Chapter One

"I'm not a doctor anymore." Martin stood in front of her as he spoke the words that would change the course of their lives forever. She was stunned and could barely reply, "Oh."

"Is that bad timing?"

Of course, it was. He had known it would make things difficult when he sent in his resignation, but he hadn't known how bad the timing actually was. And now, standing before her, he could tell from the expression on her face that he had made a terrible error. She had been so excited to tell him that they were expecting another child that she hadn't been able to wait until they were alone. Yes, the timing couldn't be worse and she responded the only way she could, worry and fear creasing her face, "Really bad."

He would have to explain, and he would later. For now, he struggled to respond, to reassure her that they would come through this crisis together. What could he say? It only took a moment before he knew and he murmured, "I love you."

She could see the emotions flickering across his face. He looked for all the world like a little boy caught with his fingers in the cookie jar. But this, this was much worse and the expression in his eyes reflected his knowledge that he had done something that would make her very upset, furious even, and he was waiting, waiting for her to lash out at him for resigning without speaking with her first. Hadn't they agreed to discuss these big decisions with each other before doing something rash? The spectre of him losing his job had been hanging over them for the last month. He had been certain that his job wasn't in jeopardy despite her fears that things could go very wrong, and now it was clear that things had gone badly. Something had happened today, and he couldn't take it anymore. The whole process had been too much for him to bear and he snapped. All these thoughts raced through her mind as she watched him watching her, and then he said, "I love you."

In those three words, somehow, she knew it would be alright. He had always been there for her; he had never let her down. He would be there now for her, for James and the new baby. She just knew it in her heart. They would work through this set back together, just as they had worked through all the challenges they had faced since they had first met to reach the good place they had finally found. How they would do it, she had no idea, but she sensed that he would find a way and she would be by his side the entire time. She reached up to reassure him and kissed him full on the lips in front of all the other wedding guests and he didn't pull back, meeting her lips full on.

A moment or two later, he felt Joe Penhale clap him on the back, "Way to go Doc. Weddings always make me feel romantic too."

"Good God", he snarled at a grinning Penhale, and when he realized that the crowd was cheering not only the newlyweds but also Louisa and himself, he pulled away whispering, "We need to talk."

She placed her hands on his chest and looked away, forcing a smile towards the other guests, then whispered, "I know … but we can't leave just yet."

"Why not? The wedding's over."

"The ceremony is over, but the wedding celebration is just beginning. There's the buffet and the toasting, and we have to congratulate the bride and groom."

"Is that mandatory?"

"Yes. It is mandatory, especially for you since you are Morwenna's employer." She hesitated a minute, "were her employer?" She shook her head, "Oh I don't know. You're right, we do need to talk, but we also have to stay for a few minutes at least. Let's go congratulate Al and Morwenna, mingle a bit and then we can go."

All through the next half-hour as they worked their way through the crowd with Louisa uttering the banalities that passed for conversation at these occasions, he contemplated just how he had come to the decision to resign as the village GP. It was almost as if Louisa were prescient. Just before Chris Parsons dropped the bomb that he was suspending him from practice, didn't she say she would be worried if he decided to stop being a doctor? But then she said that things don't have to stay the same forever. It had given him pause when she had said that, made him think about his work, whether he needed to think about a change. And he had been thinking about just that in the back of his mind, all through this assessment process. Perhaps that was why he wasn't worried about the outcome.

Of course, he never considered that they would actually strike him off. His minor blood phobia didn't affect his work despite his occasional vasovagal response to blood. And he liked being a doctor, more or less. He had come to the realisation that surgery wasn't the only thing he was good at. Of course, he didn't like the every-day problems presented by his patients, but diagnosing and treating the more unusual conditions that challenged his knowledge was quite satisfying. It was in those situations when he really felt he was of use to his patients. He would love to be challenged like that every day, although perhaps even that would become routine after a while. He didn't know. And he was definitely glad he was in Portwenn with Louisa and James.

As they approached the newlyweds, Louisa whispered in his ear, "You should give Morwenna a quick kiss on the cheek when you congratulate her."

He looked down at her incredulously, "Really?"

She nodded her head up and down and stared him in the eye, "Yes."

"Al, Morwenna, congratulations. It's a lovely wedding. Martin and I wish you all the best." Louisa reached over to give Al and Morwenna each a kiss and Martin followed suit, shaking Al's hand and giving Morwenna a peck on the cheek, "Yes."

Louisa grinned at Martin with approval and added in a whisper to the newlyweds, "We'll see you later."

As they moved away and other guests took their place, Martin whispered, "Can we go now?"

"I suppose we won't be missed. After all everyone knows you don't mingle."

They slipped out of the crowd and started to walk up the hill, passing Mrs. Tishell who glared at the two of them with daggers in her eyes, disgust colouring her face, "How could you? How could you," she screamed before dashing off towards her shop.

They both stopped to watch her hustle away. Louisa looked up at Martin, "I wonder what that is all about."

"No telling without a thorough psychological workup, although I believe the woman hasn't fully recovered from Clive's death."

Louisa shook her head and then, suddenly realizing that they were missing their son, exclaimed, "Martin, where's James?"

Martin strained to his full height and looked about, "He was with Ruth but I don't see either of them?" He heaved a sigh, "I suppose we had better go back and look for him."

"Yes. You don't think he could have wandered off?" Louisa was getting agitated, waving her hands about as she hurried back into the crowd. "How can we bring another child into this world when we can't even take care of the one we have?"

"Louisa, calm down. I'm sure Ruth wouldn't just let him wander off." He pointed towards the buffet, "There he is. Janice has him."

Louisa rushed over to James who was sitting on one of the hay bales swinging his legs back and forth happily munching on a bunch of grapes that Janice had given him from the buffet fruit tray, "Hey Louisa, Ruth needed to go back to her cottage for a minute, and you and the Doc seemed to be busy so I took him."

"We've been having a good time, haven't we James?" She gave James a high-five and he laughed. "Hope that's okay. Gave him something healthy to eat just like you and the Doc would."

"Oh yes, Thank you." Turning to James, she said, "It's time for us to go home James."

"No, I don't want to." He turned away from his parents just as Buddy ran past him.

"Buddy!" He shouted, jumping down and running after the little dog who was chasing Shelly through the water.

"Nooo … Nooo." Martin rushed after him and snatched him up before he followed the two dogs into the water.

Janice laughed to see how quick James was, "He's become quite the party animal, hasn't he?"

"Hmm. I don't know about that." Turning to Martin, Louisa said, "I suppose we should take him home now. Although we could feed him dinner here. There's a nice bit of fish and veg on offer."

"Louisa you can't be serious."

She raised her hand to her chin and tapped her cheek with her finger in thought, and then ignoring Martin's protestation to the contrary, made her decision, "Yes. I think it would be a good idea. It will save us some time so we can talk later. C'mon James. Let's eat some of this good food Mr. and Mrs. Large have put out for us to enjoy."

Janice reached out to James, "You can sit back down beside me, okay, while mummy gets you something to eat."

James responded eagerly, climbing up onto the haybale and snuggling into Janice's side, "Okay."

Louisa proceeded to fill up a plate to share with James, and Martin followed, grumbling at the change in plans.

Soon enough Ruth joined them with a full plate and sat next to Martin, "So, how did it go today?"

Martin glared at her and grunted, "Humph."

She raised an eyebrow and in an ironic tone, responded, "That well?"

'Ruth, I'm tired and I just don't want to talk about it. We can go over it all tomorrow." He stood up and emptied his plate into the bin, then turned to his wife who was eyeing him carefully, "Louisa, I'm going home."

He started to stride away, but Louisa ran after him, and caught his sleeve, "Martin, are you going to be okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'll be up in a minute. I want to make sure James has eaten enough and then we will head on home."

"No need to hurry. I'd actually like a little time to myself."

She tilted her head, shading her eyes from the sun, peering up at him, "And you're sure you're okay."

"Yes. I'm fine."

'Okay. We'll be up in a few minutes. Have to get James a bath before we can have any time to ourselves."

"Yes."

Louisa returned to James and his dinner.

Ruth leaned over, "Did Martin say how it went?"

"We haven't discussed it."

"Not that well then."

"Ruth! We haven't discussed it."

Louisa grimaced and sighed with annoyance, returning to her plate, forking a piece of fish, and then chewing vigorously. James looked over at her curiously, and she smiled at him in a reassuring manner and then speared a small potato wedge and shoved it into his mouth. "C'mon James. Let's finish our supper."

Caitlin wandered by just then with a tray of champagne, offering a glass to all who might want to toast the newlyweds. Ruth signalled to her and took a glass, enjoying a sip of the bubbly beverage. Louisa was tempted, knowing she shouldn't drink any alcohol now that she was pregnant, but then it occurred to her that people might wonder why she wasn't celebrating with a glass herself. There was no reason to encourage speculation, especially when a few sips really wouldn't hurt. She was here and she might as well partake in the festivities, so she shot Caitlin a smile that may have been a tad too spritely, and reached her hand out, "I'll take one of those, if you don't mind."

Author's note: So much of fan fiction is based on "what if", and this story is no different. As you have read, it starts at the very end of S9, E8 and proceeds from there. I thought it would be fun to speculate what could have happened next, how the Doc and Louisa would carry on when neither of them had a job, while expecting a second child. I have absolutely no connections to any of the writers, producers or cast of this wonderful show, therefore, I can pretty much promise you that what you read here will be nothing like the future series 10. But … It will be fun to speculate and I hope you find it entertaining.