The sun was just painting a soft glow over the cliff tops as Louisa set off down Roscarrock Hill with James Henry tucked warmly in his pram. It was early and with the exception of a few fishermen down on the Platt, there was no-one about. A few of the smaller boats in the harbour were already bobbing on the incoming tide and it wouldn't be long before the fishermen set out for the day.

Louisa's heart felt lighter and happier than it had done in a long time as her thoughts turned to Martin. His day was booked solid with consultations so she'd left early to go back to the rented cottage as all her and James' things were still there.

The look in Martin's eyes as she was leaving had spoken a thousand words. In his mind he tells you all the time that he loves you but the words are difficult for him to say. Ruth's words had suddenly made so much sense. She realised that she'd seen that look before - many, many times, but she had never stopped to think what was really going on behind those eyes. This morning when she'd seen that look, it had melted her heart.

A rush of tender feeling washed over her as she recalled their parting just a few moments before. She could still see his tall, trim figure, clad in his slightly rumpled suit trousers and his white shirt, open at the neck. His tousled hair made him look boyish and she'd stepped closer until she could run her fingers through it. They'd shared a sweet and infinitely gentle kiss as he stood holding the kitchen door open for her and they'd parted with a fierce and frustrated longing sparking between them.

Her pleasant thoughts were rudely yanked into the present by a lilting voice calling out. "Oh Lou-is-errr...my but you are out and about early this morning."

Louisa groaned inwardly as she saw Mrs Tishell leaning on a broom outside her shop. She gave a taut little smile as she tried to hurry by without any further engagement with the pharmacist. "Yes...yes...bright and early Mrs Tishell."

Mrs Tishell was having none of that though and hurried after her, forcing Louisa to a stop as she maneuvered herself in front of the pram. She held onto her broom as if it were some kind of medieval lance.

"Hello young James Henry," she cooed but kept her eyes on Louisa. "And what's brought you out so early…everything alright?"

Louisa turned and looked back up Roscarrock Hill with a soft smile on her face. "Yes...yes...everything is...just fine."

An expression of understanding dawned on Mrs Tishell's face and her mouth formed into an "Oh…", then quickly into a thin line. She positively bristled with disapproval and it brought out a mischievous devil in Louisa. She gave a deep, dreamy sigh and said, "Yes...Martin has a very busy day ahead so we didn't want to distract him any further...did we James?"

Mrs Tishell tossed her head. "Distract? Well I never...the poor man doesn't need any distraction if you ask me. Trying to run a busy medical practice on top of having to worry about a wife who...who…" She motioned with the broom handle in Louisa's direction.

Louisa's chin went up and her ponytail flicked defiantly. "Yes Mrs Tishell...who what?"

"Well...Doc-tor Ellingham should have a wife at home who looks after him...not one who chooses to live half way across the village. If he were my husband he would never have to worry about a single thing, least of all wondering what his wife was up to." She looked Louisa up and down. "And now when it suits you, you just turn up on his doorstep and...and...distract him!"

Louisa's voice dropped dangerously low as she leaned over the pram. "Mrs Tishell, how and when I choose to distract my husband is none of your business...or anyone else's. And...just so you know...he likes it when I distract him."

With that Louisa propelled the pram forward, forcing Mrs Tishell to jump out of the way but not before the nappy bag caught her on the knee. She stood staring after Louisa with her mouth hanging open in shocked outrage.

Louisa set off at a cracking pace towards the Platt and up Fore Street and didn't stop until she reached her cottage at the top of the hill and let herself in.

As soon as she had shut the door she went about changing James and warming his bottle but her thoughts were churning around Mrs Tishell's words. Her obsession with Martin had always irritated her. Mrs T would give anything to have a more intimate relationship with Martin and the way she threw herself at him was...was...cringeworthy. How Martin could bear to go near the chemist shop in the course of his duties was beyond her.

And the cheek of the woman to take her to task about her temporary separation from Martin. Louisa huffed out a breath. Who was she to judge other people when she couldn't possibly know what was going on in their lives - when Louisa herself hardly knew what was going on?

Louisa knew her relationship with Martin was complicated at the best of times but they had now reached a vulnerable and fragile place where they could begin to unravel and deal with all the things that made it so complicated. Yes she had chosen to be separate from him for a while, but it didn't mean she didn't love him. Just the opposite, in fact. It was because she loved him that it hurt so much when he seemed to detach himself emotionally from her.

Doc-tor Ellingham should have a wife at home who looks after him. Mrs Tishell's words rang in her head - what did she know? She certainly didn't know Martin if she thought he needed looking after. He was one of the most independent men she knew, especially when it came to domestic issues. He cooked and did more than his fair share of household chores - he also saw to the dry cleaning, washed the car, took out the trash and wielded a broom from time to time. The only thing she'd never seen him do was wash windows. So what was Mrs Tishell alluding to?

Louisa sat down, cradling James in her arms as she gave him his bottle. He began to suck contentedly, his eyes staring into hers and his sturdy little hand gripping her fingers. She smiled gently at him. He looked so much like his father. Martin also sometimes had that same wide open, penetrating stare that seemed to look right through a person.

Louisa shifted to make herself more comfortable and James frowned as he concentrated on latching back on to the teat. It was the same little frown that hovered between his father's eyes when he was concentrating or annoyed. She leaned forward and put her lips to his soft brow and drew in his baby scent. There were no words to express how much she adored this little boy and she was beginning to realise just how much she adored his father too - notwithstanding all the things that made their relationship so rocky.

Once again her thoughts turned to what Mrs Tishell had said. Did Martin need looking after? Certainly not on the domestic front but what about emotionally? Or physically? He could definitely do with a bit of help there. But then so could she if she had to be honest. Neither of them were good at expressing their needs, especially when it came to one another. She longed to hear Martin say nice things or sometimes put his arms around her and kiss her without her having to prompt him. And when he didn't, she let him know, by her peeved behaviour, that she was displeased, which only served to confuse him and make him even more reluctant to talk.

And what did he need from her? When it came to feelings, Martin couldn't express himself and even held back on expressing his physical needs but if she encouraged intimacy, he didn't hold back. He was loving and gentle and fully engaged. But outside of that context he would not talk or spontaneously tell her he loved her or even that she looked nice if she'd bought a new dress. She thought again about the look in his eyes that morning and she realised that she'd missed a lot of those moments. He had been 'telling' her things - the words just never got past his lips.

She wondered what would happen if she encouraged him to verbalise things when they were alone instead of waiting in vain for him to say them. Just like when she encouraged him to kiss her or make love to her. It didn't take much - just going to him and putting her arms around his neck and kissing his lips often did the trick. It wasn't as if he was ever unwilling. He just always held back from initiating things himself. His natural reticence and the inability to interact spontaneously would probably never go away - it was too deep seated, so if she wanted him to open up to her, she realised she would have to take the lead.

She looked down at James Henry cradled in her arms and just hoped that being raised in a home where both his parents loved him and weren't afraid to show it, would ensure that James, even if he was shy, wouldn't become as closed off and anti-social as Martin. Martin had once said to her that he wasn't going to be like his father and that James wasn't going to be like him. At the time she'd been relieved that he had acknowledged that it wasn't desirable that James should grow up to be like him. But recently she'd begun to think about that a lot. There was so much that she would be proud of in James if he grew up to be like his father. So much. He would be a man of integrity, he would be reliable, dependable and clever. And he would be gentle and loving.

James Henry's eyelids had drooped and she eased the teat from his mouth and gently wiped his soft pink lips with a cloth. He looked like a little angel with his rosy cheeks and wispy dark blond hair that begged to be stroked. She sat like that for a moment just enjoying him.

After a while she settled James in his cot and went back downstairs to work on finalising her report for the Governors' meeting she had to attend that evening. The admin that went with being head teacher was something she'd never get used to but it had to be done and this was the last of it, at least until school started again.

Every now and then, throughout the day, her thoughts would drift to Martin and how it had felt to wake up in his arms that morning. His warm, solid presence always made her feel secure and wanted. When she was apart from him she missed that. She missed the sound of his voice and his energetic presence in the house. His demeanour was always purposeful, no matter what he was doing. She even missed his obsession with tidiness.

He really was a very complex man - in some ways so self assured and in charge and at other times, most particularly with her, he seemed retiring and unable to speak. With Ruth he sometimes became quite loquacious, but it was always to do with medicine in one form or another: articles they'd read, or a colleague they both knew. But even with Ruth, the minute the conversation became a little too personal - too close to home, Martin would begin to grunt responses instead of elaborating. Ruth would just shake her head and give him her knowing smile.

Louisa glanced at her watch. The day had flown by quicker than she could have hoped for and she headed upstairs to get ready for her meeting at the school. In a little while she had to be back at the surgery as Martin had agreed to look after James. She showered and changed, then quickly packed a bag. At last she was ready and took one last look at her appearance before slipping into her coat.

It had just gone six o'clock when she maneuvered the pram into the kitchen, just in time to hear Martin ushering a patient out. It wasn't long before he appeared in the passage doorway looking so distinguished and smart in a slate grey suit with a light blue shirt and dark blue, striped tie.

"Hello." He said it almost as if it were a question.

"Hello Martin." She pushed the pram further into the kitchen. "Still ok to look after James?"

"Yes...yes of course."

"Are you done for the day?"

"Yes..."

Their eyes met and that exquisite tension arced between them again. She turned to close the kitchen door and Martin quickly moved around the kitchen table to take the pram from her. "Here…let me help you."

Their fingers touched on the handle and it was if sparks flew between them. Neither took their hand away. Without taking his eyes from hers Martin slowly moved his hand until it covered hers and breathed a sigh of relief when she smiled at him. Feeling a little bolder he took her fingers in his and slowly pulled her towards him and she came without resistance.

Martin held his breath. Her eyes were mesmerising as he stared into them. Beside them James was happily burbling away and banging his little toy on the pram. Neither of them noticed.

Louisa was so close to Martin now that he could feel the heat from her body and smell her soft feminine scent. His heart hammered in his chest as he slowly lowered his head until his lips just brushed hers, teasing her soft mouth so very gently. He heard her moan softly as she slid her hands up his chest and around his neck, pulling his head down and, encouraged by her caresses, he deepened the kiss. His hand was in the small of her back, pressing her against the length of his body, moulding her body to his, his other hand gently cupped her jaw as his mouth moved sensuously over hers. Nothing else existed but the two of them and their need of one another.

It was at this point that Morwenna appeared in the passage doorway, James' noisy babbling having masked her approach. She had been about to tell the Doc that he had another walk-in patient but stopped dead when she saw him kissing his wife. Well…to be accurate, he wasn't just kissing her. It was the most sensuous kiss she had ever seen and he held Louisa to him as if they were one, his arms enfolding her as he kissed her senseless.

Morwenna's jawed dropped. Who would have thought that the Doc, who appeared to have not a shred of emotion in him and who always looked so stiff and starchy, could kiss a woman like that? My God, if she didn't know better she'd think she was imagining things.

Morwenna stood frozen to the spot, not wanting to break the spell the two were under, knowing that they'd been having problems and she was probably witnessing some kind of reconciliation. The Doc lifted his head slightly, trailing his mouth down Louisa's jaw to her neck and Morwenna heard Louisa whisper his name with such longing before his mouth claimed hers again in another searing kiss. Morwenna had no doubt that if they'd been alone they would soon be upstairs ripping each other's clothes off.

Just then little James Henry decided that neither of his parents were paying him enough attention and he stopped banging his toy and let out a plaintive wail. It broke the spell and the Doc pulled back, his face full of tenderness as he looked down at his wife. Not an expression Morwenna would have associated with the Doc but there it was, plain to see. He gently stroked Louisa's cheek with the back of his hand and murmured, "Til later?" And she breathed, "Yes."

This was Morwenna's cue to pretend that she'd just arrived in the doorway. "Oh there you are Doc…alright Louisa?" she said brightly.

They quickly stepped away from one another. Louisa gave a little smile and waved, bending down to give her attention to James but not before Morwenna had seen the faint blush on her cheeks. Not surprising the woman couldn't speak after being kissed like that, thought Morwenna.

The Doc turned abruptly. "Yes Morwenna …what is it?" His head was lowered as he tugged at his ear. He was clearly embarrassed. "I thought you'd left already." His tone was clipped and impatient. And there he was - back in full Doc mode.

"Well I was on my way out but then bumped into Mr Twilley - I know you're officially done for the day Doc but he's complaining something awful. Will you see him?"

"Yes," he said curtly, "Send him through." He began to move around the kitchen table towards the passage door then hesitated and turned back to look at Louisa. His face softened and Morwenna could feel the raw energy in the air between them. The Doc dragged his gaze away. "Morwenna," he said, his voice deeper than usual, "will you watch James Henry until I am finished with the patient? Uhh…please…" he added as an afterthought.

"Of course Doc…"

ooooOOOOoooo

Morwenna sat in the kitchen playing with James. He was a sweet lad with a sunny disposition and smiled so spontaneously. Nothing like his dad then, she thought, as she squeezed the little plastic duck which made James laugh uncontrollably every time it squeaked. But then again, all this time she, and probably the entire population of Portwenn, had been dead wrong about the Doc, hadn't they? Judging by the way he had been kissing Louisa, the Doc wasn't cold or without feeling. On the contrary, he was clearly a deeply sensuous and passionate man. And if he could kiss like that she could only imagine what he was like in bed. What else didn't they know about him?

Louisa had obviously recognized something in him. She'd been able to find a chink in his armour - one that allowed her to get close to him. And he clearly adored her. Morwenna had seen the raw emotions on his face today. Emotions that she'd previously only caught a glimpse of, like the day Louisa and James were leaving for Spain. The Doc's face had looked almost panic-stricken. She could see he wanted to say something to Louisa but all that came out was some rubbish about baby bottles. She could have kicked him. It was the only time she had seen him look vulnerable.

The only other time she had witnessed, what could only be described as a besotted look, was at his wedding when she had seen him looking at Louisa as she walked up the aisle towards him and again later across the dance floor at the wedding reception. His face had been soft and filled with pride.

She could hear him now in the passage scolding Mr Twilley. "I don't write prescriptions for fun you know…come back in a week…but don't bother if you haven't taken your medication this time."

Morwenna rolled her eyes - Doc Martin in full cry.

A few minutes later he appeared in the doorway. "Umm…thank you Morwenna."

He looked as stern and formal as always but from now on she wouldn't be fooled - she would be seeing him in a totally different light.

ooooOOOOoooo