CHAPTER SEVEN REMEMBRANCE

The Characters, places and situations of Doc Martin are owned by Buffalo Pictures. This story makes no claim of remuneration or ownership, nor do I make any attempt to infringe upon any rights of the owners or producers.

Careful - there are spoilers for Season Six

Thank you for reading. I welcome your reviews and input.

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Martin, I think I may be pregnant!"

I was sitting in our living room awaiting a message from Louisa that she and Joan had returned to their hotel. I usually would have been in bed and was sleepy but I wanted to know they were safe for the night. For much of my life I preferred solitude. Sartre's "Hell is other people," made sense to me. But now, years down the road, I hated being alone. In no way do I regret Louisa and Joan making this trip together, but their absence makes me feel empty. Of course Joan is away in her studies and James is married now. That somehow makes him more distant, even though he and Emily are not that far away. They are creating their own directions in life.

I had been reading the most recent BMJ but frankly had lost interest. "Children living near fast food outlets in England are more likely to be overweight, study shows." What peabrain genius figured that out? I had laid my head back. Being somewhere between awake and asleep my mind drifted to our daughter, actually the day we learned she was on the way into our lives.

The call from Louisa on that Wednesday lunch break registered a 6.5 on my Richter scale. A massive earthquake is the only way I can describe how the news hit me.

"Why Louisa? If your period is a bit late, there could be any number of reasons - a thyroid issue, or being distraught or excessive exercise. We could run some tests."

"Martin, do you have a pregnancy test there?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"Good, I will be there before your patients return. That is the only test I want today."

And in an instant that cool autumn day we were looking at two distinct red lines in the window of the test wand, clear evidence that human chorionic gonadotropin was being secreted by a fertilized egg. What we felt at that moment can only be compared to a seismic tremor, a major one. We had found an even keel in our relationship and our family. Our son James Henry was getting close to four and was a delight to us. Given our ages we had decided that we would be grateful for the gift of James to us and not have any more children.

"Martin, how? I have an IUD. What will we do? Martin, Martin, say something!"

"Well Louisa if you are pregnant, and the test seldom lies, I believe we can speak in the past tense. You had an IUD."

I do not know how we got through that afternoon. That night was one of uncertainty and fear and wondering what the future would be. In the back of our minds was our ages and the possible risks of a pregnancy at this point in our lives. Ultimately the weight of emotion caused Louisa's tears to flow and I tried to hold her and assure her, but to no calming effect.

"Pregnant Martin. Pregnant! Another baby. When I was younger I thought I wanted a lot of children, but I have long since binned that idea. What will we do?"

My mind was reeling but I had to maintain my composure. No need for both of us to be expressing our emotions right now. Ever the pragmatist I moved to logic. "Alright Louisa. There are two things that must be done. Tomorrow I will call Charles Stewart and make you an appointment. We will confirm if this is so and we will then do everything necessary to insure your well being and that of the baby."

"Just like that Martin. Call the doctor, make an appointment, have a baby. It sounds like you're telling someone to take a paracetomal or apply a plaster. I know you too well. Your mind has got to be a jumble of conflicting thoughts. Come on now. I can't stand not knowing how you really feel."

"Alright Louisa. You're right of course. This is a shock. Not something we expected or could predict. We were taking appropriate precautions. But I say that the most important thing to do is deal with the situation and do what needs to be done. I do not know when our emotions will catch up with that. I said there were two things that must be done immediately. I will call the doctor, but I believe you should call Natalie. We do not want to tell another soul of this, but it may be helpful if you talk with her."

Natalie was the wife of Luk Jacobs who was the vicar at our local parish for some seven years. They had since moved to a church in Connecticut so that their daughter could be closer to grandparents. Louisa had told me more than once that Natalie was the best friend she had ever had. Even with an ocean between them they still talked almost weekly. Their daughter, Emily, was the same age as James and Louisa had told me some months ago that Natalie and Luk were expecting another child.

I pushed Louisa to call Natalie. "The house is quiet. James is sleeping. Go sit in your quiet place and give her a call. Oh, and tell her to give Luk my regards." Surprisingly, and I suppose ironically, Luk and I had developed an affinity for each other during his time here in Portwenn.

It was after ten o'clock when Louisa came to the sitting room where I had gone to wait for her. It gave me time to think on all this too. Louisa appeared and looked visibly more peaceful. She came over to me and sat on my lap, put her arms around me and kissed me.

"I love you Martin. Thank you for urging me to call Natalie. We will be alright, won't we?"

"Of course we will Louisa."

"Natalie was over the top about my being pregnant. With her excitement it was hard to not have a bit of it creep into my heart. She really tried to get me to be at peace about it and allow the reality to settle in without going over the next nine months - or nine years - in my mind tonight. And she said we must take a picture of the baby at the birth as the child will likely be waving an IUD."

"Well, that's not possible. You likely passed it without ... Oh, wait. A joke, right? Always slow on the uptake, Louisa."

With another kiss she said, "Martin I would not want you any other way. Do you think you can deal with a pregnant woman for nine months?"

"Well, Louisa, do you think you can deal with the husband of a pregnant woman for nine months? I want to monitor you closely and care for you. I believe patience may be required all around. And while you were on the phone I was thinking about James. We must be certain he is included and nurtured through all of this."

I think we both knew that it would not be James who would have difficulty adjusting to the idea of a new brother or sister. No, it would be his parents who would have to get this settled in their minds. If we had been 20 years younger we might have been excited as young couples are wont to be. But at 41 and 48 excitement would not have been the operative word. How could we have known that James and Joan were the best "mistakes" we ever made? Life without them would be unimaginable! Of course I'll not forget the words of the Portwenn fisherman Joe Nordquist. They had eight children and he told me once, "Mate, I wouldn't take a million quid for any of 'em, but I wouldn't give a tuppence for another 'n."

"Oh yes, Martin," Louisa said. "Believe me, James will be in the middle of it. Just prepare yourself for the questions. We do have a very inquisitive little boy."

Louisa leaned on me and I put my arm around her. She looked up at me and said, "Thank you, Martin."

"What for Louisa?"

"Just thank you." And she cuddled closer as I held her even more tightly.