Update: Someone commented that they have read a similar story about a mall being built in or near the village before. I haven't kept up with Doc Martin fan fiction lately so I'm not aware of that story, if anyone can tell me which one it is I'd appreciate it. In any case, my own story is completely independent and contains other plot elements, including Louisa's latest pregnancy, a mysterious disease outbreak linked to a local legend, Margaret Ellingham's past and present, the return of the American Beth Traywick, a visit to a small island, and more.

Chapter 1: Tea for Three

Monday Morning

Disclaimer: All characters, places, and situations of Doc Martin are owned by Buffalo Pictures and I would never dream of infringing on any rights of the owners, producers, or anyone else connected with the show.

Louisa Ellingham stepped out onto the stone terrace in front of her home, with a cup of herbal tea in hand. She savoured the peppermint aroma, took a leisurely sip, and surveyed the scene before her. Out over the ocean a final few stars were fading out with the growing daylight.

Down at the harbour, sea birds waited as the tide moved out. As the slow sea pulled at the shore and withdrew, over and over, leaving a strip of seaweed and detritus, the birds raced back and forth upon the beach, feeding on whatever they could find. Some fishermen were already preparing their boats for the workday, but most of the village below her vantage point was still waking up.

It had been unseasonably chilly for the time of year, but the wind had changed overnight and it felt like summer again. The sea breeze was gentle, the leaves were still green, and the songbirds were out in force. In particular, she recognized the melody of a nightingale greeting the dawn. The rising sun behind her cast a glow across the rooftops below, a radiance that started out rosy and was slowly changing to soft gold. She enjoyed the thought that she knew who lived in almost every one of the houses she could see from her vantage point. Many of these people she had known since childhood and had taught their children or grandchildren. All of them she thought of as her friends, neighbours, and fellow villagers.

But just now there were no ringing phones, no rumbling traffic, no misbehaving students, no complaining parents. She remembered Martin had once told her this was his favourite part of the day, when the world was still at peace, and she could see why he felt that way.

A gentle breeze swept through her long ponytail. She took one last sip of her herbal tea and sighed. She missed her morning cup of Earl Grey but she was doing her best to avoid caffeine for now, even if she couldn't resist indulging a craving for chocolate digestives sometimes. Only a month to go, and then of course months of breastfeeding, before she could go back to her usual morning ritual, not to mention having a nightly glass of wine with dinner.

Her back ached, her breasts were swollen, and she felt like she was twice the size she was when she was pregnant with James Henry. Well, what did you expect, she told herself, after all it is twins this time around.

She went back inside to the kitchen, where James Henry was sat in his high chair. Martin was already dressed in full suit and tie, with apron incongruously added to his ensemble. He was feeding their son his cereal and preparing their own breakfast of poached eggs and whole meal toast at the same time. She pulled a chair out far enough to give her belly enough room, then sat at the table and picked up the baby spoon.

"Just let me feed him, you don't need to do everything Martin," she said. "I'm not an invalid."

"You should rest as much as possible Louisa," he said, placing a plate in front of her and refilling her tea mug. "In fact, I wish you'd cut back on your hours at the school already. It's too much for you to be teaching and doing your child psychology course work at the same time."

"I'm only teaching one class now as it is. My leave starts next week. I'm fine in the meantime, but it's a busy week ahead," she said, grinding a bit of pepper on top of her poached egg. She was tempted to add salt but she knew he would say the eggs were already adequately salted. "Don't forget you've got your therapist tomorrow afternoon and we need to get a child minder for tonight."

"What's tonight?" Martin asked, removing the apron, folding it neatly, and setting it aside. He sat down with his own plate and a cup of espresso.

"The parish council meeting. Don't you remember, I told you about it last week. Some developer wants to buy Phil Pratt's farm so he'll be giving a presentation about his plan. Everyone's talking about it."

"Mm. I'll phone Ruth to come and stay with him."

"She'll probably want to attend the meeting too. I'll see if Mel can stay later for him today." Louisa took a bite of her toast while attempting to get James to take a spoonful of mashed banana.

"What is this plan for Pratt's farm?"

"Some fellow from London wants to build a giant outlet mall there. It's rather a bone of contention. Personally I think it's a terrible idea. All the traffic it would bring in, the commercialism, sounds like a nightmare." James grabbed the spoon away from her and waved it about triumphantly, while grabbing a glob of banana with his other hand and happily shoving it into his mouth.

"Hm. Wouldn't it also bring in lots of jobs and revenue?" Martin finished his egg and toast, and took a sip of espresso. "You're always saying I'm insensitive to how the working people of Portwenn are just getting by."

"It would totally spoil the nature of the village. Everyone's up in arms over it. Martin, don't you dare tell me you're going to vote in favour of this." She exhaled sharply in exasperation as James flung another handful of banana into her hair and tossed the spoon to the floor. Instinctively she went to pick it up but realized she couldn't possibly bend over enough to get it.

"Are people actually voting tonight?" Martin retrieved the spoon and patiently wiped James's face and hands, lifting him from the high chair.

"No, not for weeks yet I think. It's just the presentation tonight."

"Well, why don't we wait and reserve judgement then. In the meantime, er, perhaps you should clean your hair before you leave for your course. The child minder will be here any minute."

To be continued…