Continuing on from Book I:

The next day was Boxing Day. For those not in the British Commonwealth, Boxing Day is the day after Christmas. There are various theories about how it got it’s name, one of them is that servants and trades people received Christmas boxes on that day. Nowadays, it’s basically an extension of Christmas Day.

We were having Karen and her family over for an early supper. Doc, of course, did most of the cooking - ham, leftover turkey and side dishes. Everything was a hit, as it always is when Julian cooks.

They had given us an ornament for our main tree weeks earlier. It had “Our first Christmas together 2018” on it and on the other side “Julian & Meredith.” Karen handed me a wrapped gift. “It wasn’t ready until just before Christmas, so I haven’t had a chance to give it to you two until now.” I handed it to Doc to unwrap. It was a beautiful wood plaque that was engraved with a picture of a woman leading a horse and a man facing her, holding a bag resembling a doctor’s bag. The wording on the bottom said “Julian & Meredith.” We absolutely loved it and decided to put it over the fireplace in the tv room.

Doc and I rented a winterized cabin about three hours from here for a getaway. We left on the 27th and had 10 days completely to ourselves. I had bought snowshoes for us and insisted Doc go for walks in the woods with Jessie and I. He grumbled at first, but after trying it, found that he liked the snowshoes.

He brought his bag with him and I brought my jeans with the ass cut out and my plugs. On the milder days, I wore them on our daily walk. On the really cold days, I’d sometimes put them on with a sweater over them and wear them inside to see how long it would take Doc to notice. If he was reading a medical publication, it would take longer than if we were just lounging around or playing a game.

One night after supper, when he was reading, I went into his bag and got the large animal rectal thermometer, the tube of lubricant and a latex glove out. I’d let him keep the thermometer after he’d scooped it from the unused thermometer box in the barn. I had put on my special jeans and put a plug in. I took the thermometer, lube and glove out to the living room and held them up. “Doc”, I said, “I feel kinda warm. Can you take my temperature?”

Doc looked at me over his reading glasses. I love it when he does that. For some reason, it arouses me. “Come here, hon. Let me feel your forehead. Hmmmmm….it does feel a bit warm. Pull your pants down and lie over my knee.” He put the magazine down and took the supplies from me.

I lifted my sweater and turned around so he could see my bare butt. “I don’t think I need to pull them down, Doc.”

“No, I guess you don’t”, he laughed. I lay over his knee and he put the glove on and took the plug out. “Seems you are already lubed up, but I’ll add a bit more, just to be sure.”

I know darn well he doesn’t need to lube me so much for a thermometer, even the large veterinary kind. He just enjoys doing it, and I have grown to enjoy having it done to me. He put some more lube on me and inserted the thermometer. While we waited for it to register, Doc rubbed my back with his non-gloved hand and we engaged in idle chit chat.

Three minutes later, he took the thermometer out and read it. “Hon, it’s up a wee bit. I think I should put a suppository in to bring it down. Where is my bag?”

I knew he was bullshitting, that I didn’t really have a fever, but I played along, since I was the one who started the game. I also knew that a Tylenol suppository would not harm me. “It’s in the bedroom where you put it.”

“I’ll go get it, you’ll need to get up for a minute.” I got up and he got his bag and brought it out to the living room. He opened it and took out a suppository. “Back over my knee, hon”, he said.

He put some lubricant on the suppository and gently pushed it into me. He pushed it quite far up, as far as his finger would go. Then he put the plug back in and wiped off the excess lube. “Ok, hon, you can get up now. Wait here, I will be back in a sec.”

Doc left the room and came back with a towel in his hand. He laid it down on the sofa. “Meredith, lie down here. I want to check your cyst. Lie with your butt on the towel.” When I was lying down, he pulled the coffee table closer to the sofa and sat on it. He reached over and pushed my sweater up and undid my jeans and pulled the zipper down. “You know the routine, hon. Let me know if you feel any pain or discomfort.”

He palpated my lower abdomen, starting with the right side and moving over to the left, where my bad ovary was. I had been doing pretty good, with minimal pain so it didn’t hurt too bad when he pressed down on it.

“I need to feel it from inside, hon”, Doc said. Do you need me to lubricate my fingers?

“I don’t think so, Doc.”

“Let me check. No, I do not need lubricant. My, you are quite wet, hon.” He inserted two fingers into me and palpated my pelvic area from both inside and outside. I noticed that he didn’t put a glove on. I also noticed his thumb seemed to brush over my clit, something he had not done before when examining me. When he was done, he withdrew his fingers. “I don’t feel any difference, Meredith. The cyst is still quite large. I know your pain has been minimal lately, but that’s always temporary. When we get back home, I’m going to send you for another ultrasound.” I sighed. “In the meantime, I’m going to put you to bed, young lady.” Young lady, ha!

He pushed the coffee table back, and bent down and put one arm under my knees and the other around my back. “Doc, you’ll injure yourself! I’m no lightweight!”

“I’m stronger than you think, Meredith”, he said as he lifted me up. I put my arm around his neck and he carried me to the bedroom. He set me down on the bed and brushed a wisp of hair from my face. “I think you need a treatment for that wetness, sweetheart” and leaned down and kissed me. I returned his kiss and he lay down beside me. I could feel his arousal as he began to make love to me.

Later, as I lay in Doc’s arms, he said “What do you think about buying our own cabin, hon?”

“Yes, Doc! Let’s do that!”

It was 10 glorious days of just Doc and I - and Jessie. Mornings, we would take walks in the woods, afternoons were spent playing Scrabble or Monopoly, Doc would read his medical journals, I’d read some horse magazines. A few times, we went into the nearest town to pick up some groceries or have dinner out. Evenings, we’d sit in front of the fire talking or I’d play my guitar and sing songs. And, of course, we made love over and over and over again.

I didn’t think it was possible to be more in love than I was, but it seemed that every day, my feelings for Julian would deepen. I think he was feeling the same about me. A year ago, if someone had told me I would fall in love with my doctor, let alone *any* doctor or anyone as sophisticated as Doc, I’d have told them they were certifiable. How things change and how the unexpected can creep up on us! I’m sure Doc would have had the same reaction had he been told he’d fall for a patient and a country girl at that! And that he’d move to a farm! Ok, enough of the mushy stuff.

Our time at the cabin went by way too quickly and all too soon we were back home at the farm. Don’t get me wrong, I was glad to see the horses and Karen again, but I really didn’t want to leave the cabin.

Doc went back to work and as he’d said he would do, he arranged for me to have an ultrasound. As he always did, he went with me and watched the screen. When it was done, he said the cyst had grown and was now 11.8cm. I knew that I would eventually have to allow him to take it out, but I wasn’t ready yet. I was still too scared because of what had happened to that woman years ago. Thankfully, Doc didn't bring the subject up, though the look he gave me told me exactly what he was thinking.

A few days after the scan, I was riding in the indoor arena when I started to feel pain in my side. It got worse with every lap around the arena. Finally, I decided to cut the riding session short. I dismounted and took my horse back into the barn and unsaddled him and put him in his stall. I went into the house, had a shower and lay down. The pain was worse. I took a couple pills and texted Karen and asked her if she could do the supper feeding. She texted back that she or Chey would do it.

It was mid afternoon. I hoped the pills would take my pain away before Doc got home. An hour went by with no change. I knew that if the pills were going to work, I’d have felt a lessening in my pain by now. I called Doc’s cell and left a message asking him to call me. Fifteen minutes later, he did. “Hon, are you okay? You rarely call me at work.”

“Doc, can you bring the good pain meds home with you?”

“Of course I can. It’s bad, isn't it?”

“Yes.”

“Number?”

“9”

“Now, that is a first - you admitting to it being that high without me having to drag it out of you. I will be home as soon as I can.”

Doc was home by 5:30. He must have sped all the way. “My last patient cancelled”, he explained.

“Cancelled or you cancelled her?” I asked.

“She cancelled, hon. I left as soon as I was done with the one before her.” He gave me the shot, then sat on the bed, stroking my hair. I was lying in the fetal position, it was the only position that lessened the pain a little bit. “Hon, we need to have a talk about this cyst.” I groaned. “Meredith, I’m being serious here. What do you think will happen if - no, not if, when - it ruptures?”

“I don’t know, Doc. I guess then there would be no choice but to have it taken out.”

“Do you think that’s all that’s involved - going in there and removing it?”

“Isn’t it?”

“No, hon. If that thing ruptures - and it probably will, given enough time - you could end up with internal bleeding. You do not want that, hon. It would mean emergency surgery and if Chad Watters is on call that day, he would be doing it. I don‘t think you want that.”

“Oh no, I wouldn’t allow it.”

“You wouldn’t have a choice. Delaying surgery in such a situation could be fatal.”

I looked at him in astonishment. He’d told me before that if I didn’t have it taken out, it could rupture but he hadn’t spelled out the possible consequences if that happened.

“Hon, will you please let me take it out?” I could see the pleading in his eyes. And I sure didn’t want the cyst to rupture. “Meredith, I know you are scared because of what happened to that woman you knew. But it’s a very safe procedure, the vast majority go off without a hitch. Yes, there’s a risk with *any* surgery, but you have to weigh the risks against the benefits. Please consider it, hon. I don’t want to lose you just after I found you. I love you and want to be with you for many years.”

I sighed. “Ok, Doc. You can take it out.”

“Really, hon?”

“Yes. I‘m scared but I don‘t want to leave you.”

“I’ll get it arranged tomorrow when I go in to work. You will be fine, you have the best surgeon in the world” he said with a wink. “In the meantime, I’d like you to promise me something.”

“What’s that?”

“I know it’s a lot to hope for, but will you please try to take it easy until then? And listen to me when I tell you to not do something?”

“I’ll try, Doc.”

“Thank you, hon.” He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.

The next night, Doc told me it was all set up for Feb 25. “And I’m taking at least two weeks off to take care of you.”

“Doc, you don’t have to do that. You’ve taken so much time off to take care of me over the past 7 months!”

“Hon, I can more than afford it.”

“But, your patients need you.”

“I’ll look around for an ob/gyn to take my place. We could probably use one anyway, the practice is growing. Seems a lot are leaving Dr Watters.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. You and Nick are miles better than that grouchy old coot.”

January 20 was my birthday. This year, it fell on a Sunday. Doc had not mentioned any special plans. I woke up and he was not in bed with me. He usually wakes up before me but he stays in bed until I am awake. Sometimes, I’ll wake up and find him propped up on his elbow, looking at me. He says that he likes to watch me sleep.

I got dressed and went downstairs. There was a huge bouquet of beautiful flowers on the kitchen table. The card sitting in them read “Happy Birthday, hon! Read the card on the table now, don’t wait for me.” I picked up the envelope sitting on my placemat. Inside was a birthday card and a note inside. “Get a coffee and bring it out to the barn. I’ll meet you there.”

I poured coffee into a travel mug - I have a few of them that Karen and I use in the barn. Then I went to the back porch and put my barn boots and a jacket on, as well as gloves and ear muffs. I hate toques. Yes, I’m a bad Canuck. Jessie was in the yard, I opened the gate and let her come with me to the barn. When I got there, I noticed arrows placed on the floor in the direction of the stalls. I followed them until they ended, then looked up. A stall that was empty last night now had a horse in it. There was a huge red ribbon on the stall door. I looked inside the stall and Doc was crouched in a corner. Doc inside an occupied stall?? I wished I’d had my phone with me, I’d have taken a picture! When he saw me looking at him, he stood up.

“Happy Birthday, Meredith!” he said. I opened the door and he gave me a kiss. “Recognize him?”

I looked at the horse closer. He was at the back of the stall eating hay from the rack on the wall. He was a bay, like many Standardbreds, which makes them all look alike. But he had a long scar on his right shoulder. I instantly knew which horse it was - Electric Underground, a gelding I had worked with when I worked in a harness racing stable. He was my favourite horse in the barn, we had a special bond. I’d had to give the job up when I got married as Chris and I moved to another province and I had lost track of Buddy, as we had called him.

“Doc, how on earth did you find him?”

Buddy heard my voice and looked toward me. Recognizing me, he left his hay and came over to me and nudged me. That had been his way of telling me he wanted some pets. I kissed his muzzle and then buried my face in his neck, wrapping my arms around him. When I lifted my head and looked at Doc, there were tears in my eyes. “Thank you so much, Doc! Oh my gosh, I’m so excited!”

I tore myself away from Buddy and gave Doc a kiss and a big hug. “I’m so glad you like your birthday present hon”, he said. “To answer your question, it wasn’t easy tracking him down, but remember last fall when you were telling me about Buddy, I asked for the name of the stable?” I nodded. “I wrote that down as soon as I could outside your view and I contacted them. They had sold the horse years ago, but gave me the name of the person who’d bought him. I tracked him down and he said he’d retired Buddy and sold him to the Amish to use as a carriage horse. I called a colleague from med school who is practicing in that province and he managed to find Buddy for me. The farmer who had him was happy to sell him, as his arthritis from his shoulder injury years ago was making it hard for him to pull a carriage for any length of time. My colleague got a vet to check him out and the vet said he would be fine as what he called a “pasture ornament” so I bought him and had him shipped out here. The farmer was happy to see him to go a good home that wouldn’t work him. A friend of Karen’s kept him at her farm until last night. Karen kept him overnight at her place and brought him over this morning. Chey fed the horses, then went home to give us privacy, she’ll be back to clean the stalls.” Chey and Nasser, the boy who did the chores on Sundays, had switched days this weekend.

“Doc, I don’t know how on earth I can thank you for this!”

“Hon, the look on your face when you realized the horse is Buddy is all the thanks I need. I am so happy that I could do this for you. I know how much you’ve missed him, even this long after. Now, I’m going to go in the house and give you some time alone with him, but don’t stay out too long and no doing any work! That’s an order, ok?”

“Yes, Doc.” My bad cyst flare had calmed down a lot, but I was still in pain and taking my pills on a regular basis. Any major movement and it would get worse, though so far not as bad as it got on that day when it was 9. Doc was ecstatic that I’d finally consented to the surgery, but he was upset that he couldn’t get it scheduled sooner. He wanted to switch it with a patient that was having “elective” surgery, but I said no, that wasn’t fair to the patient who was already scheduled. He said he was putting me on a cancellation waiting list.

Doc went inside and I brushed Buddy down while he ate his hay. Then I just stood there petting him until I heard the barn phone ring and went to answer it. It was Doc, I had left my cell in the house. “Time to come in, hon. I’ve given you an hour. You need to rest.”

“Okay, Doc. I’ll be right in.” I said goodbye to Buddy for the time being and went inside.

“I called Chey and told her she can come anytime to do the stalls.”

“Thanks, honey.” I gave him a big hug and kiss and told him how much I love him.

“You do know that’s a mutual feeling, right?”

“Yes, Doc. If I had any doubts, which I didn’t, they would be gone now. I’m blown away by what you did in finding Buddy and having him shipped out here.”

“Anything for you, hon. I knew how happy it would make you. Now, sit down and have some breakfast. And I hope you did not do any work out there.”

“I didn’t, Doc.” I was trying really hard to do as he said and take it easy with no hard work. I saw how worried he was getting about my cyst and did not want to make him worry more.

“Good, hon.”

After breakfast, we went upstairs and had a shower together. Then we lounged around in the bedroom for a few hours. We came down for lunch, which Doc prepared. While he was getting it ready, Karen stopped by. She handed me a gift bag. I looked inside and there was a leather horse halter with fleece lining the nose piece and “Buddy” inscribed on a gold plate along the left cheek piece.

“Oh, Karen, I love it, thank you!” I said to her. “Buddy will love it, too! Especially the fleece lining! I‘m going to go right out and put it on him.” I headed for the back door.

“Wait just a minute there”, Doc said. “You can do that later. Lunch is ready.”

“I’ll catch you two later”, Karen said.

“Stay for lunch”, Doc said “I made enough for three.”

“Thanks, Julian. There’s nobody at home right now so I was just going to grab a sandwich.”

After lunch, I went to the barn to put the halter on Buddy. Karen came with me. Doc told me to take my phone with me so he could text me after he was done lunch clean up. He said he wanted us to spend the afternoon together.

When he texted me to come in, Karen and I said goodbye. “Chey is coming over to do supper chores”, she said. “You go in and spend time with Julian and have a great birthday dinner. We will not interrupt you unless it’s urgent and nobody will come walking in without calling first, if there’s a need to come in. I’m sure you two will be needing privacy.”

I laughed. “Hopefully, we will!”

Back in the house, Doc had drawn a bath for me. “Doc, I had a shower this morning.”

“I know, hon, but you have been in the barn. I need you to be clean for what’s next.” I gave him a puzzled look, but took off my clothes and stepped into the tub.

Doc picked my clothes up off the floor and started out of the bathroom. “Where are you going with those?” I asked.

“Just putting them in the laundry hamper.”

“They were clean this morning, they don’t need to be washed yet. I haven‘t done any work today.”

“Yes, they do. You were in the barn in them.”

I held my tongue. Doc was making great strides about being in the barn - heck, he was in Buddy’s stall! - but he still had to shower and put his clothes in the laundry after being out there. To reduce stress on him, I would put mine in the laundry too if I had done any work out there, but not if I’d just done something like feeding. I decided to drop it and let him put them in the wash today, it was not worth arguing about. Good thing my washer is a Maytag, I thought. It’s been getting a lot more use since Doc started spending so much time here.

He came back into the bathroom and put a towel down on the floor before sitting down beside the tub. Other than that first time back in June when I had heat exhaustion, he would not sit on the floor without a towel under him. That first time, I think he was so worried about me that he didn’t think about it. And he changed his clothes afterwards, saying he’d got them wet. I wasn’t sure how wet they had been.

He sat and talked with me while I soaked in the hot water. When I was ready to get out, he got a wash cloth and washed me. He sure likes doing it, even now. I stood up and he hosed me down, then I stepped out into a big fluffy towel.

.

After he dried me off, we went out into the bedroom. There were clothes laid out on the bed for me to put on. Doc changed his clothes while I got dressed, and put on a tie. Weird, I thought, he doesn’t usually wear a tie on the weekend, unless we’re going out for dinner or something. When we were dressed, he said “Follow me” and led the way down the hall to our exam room at the end. He took out his keys, found the appropriate one and unlocked the door. We kept it locked just in case a guest - or more likely, the child of a guest - went upstairs and found it.

We stepped inside and Doc put on his lab coat. “Meredith, this is your birthday exam. You seem to enjoy exams, so I thought I’d do one today. It’s not a serious one, like when I check your cyst, but it will be somewhat realistic. It’s up to you whether you want it or not. If you say no, we can do something else this afternoon. What do you say?”

“I say I want the exam.”

“Excellent. Now, your second choice will be whether you want the restraints or not.”

I thought a moment. “I want them.”

“Very good. Let’s get started.” He took a gown and drape out of a drawer. “Please get completely undressed and put this gown on. Then sit on the table. There is a drape for your lower half.”

Doc left the room and I did as he asked. When I got up on the table and sat down, I noticed that I was wet. I was torn between hoping Doc wouldn’t notice and hoping he would.

In a couple minutes, he knocked and came back in. “All ready?” he asked. I nodded yes. “Ok, I’m going to do some things that don’t happen in the clinic. If I start to do anything you don’t want me to do, tell me. It’s your birthday, so you get to determine what the examination consists of. Pick a safe word - a word that if you say it, I will immediately stop.”

I thought a moment. “Unicorn”, I said.

“Ok, that’s the word we’ll use. I don’t think you will need it, I’m not planning anything extreme, just some things that are unconventional in a physical exam. But since I am going to use the restraints, I thought it would be a good idea to have a safe word. Now, let‘s get started.”

Doc started with the usual - eyes, ears, throat check, took my blood pressure and listened to my lungs and then heart. He had me lay down on the table and listened to my heart again, both lying on my back and on my side. Then he did the breast exam and took a lot longer than usual with it, checking everywhere not just once, but twice. He even held my nipples between his thumb and forefinger, something he never did in a “real” exam.

He moved on and auscultated my abdomen before palpating it. He seemed to skirt around my left ovary. “I’m not going to palpate hard here, hon. I don’t want to cause a flare on your birthday.” I sure appreciated that.

“Time for the internal, Meredith. Let’s get your feet in the stirrups.” Doc moved around to the foot of the table and picked up my right foot and placed it in the corresponding stirrup and did up the restraint, a bit tighter this time. Then he did the same with my left foot.

“Scoot down toward me. I’ll let you know when to stop.” I “scooted down” a bit at a time, until he said “That’s good, hon.” Next, he walked around to the side of the table and lifted the head so it was at a 45 degree angle. Then he put my wrists in the restraints so that my arms were bent with my hands up by my head instead of straight at my sides. Like he did with my feet, he did the restraints up a bit tighter this time. Then he went to the adjoining bathroom and washed his hands.

He came out and sat down on the stool and put gloves on, then took a speculum out of a drawer before moving the stool over between my legs. “I’m going to put the speculum in, Meredith. It’s a bit bigger than the ones I’ve used to date. Just relax and let me know if it hurts at all.” Doc had always used a small speculum with me, despite me being a non virgin. Medium had always hurt. What was he doing using one this time?

I felt it enter me and being pushed all the way in. “You ok, hon?”

“Yes.”

“Any pain?”

“No.”

“Good.” I felt myself being stretched open with the instrument, wider than ever before. It didn’t hurt, but was a strange feeling. I found myself becoming aroused. “I’m not going to do a PAP today, you aren’t due for one. I’ll just leave this in for a bit.” Doc reached over to the counter, and took a tube of KY out of a drawer . “I’m going to take your temperature, Meredith.” I watched him put lubricant on a gloved finger, then he spread it around my anus. He reached over to the counter again and got a large thermometer.

“What is that, Doc?”

“It’s a candy thermometer, I thought it would be a nice change.” He put lubricant on the tip and inserted it into my anus.

I found myself quite aroused with the large thermometer in my butt and my vagina stretched wide open with the medium sized speculum and squirmed around a bit.

“You okay?” Doc asked.

“Mmmmm….yes.” I mumbled.

“Are you hurting?” I shook my head no. “Ms Hottie, are you aroused?” he asked with a feigned tone of surprise. I nodded my head yes. “My, my, my.” Holding onto the thermometer with his right hand, Doc reached up with his left and his finger found my clit above the speculum. It did not take long. The combination of something in my ass, my vagina stretched open, my feet and wrists in restraints and the love of my life’s finger on my clit sent me over the edge and I exploded in an orgasm like I’d never felt before.

When I came down to earth, Doc took the thermometer out and told me I was hot. Then he took the speculum out, took off his gloves and washed his hands again. When he came back to the room, he stood between my legs and bent over and kissed me. His hands found my breasts under the gown and I felt myself becoming aroused again. “Do you want out of the restraints?” he asked.

“No.”

Later, we were spent so we had a nap. Before I fell asleep, I told Doc just how hot I found the exam to be. “I kinda figured so, hon. Your body movements and screams gave you away.”

“We gotta do that again, Doc.”

“We will, hon. For sure.”

After we slept, we went downstairs and Doc got supper. He‘d made lasagne the day before and put it in the fridge. That afternoon, he‘d put it in the oven on a timer to start in time for it to be done for supper. He served it in the dining room with candles and soft music. Afterwards, he brought out a chocolate cake - my favourite - with candles and sang Happy Birthday to me.

“Doc, when did you bake a cake?”

“Friday, at my apartment in the city. I put the dry goods together before going to the clinic, which is why I left early.” He had told me he had some work he needed to get done before the first patient arrived. “Then I went over on my lunch to put the wet ingredients in and put it in the oven. I set the timer and after work, I went and got it, and cleaned up before coming home. I didn’t schedule any patients for the last two slots so I could get home on time and get it into the house while you were in the barn doing chores.”

“You are sneaky, Doc!”

After Doc did supper cleanup - he would not let me help - we took our coffee into the living room and Doc put on some soft music. We talked for a while, then he asked me to dance and we danced to some slow songs. I rested my head on his chest as he held me tight.

Later, in bed, before I fell asleep, I said to Doc “Thank you so much for the best birthday I’ve ever had, honey.”