The first time Rosie came over had been awkward. We, more me, fell over ourselves trying to make her feel welcome. Louisa said I was treating her like a Dresden china doll. We had never been alone with her. James had always provided a buffer.

These days, we had settled into a comfortable rhythm. Louisa came up with the brilliant idea to turn my study into a temporary bedroom to give her some privacy. The first night of this new arrangement, I checked in on her before going upstairs to bed. She was half asleep in bed with books, notes and her laptop spread out around her.

"Why don't you go to bed then get up early tomorrow to study? You'll be rested and able to grasp much more than you can in your fatigued state." That seemed the perfect solution as she wasn't going to get anything done at the rate she was going.

"That doesn't work. I can hardly get up in the mornings. I'm always tired, I barely make it out on time." Seeing my shocked expression, she laughed. "Don't say it, I'm managing. Your darling son helps out a lot and Louisa sends us nice home cooked meals from time to time. Your Mrs. White coming in once a week to clean is Louisa best idea to date. I'm living the pampered life of a spoiled woman, if you want to know."

I would speak with James about her nutritional intake. Doctors make terrible patients and I didn't think her schedule gave her much time for anything more than work and study. In the meantime, I came up with a temporary fix. "This might work. You take a nap for an hour and I'll come back and study with you for another hour or two."

She would not hear of it. "Martin, I know you're trying to help. You and Louisa have done more than enough by having me over. Plus, I know you always turn in early. What would Louisa think if I took you out of her bed? I'll just learn to cope."

"I don't do this all the time. In a few months, this will be over."

She relented when she saw that I was not going to budge, especially when I spoke in what Louisa called my surgeon voice.

"Well, thanks. I could do with a little help. I don't seem able to concentrate that much anymore."

"That's to be expected and you know that."

This is why Rosie was propped up in bed, with her eyes closed, and I was reading her a BMJ article about innovations in Surgical Oncology. When I was finished, she opened her eyes.

"You make everything seem so clear. I never saw it quite that way."

"That's the only way to see it given the research profiled in this article."

I know I was fussing, but I could see that she needed more support. I reached for one of the extra pillows Louisa had placed on a chair. "Please let me elevate your legs. You'll have to be vigilant to avoid preeclampsia."

"Thank you Doc Martin," she teased.

I liked studying with Rosie. It reminded me of the nights I had sat up with James in the early days and the joy I felt when I broke down a complex concept into small ideas that he could understand. Some nights James joined us and we would discuss medical issues until I reminded him that Rosie needed to get adequate rest. Except for studying with Chris and one or two other colleagues, I was a solitary learner. I had picked up this habit out of necessity when I was a boy. When I got older and developed an interest in medicine, my father avoided any discussion on the subject. It was some time before I realized that I was way ahead of him in theory and in time, my surgical skills reached a level that he would never be able to attain.

Over the months with Rosie, I watched her gain weight as the baby grew, saw her adjust her movements to match her protruding body, picked up on her moods and felt the happiness she radiated as each day brought her closer to her delivery. I began getting used to the idea of having a daughter, because that's how Louisa and I thought of her. Even Louisa noticed.

"I'm glad you're here for Rosie. I never had my parents around and it was tough. Dad tried, but that couldn't work. I hope that one day her parents will reconsider their position. You're going to make a wonderful grandfather. Look at how you and her have taken to each other. Look at the difference it has made to have her and James here so often. We're one big happy, family and you made it work."

I protested. "We are one big, happy family whether they are here or not." Truth is, I had never lived with anybody before and was still adjusting to living with Louisa, having James pop over to visit and Rosie coming over a few times each week. To my surprise, I was beginning to enjoy having a full house.

Studying with Rosie and James was easy. However, I still had my moments of insecurity about becoming a grandfather. Now I had to meet the expectations of my family. What if I didn't get it right? The nearest I had come to being around babies was the odd occasion when I visited the Parsons. Laura and I took to each other immediately, but our interactions had been brief, especially when she was a baby.

Louisa saw the worry on my face and kissed me on my head. "Don't worry, Martin. You're going to be the best grandfather ever. Neither of us had any grandparent role models, so we'll make up our own rules as we go along and break them when they no longer serve us."

My dear sweet, kind Louisa. She had made all of this possible. I had gotten her and James back in my life, gained a daughter, a home that was happy and I had the pleasure of listening to their voices filling our home with laughter and chatter. Life was perfect. I was afraid for Louisa though. When the baby was born, it would be just us again. When that time came, she might find it lonely being at home. Having Beth as the manager for the nursery/daycare was working out. She had been trained in Cornwall before coming to London. Still, I arranged for her to sit in on a few classes on Childcare at one of the clinics at Imperial. Hmmm ... We would cross that bridge when we had to.

I had been having the niggling thought that perhaps my time at Imperial was coming to an end. I didn't expect Isaiah Bent to remain as my assistant forever. He was younger than me and was a suitable replacement. Still, I didn't want to leave surgery completely. There were any number of projects from which I could select one, maybe two, which would be far less demanding than my present workload. Imperial had no plans to let me go completely. They were still basking in the glow of their current "Genius."

Turning her around to face me, I kissed her on her cheek and caressed her beautiful face with my fingers. Her twinkling eyes made me smile and brought the familiar quickening of my breath.

"Yes, we will make our own rules and break them as we please. I love you Louisa Ellingham."