Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my overactive imagination

The Gravel Road

Chapter 6

As Martin drove Louisa to the station, he asked for her address in London, hating the thought of her disappearing again into the huge city and him having no clue to her whereabouts, hating the whole idea of her going back at all, but accepting that she had to, and at least she had seemed to like the idea of him visiting her next week.

"Ok, I'll write it down for you, but you already have my mobile number in any case, and my email address," Louisa pointed out.

"Yes, I know, but I still think it's a good idea that I have it. And err… are you happy to come and stay with me at whatever hotel I book? It'll be somewhere decent, I'll make sure of that." Martin suddenly realised that he ought not to make any assumptions that she was actually going to come and stay over with him without checking first.

"Yes, I'm quite looking forward to it actually, it'll make a nice change from Holly's tiny cramped spare room. Hope you don't think I'm rude not inviting you to stay there?"

"Good God no! A hotel is by far the best option. What I mean is, we'll have more privacy to discuss everything that we need to sort out." Martin was horrified at the thought of staying at Holly's house and having to make polite chit chat – he couldn't think of anything worse, quite frankly. "So how about I come up on Friday afternoon, then we'll have a bit more time together?"

"Sorry Martin, but unfortunately I have parents evening on Friday which I can't get out of, and I have a horrid feeling that it's going to go on quite late. I'm sure that the type of parents who send their children to Queensgate will expect very detailed feedback on their precious little darlings progress. That's one of the reasons I couldn't risk missing my train and being back late – I have so much preparation to do for this week," Louisa explained. Martin had realised some time ago that Louisa was an extremely conscientious and responsible teacher, so he wasn't really surprised by this, and he supposed he had to begrudgingly respect her professionalism, even if it had impacted on their time together.

"Hmm, I see, but then if I leave it to come up on Saturday, half the day will be gone before I even arrive, it won't give us much time at all."

"OK, well why don't you come up sometime on Friday evening, then we can meet up first thing Saturday morning. Let me know all the details when you know for sure and we can take it from there. I think emailing is going to be the best option, as we'll probably keep missing one another on the phone. We're both so busy, and reception is very patchy in Cornwall, so half the time I probably won't be able to get back to you on your mobile anyhow. And you're rubbish at texting."

Martin had such large hands and fingers that he got exasperated trying to send text messages, although he did read those that were sent to him, Louisa had learnt by experience.

"Yes, I suppose that does make sense," he agreed.

She'd help him set up a personal email account when they'd been engaged, so that she could send him messages and they wouldn't go to the surgery email. He'd failed to see the funny side of the user name she'd set up for him - docmartin1, but as it was only really for their personal use, he'd grumpily accepted it. He hadn't used it since they'd broken up, but now realised that it would provide a good means of communication, as she'd pointed out.

They got to the station rather early in the end, and Louisa was sure that Martin must surely be thinking that they would've had time for what he'd had in mind just before they'd left. By way of compensation, as they sat and waited for a while in the car, she lent over and kissed him tenderly on his cheek as she stroked his face with her hand.

"I'm sorry about earlier…you know? But I'll make it up to you next weekend, that's a promise," she whispered in his ear. She was rewarded by seeing him blush bright red all the way to the tips of his ears, and then struggle to answer her coherently.

"That's good… I mean… not that… I don't…"

Louisa just smiled at him and gave him another lingering kiss this time on his lips.

"Like I said before, just hold that thought," she whispered.

Martin thought it pretty likely he wouldn't be thinking about very much else this week.

xXx

"Well come on then Lou, dish the dirt, how did things go with Doctor Delight? You did tell Martin your news I take it?" Holly asked, having followed Louisa into the spare bedroom of her house on her return from Cornwall.

"Yes, of course I told him. That was the whole point of going wasn't it?" Louisa replied, as she opened up her bag to unpack her things.

"And? Was he the cold hearted monster you suspected? Or did he turn all warm and fuzzy, hearts and flowers, all that kind of thing?" Holly demanded.

Louisa sighed, knowing that Holly wasn't going to give up until she'd heard all the details.

"He took it much better than I expected actually. Martin doesn't do 'warm and fuzzy', but he did do flowers," Louisa smiled as she carefully placed her bunch of flowers in a vase and put them next to her bed. They hadn't travelled very well and were now even tattier than ever.

"Oh dear, if that's the best he can come up with, it doesn't bode very well I'm afraid," Holly replied as she turned her nose up at the pathetic display. Martin still earned a far whack as a GP even if he was no longer a high flying consultant, so in her book there was no excuse for such a shoddy bunch.

"That's not fair, it was Sunday morning so not many places were open, and anyway it's the thought that counts. Believe me, for Martin buying any flowers at all is a huge leap forward," Louisa explained defensively.

"If you say so," said Holly, unconvinced. "So anyway, what happened? What did he say?"

"Well if you must know, he wants me to go back to Portwenn, for us to get back together…to get married actually, even seems to think there's a chance I could get my old job back as well," Louisa confessed. She intended to phone Stu Mackenzie first chance she got to see if she could find out just what Martin had been hinting about.

"Wow! That's fantastic Lou! You must be thrilled, what a result! I just knew he'd want to do the decent thing by you once he knew, he's so typically 'old school'. So when are you going back? I hope you'll at least stay to see the end of the term out…" Holly babbled on excitedly.

"Not so fast Holly! I haven't said 'yes', not yet anyway," Louisa informed her friend.

"Are you mad? Why on earth not? It's the answer to everything surely, both for you and the baby?" Holly asked, shocked.

"I'm not prepared to rush into a hasty marriage of convenience just because I'm pregnant, and I certainly don't look on Martin as a convenient meal ticket. I want us both to think things through properly, I couldn't go through another few weeks like the last ones, having called off another wedding. Or worse still, end up getting divorced because we aren't compatible," Louisa told her firmly.

"Yes, but being a single mum is no bed of roses either. I admit that I've never really understood just what it is you see in the man, but each to their own. You obviously fancied him enough to have ended up pregnant with his baby," Holly pointed out.

"I haven't said 'no' to him yet either, Holly. He's coming up to London next weekend, and we'll talk more about it then," Louisa said.

"Are you planning on him coming here? Be a bit of a squash, as he's a pretty big bloke," Holly asked, looking round the very small spare room, which had just a single bed in it.

"No, he won't be staying here, he's going to book a hotel for the weekend. He'll let me know all the details when he's made the arrangements."

"Good. Hopefully he'll splash out and book somewhere really nice, then you can have a lovely weekend together before you give him your answer – which will be 'yes', if you have any sense. Believe me there really aren't that many decent men out there, and it doesn't get any easier as the years tick by. And once you've got a baby in tow as well…" Holly lectured her friend.

"We'll see. I'm still thinking it over, but I have to say he was pretty good about everything, much better than I'd anticipated. And you know he isn't really so difficult when you get to know him better…" Louisa sat on the bed, smiling to herself as she thought about him. It had taken an awful lot of self control on her part to resist him just before she'd left, and she supposed it had been pretty mean the way she'd insisted they had to leave for her to catch the train – and then they'd ended up arriving a good twenty minutes early. But on the other hand, she didn't want him thinking he only had to snap his fingers and she'd jump into bed with him, which had been pretty much how she'd acted up to now. Oh well, she could make it up to him next weekend…

Holly looked at her friend, sitting there day dreaming with a silly grin on her face. For all her protestations, Holly realised that there was really little doubt that she was going to say yes and marry her grumpy doctor – unless he really stuffed things up big time next weekend.

Before she went to bed, Louisa decided to email Martin, deciding to keep it friendly but brief.

'Hi M,

Back safe and sound in London. Let me know when you've finalised the arrangements for next weekend. Looking forward to it.

Take care,

L xxx'

She hit the send button and wondered how long it would be before Martin read it or sent a reply. With that she settled down to sleep, so relieved at how her weekend had turned out, immensely glad that the burden of how/when/where she would tell Martin about their baby had finally been resolved. Now all she had to try to decide the best way forward for them all.

xXx

Martin sighed to himself as he tried to settle down to sleep after such an eventful weekend. Since the very first time he'd seen Louisa on the plane to Cornwall, when she'd sat on the interview panel and been the only one to challenge him, she'd got under his skin in a way that no other woman had ever done before or since. Maybe it was the fact that although she appeared to have a very strong, tough exterior, he'd somehow sensed that underneath she was really very vulnerable and insecure - a kindred spirit calling out to his. Maybe that was what had linked and bound them, however much he'd tried to fight and deny it, not wanting to risk rejection and humiliation from such a beautiful woman who was surely out of his league. But surprisingly, over the years since he'd come to Cornwall, there had been other women who had tried to entice him, somehow seeing him as a challenge, an enigma that they alone could solve. That had been the impression that Carrie Wilson woman had given anyway, and the Tishell woman never seemed to give up on him either, despite receiving no encouragement from him whatsoever. But it was only ever Louisa who inhabited his thoughts and dreams every day – and most certainly every night – and very erotic dreams they were too sometimes.

Typically they would follow the same pattern.

"I need you Martin, please," she'd beg him, having somehow made her way into his bedroom, waking him by kissing his nose and then his lips. As he'd open his eyes in the darkness, he'd make out Louisa in the soft moonlight. She'd be straddled over him on his bed, wearing a silky cream negligee, leaning back to remove the matching silky dressing gown to reveal a tantalising glimpse of her breasts.

"Oh Louisa…." he'd start to say, but would be silenced as she once more leant down to kiss his lips …

There were variations of this dream, but they always seemed to focus on Louisa begging him to make love to her in various locations. He had to work very hard to keep a tight lid on these thoughts whenever he was around her, hence his often very brusque and abrupt manner towards her. However, it certainly proved that he had a very vivid and active imagination indeed, whatever impression he might give to the world of a repressed and uptight individual.

His first proposal of marriage to Louisa had not been planned or carefully thought out at all. He'd simply not been able to bear the thought of losing her, of being without her after she'd finally given up her pursuit of him, had broken things off with him, when yet again he'd managed to sabotage a date with her - this time one to a very nice concert that he'd actually rather enjoyed. But when she'd made clear her wish for them to take things to the next level with him by leading him into a secluded copse and kissing him so passionately, he'd panicked and forced his mind to concentrate on something else, something medical, rather than risk letting go of his control with her.

Oh, but then he'd lain awake that night deeply regretting his actions, wondering why on earth he'd stuffed things up so badly. It had pushed him to summon up the courage and grab the very last chance he was given by a stroke of fate. When he'd saved Holly's life, he'd somehow become some sort of wonderful hero in Louisa's eyes, when really he'd only been doing his job, doing what he'd been trained to do. So he'd seized the moment and proposed while she held him in such high regard, knowing that if he walked out of her house without doing so, he would never get another chance. Thankfully she'd accepted his proposal, and that evening they had finally taken things to the next level as they had made love for the first time.

Their love making had far exceeded any of his dreams, and he wondered why on earth he hadn't taken this leap before. Why had he fought against it for so long - he'd been such a fool. She had been everything and more than he'd ever dreamt about as he discovered that he was able to let go of his inhibitions with her, that she was his soul mate as well as his lover.

It had made the decision not to go ahead with their wedding so very hard, but he had thought it was the right thing at the time, when all the doubts had flooded back in. The loneliness in the weeks afterwards had been virtually unbearable, just as he'd known it would be when he'd told her that he couldn't bear to be without her when he'd proposed - except that he'd had to bear it.

But now, because of a faulty batch of condoms leading to an unplanned pregnancy, they'd been forced to look again at their relationship. 'A precious gift' was how Louisa had described their baby, and he had to agree, because otherwise he would never have heard from her again, and he would not have been given this second chance. They were joined together forever now, by this baby that had been conceived on their first night together, as if it were a sign telling them that they would always be linked, no matter how they managed to mess things up.

The frustration he'd felt today when their time together had been cut short by her insistence on leaving to catch her train meant that his erotic dreams would be returning again with a vengeance. To keep himself occupied, he'd spent the afternoon selecting which hotel and train he wanted to book, so as soon as he knew that his Friday schedule had been rearranged to his satisfaction, he would go ahead and book everything, as he informed Louisa when he replied to her email:

L

Arrangements in hand. Will confirm details tomorrow.

M

It made Louisa smile when she received it - its briefness was so typical of the man, but she'd expect nothing less. At least he had replied, confirming that this line of communication was now open between them.

xXx

Pauline wandered into work on Monday morning, yawning as she plonked her keys down on her desk, surprised to notice that her computer was already switched on. She looked up as the Doc marched out of his surgery to confront her.

"You're late! You should be here, ready to commence your duties at 8:30 am sharp, not dawdle in ten minutes later when it suits you," Martin lectured, looking pointedly at the clock. He wanted to get on and book his train and hotel for the weekend, but first he needed Pauline to confirm that she'd been able to reschedule all the necessary Friday appointments.

"Keep you're hair on! And what's all this then?" She was looking at the appointments diary which Martin had left on her desk, along with the note instructing her to reschedule all his appointments from midday onwards.

"You can read can't you? It's pretty simple and straightforward even for someone of your limited abilities. I shall be away next weekend, so I want you to clear my schedule for Friday afternoon. Just get on and reschedule those appointments I've indicated, and let me know when you have completed this task. Now!"

Martin marched back into his office and was about to slam the door behind him, only he wasn't quick enough. Pauline had followed him, her curiosity piqued.

"Where are you going? You never go away for the weekend."

"Mind your own business! It is of no concern to you what my plans are for the weekend. Just carry out your responsibilities as my secretary and do as I have instructed – immediately, and with no questions."

Martin's countenance made it clear to Pauline that she was going to get nowhere with him.

"Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir," she muttered under her breath as she returned to her desk and started looking up the numbers to contact the patients.

"At least no one seems to have found out about my meeting up with Louisa," Martin thought to himself, relieved. If word had got out, Pauline would have been quizzing him the moment she'd clapped eyes on him this morning. Joan had rung him last night, but he'd let the answer phone take her call. He hadn't felt ready to talk to her again, but no doubt she'd be tracking him down at some point fairly soon. However, the last thing he wanted was have to explain things to other people before he knew himself just exactly what was what.

He looked at his list to see who his first patient was, glad that he was going to be busy today as he had a very full list. At least it would keep him occupied and stop his mind wandering and thinking about everything that had happened over the weekend – and what was going to happen next weekend.