on, and will do just about anything for her. Well, everyone except Louisa, it seems. The Doc looked as strict and unmoved as ever. However, they are still moving to the new house – together. So everything must be fine.

Martin saw how Janice just stared at him, as they both stood like statues in each other's presence.

"I'll go to his room and read a magazine then," said Janice as she scampered out of sight.

"If James is giving you trouble, you can bring him to me." Martin shouted towards the staircase as he turned around and searched the kitchen for something to eat before his next patient would arrive. After finding some ingredients for a healthy sandwich, he took his phone and typed a message to Louisa. It simply said: "Lunch?" He pressed the sent button and ate his sandwich. After a little while the tone on his phone indicated an incoming message. Louisa. "I packed an apple, some cheese and crackers and a yoghurt, thank you Martin. Everything OK there?"

He typed "Fine", hit sent and quickly cleaned his plate before returning to the consulting room, ready for whatever the afternoon had in store.

After the last patient for the day left, Martin quickly cleaned the consulting room and made sure everything was ready for the next day. He walked to the kitchen to see if James and Louisa was there. There was no one, however, he heard voices coming from the second floor. He climbed the steps and walked to James' room. He was very surprised to find Janice with James. They were both sitting on the floor, playing with some blocks and balls. James was "talking" and seemed in a far better mood than lunch time. When he spotted Martin, he pulled himself up with the help of Janice and toddled over to Martin, a big Louisa smile on his face. "DADDY!" When he reached Martin, he tugged at his pants and said "Daddy up." Martin picked him up, and felt his forehead with his fingers. "Hello James. I guess you're feeling better?"

Janice felt it was time to speak up. "Whatever you did during lunch, worked wonders Doc. After his nap, he was quite hungry and in-between bites, I managed to sneak in a spoon full of Medicine. He's been a little better during the afternoon, but still cries easily, which is a bit unlike him." Janice was busy picking up the toys that was scattered in the room and placing them back in the toy box, while she talked about James.

Martin watched as she cleaned the room quickly. He must admit that she was a fairly good minder. She was always on call when they needed her and James seemed happy to be around her. Of course he'd rather prefer it if Louisa would take care of their child – soon children – rather than some young girl, but he knew that was a subject to better not talk about – ever!

"I'm off then Doc." Janice walked over to James and planted a kiss on James' cheek." Bye little man! Hope you'll have a good night. See you tomorrow." She waved at him and James just grinned at her and wave back as well.

"Yes," was the only reply she got from the Doc.

Martin decided to put James in his stroller and walk to the new house. It's time for Louisa to come home and rest. He was fairly sure she'd be exhausted by now, as she worked at the new house all day.

When the two Ellingham men arrived, they found Louisa in the kitchen. She was sitting on the floor cross legged. Almost all the cupboards were filled with things they packed on Sunday. It looked really organised and tidy. Apart from the corner where Louisa dumped all the empty boxes and wrapping papers. When they saw her, it was clear that she was exhausted. She looked pale to Martin. When she saw the two of them, she tried faking a brave smile.

"Louisa! You look terrible." He walked over to her, and took her wrist in his hand, while he took her pulse. A deep frown shadowed his face.

"Well, Hello to you too…and thanks for that Martin. It's always good for a wife to hear her husband say those words. Just what I needed now." She stood up from the floor and immediately had to grab onto Martin as she felt dizzy. He wrapped his arms around her waist and helped her to sit on a chair.

"Louisa, have you eaten anything today?" He scouted the kitchen to try to find evidence of the so called apple, crackers and yoghurt.

Louisa had to shake her head to try and get over the dizziness that didn't ease up as quickly as she hoped it would. Martin took the gesture as an indication that she did not.

"Are you insane? Why would you skip lunch? You know it is vitally important that you have regular meals, with optimum nutrition, Louisa. You and the baby cannot survive on nothing!" He crunched in front of her and looked into her eyes, sighing heavily.

Suddenly Louisa felt overwhelmed by his words, but tenderness in his eyes. She recognized concern, and love. She burst into tears while she tried speaking at the same time" Martin! I… did …eat the apple…and…I had …two crackers. I…take it that…it was not enough!" Loud sobbing followed her words.

Martin was never good with tears. His anger faded instantly as he leaned in and wrapped his long arms around her shaking shoulders.

"Uhm…no need to cry." He gave her a couple of moments to let it go, before he loosened himself from her. He stood up and looked at her.

She wiped away the tears with her fingers and took a huge breath. She bit her lip when she looked up at him. "Sorry Martin."

"Hmm" was his only response while he just stared at her. Her face was now smeared with brown stripes from her tears and dirt. She never looked more beautiful!

At that moment James thought he was ignored for long enough and starting babbling.

"James! How are you feeling, sweetheart?" Louisa was sure she had control over her body again, so she got up slowly and walked to where James was still sitting in the stroller to pick him up.

Martin got her up to speed. "He wasn't feeling very well by lunchtime. Jenny said he was fuzzy all morning. I got some Dentinox. It seemed to have done the job. He was better when she left."

"Janice! But I called her and she said everything was fine!" Louisa looked at Martin with disbelieve! Why would Janice lie to her?

"She said she didn't want to worry you."

"It's my son. Of course I'd worry over him. When she said he was fine, I though the medicine from this morning must have helped a lot. I'll talk to her. She should never hide anything from me…no matter how busy I am!" Louisa cuddled James against her. She felt her heart ached as she thought of how he must have felt during the day and she wasn't even there for him!

Martin's voice interrupted her thoughts. "I haven't prepared anything for dinner yet. I think we should go home now."

"Technically speaking, we are home Martin…but you're right. I am tired and hungry. But, how about we order in tonight. That way we can both just relax tonight? I want to just sit on the couch with you. No dinner preparations or dishes. Just the three of us." Louisa walked over to James' stroller, put him in and together the three of them walked back to Fern Cottage while Marin called to place their dinner order.