CHAPTER NINE 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. Martin continues reflecting on his daughter's birth.
CHAPTER NINE
"AAAIIIEEE! Martin, this is not false labor!"
Louisa had been having what we thought was false labor for two days. It would come and go and had no progression to it. She stayed in touch with Mr. Smith. Finally he decided that in order for her to get some rest she should take a Valium which would settle down the false labor. She had no sleep in two days and was beyond grateful when things settled down and was able to fall into a deep sleep.
I was exhausted too, having had a very busy surgery that day and two home visits
James was still awake as it was only eight o'clock. We had stories and I had hoped he would be sleepy, but no luck there. He was full of questions.
"Can I go to the hospital with you and Mummy to see the baby?"
"No, James. I have told you you will get to spend the night with Aunt Morwenna and during the day you can go visit the farm with Uncle Al."
"When will you go to the hospital?"
"Probably in a few days, James, when the baby decides it it time to be born."
"Dad, am I really going to have a sister?"
"Yes, son, you will soon have a sister. She will need you to help care for her. Will you help Mummy?"
"Yes, I will, but I don't want to see poopy nappies." "Alright James. It is time for you to go to sleep. I'll leave your night light on."
With that I kissed his forehead and told him, "You are a good boy, James." It is something I told my son every night when I tucked him in. I wanted my children to know they were loved and valued for themselves and nothing else. One night when I was leaving the room James said, "Dad, you are good too." Lying in bed later I wondered to myself if I believed it like I wanted him to believe it
Before going to bed I checked the doors. Looking out, it was a dark night and Portwenn was silent and asleep. Louisa had been wakeful for two nights with what appeared to be Braxton Hicks contractions. I did not turn on the light but the illumination from the street lamp through the window revealed Louisa with a look of peace as she slept. Once in bed, I placed my hand gently on her abdomen. It felt hard to the touch but not wanting to awaken her I did not probe further. Hopefully all was well. It did not take long for me to fall into a very sound sleep.
"AAAEEEIIIIIII!"
Louisa's scream had me sitting bolt upright and on my feet in an instant.
"THIS IS NOT FALSE LABOR MARTIN! THIS BABY WANTS OUT NOW!"
I hardly recall dressing. There was not time to wait for Morwenna so I called Mrs. Northcott who could be here until Morwenna arrived. Thankfully James stayed asleep. I put a long coat around Louisa and placed her in the back seat leaning on four pillows and secured with the seat belt.
We were finally on the way. I quickly called and alerted Charles Stewart. Louisa's pains were less than five minutes apart which was not good. She was in active labor and possibly in transition. It was 3:37 and pitch black. Thankfully the road was dry. At best we would be 40 more minutes. The call to use the Valium was one I agreed with. After all, the due date was still two weeks away. It didn't even seem the baby had dropped that much. Obviously she had. And those two days of off-and-on labor pains were a gentle harbinger of bigger things to come. I realized the Valium had masked onset of labor through the night so when Louisa awakened in pain the child was definitely knocking at the door.
"Martin!" Louisa's voice was strained and frightened. "Will we get to the hospital? I do not want to deliver this baby in a car."
"Louisa," I said as calmly as I could muster, "if I have anything to do with it we will get to hospital. It is critical that you try to relax and do not push. Try not to push."
"Martin, that is bloody easy for you to say. You do not have an elephant trying to push itself out of your body. Aaaeeeii - Ohhhhh - Martin, UHHHHHHHH!"
"I must attend to getting us safely to Truro. Please take deep breaths. I know it is hard, but do not push!"
If I could get to the A39 I could drive faster, but before that hurrying could mean we might not arrive at all. And of course of all things as I rounded a corner there were hay bales lying in the road. Some bloke had lost some of his load and just moved on. No one had notified the police. I got out and quickly started shifting enough bales to one side so we could pass. Not expecting company I nearly peed my pants when a very loud moooooo resounded close on my left. I looked and there were four bovines taking advantage of the farmer's loss. Immediately following was a very loud cry from the car. This would carry the appropriate humor later, but not now. I was quite frightened at the hold-up. With some six or seven bales moved I could get by and we were on our way.
"Martin, where did you go? Why did we stop?AHHHHH! MY GOD MARTIN, I DON'T WANT TO HAVE THIS BABY IN THE CAR. AND DON'T TELL ME THERE'S A BLOODY PUB AHEAD!"
"The road was blocked. I'm sorry. The A39 is just ahead. No one in the round-abouts at this hour."
"Don't talk Martin, just drive. Just hurry! These pains are close and hard."
We were moving again and evidently between contractions because Louisa said, "Martin, what is that terrible smell. I am going to be sick."
Holy Crap! I had stepped in fresh manure moving the damn hay. I had to stop the car and clean my shoes in the roadside grass. Then I wiped the floor with my handkerchief, tossed it and finally got us moving again.
Since asking would likely cause it, I did not even ask what else might happen.
I had stayed in touch with the doctor throughout the journey. Thus when we arrived at the A & E there was a cadre of scrubbed and masked people prepared for us. Louisa was on the trolley as we moved quickly down the hall. She was holding my hand in a vice-grip as another hard contraction came on her. She and this baby were oblivious to everything but this violent dance of creation.
"Dr. Ellingham, you know the routine. Scrubs are in there." I had to pull away and change quickly.
As I entered the theatre the doctor was laying our new-born on Louisa's chest. That was quick, I thought to myself.
"Dr. Ellingham," Charles addressed me, "I do not know why you got me out of bed. This good lady took care of things without my help. Not too many trolley births, you know. Congratulations, Martin. All seems fine. Would you like to cut the cord.?"
And it seemed the Ellingham women were to keep this night filled with shrieking. Our little girl had lungs to match her mum, which caused me to recall our son's lusty cries upon his birth at the Coach and Four maternity pub.
Once in the room, I was holding the baby while Louisa slept. I counted fingers and toes and simply stared at this tiny infant. Our daughter. I deduced that that final contraction was a final push by Louisa to bring this little one into the world. Louisa stirred and opened her eyes. She gave me a tired and beautiful smile. I took our daughter to her.
"Well, you got us to the hospital, Martin. We were cutting it a bit close, huh? There was no holding back on that trolley. So, what do you think, daddy? What do you think of our little girl?"
"Isn't she beautiful Louisa?"
"I don't know Martin. Do you think her head is a bit misshapen?"
That took me aback, and then I saw her devilish smirk and the penny dropped.
"Louisa, you are an evil woman."
"Ah, yes Martin but an evil woman who loves you. We have a new baby girl and she is beyond beautiful."
"And Martin, you are in hospital booties. Where are your shoes?"
"I had to leave them on the pavement outside. With any luck someone has binned them in the rubbish."
oooooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo
I heard my phone message signal. I looked at the screen and read, "We are back at the hotel. Very nice evening. We will talk tomorrow my love."
Having just returned from a four day conference in Plymouth I was exhausted. Glad to know Louisa and Joan were safely back to their hotel in Paris. I went to bed. Just before sleeping I reached over...and switched pillows