The Ballad of Tam Lin, Part Two
In the morning, Rose awoke to find the Doctor halfway on top of her. His chin was nuzzled into her neck, while his right hand had crept up her stomach. His right leg had settled heavily over both of her thighs, and even if she had wanted to move, she wouldn’t have been able to push him off of her.
“Doctor?” she asked tentatively. “Are you asleep?”
“Constant vigilance,” he murmured.
“Is the restraining order necessary?” Rose giggled as the Doctor shifted to look up at her sleepily.
“Uh,” he responded intelligently. “Well, you can’t say it didn’t work. Here you are, safe and sound!”
“And a bit smothered,” Rose teased, although the Doctor still didn’t bother to move.
Instead, he snuggled more aggressively into her side and lifted his hand from her stomach to stroke up and down her naked arm.
“Too bad for you I’m ridiculously comfortable,” he replied. “I guess you’ll have to get used to it.”
Rose blushed and allowed her free hand to play in his soft chestnut hair.
“Guess so,” she whispered.
She bit her lip and fantasized for a moment about waking up like this more often. As she recalled the details of her dream state the night before, she wished even harder that they could wake up together under those particular circumstances.
She heaved a sigh and stared out the nearby window, wondering how such a strange event had occurred. She’d never done any sleepwalking before. She hoped it wasn’t the beginning of a larger problem. The Doctor seemed to read her thoughts and sat up abruptly.
“No more strange dreams last night, I hope?” he asked with concern.
Rose felt her skin flush under his scrutiny and shook her head vigorously.
“No dreams at all,” she answered. “I was so tired afterwards… I felt like I could sleep a million years.”
The Doctor nodded curtly before removing himself from the bed and walking toward the door.
“I should let you get ready then,” he said as he stuck his hands deep into his pockets. “Today’s going to be a big day. I’m hoping to get to the bottom of this Tam Lin business.”
“Doctor,” Rose said suddenly. “What is Tam Lin, exactly? Have you heard of him before?”
The Doctor came back to her side and sat down on the mattress with a slight bounce.
“Oh, it’s an old Scottish ballad actually,” he responded. “Tam Lin was a knight spirited away by the Queen of the fairies. She was getting ready to kill him until he met a young girl who promised to help save his life. The girl was quite clever, and devised a way he could escape the Queen’s clutches so that they could be together.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Rose pointed out. “Why would the townspeople be afraid of someone like that?”
The Doctor blew out a breath of air and shrugged.
“I suppose I left out the part where Tam Lin impregnated the girl, who was an innocent passer-by before she learned anything about him. Although later she decided she loved him, most variants of the story use the incident to warn young girls from running about the countryside and losing their virtue. Tam Lin is seen as a menace to the Brigadoon people, and if someone like him is really behind the rash of missing girls…then I’m afraid his intentions aren’t so much like a fairy tale at all.”
“Oh,” Rose gasped softly. “I suppose not. You don’t think that dream I had…”
Rose cut herself off and stared expectantly at the Doctor, but he shook his head emphatically.
“I don’t want to rule anything out,” he started, “but it’s better to be safe than sorry. I’d like to take you back to the TARDIS for some more scans, if that’s alright. Then we can strike out and learn more about the missing Brigadoon girls.”
Rose nodded thoughtfully.
“Good. I’ll meet you downstairs then,” the Doctor finished.
Before he left though, he shot her one more concerned glance that made Rose a little nervous. If this Tam Lin creature really was on the prowl, she might be his latest victim in the making. Rose shuddered a little as she forced herself out of bed.
**
Rose giggled when the Doctor placed his icy cold stethoscope on her stomach, even after he’d breathed on it a few times to warm it up.
“Almost done,” he breathed outwardly as he traced a line up to her heart. “Aaand…everything sounds fine from here!”
Rose let out a sigh of relief and bounced her legs in front of the examination table.
“Well I feel great,” she reported. “I’m eager to get to work, too. Are we all done, then?”
The Doctor shot her a brilliant smile before recording a few notes in his medical journal.
“Yup,” he consented. “We should try to get some interviews done at the village today. I’d like to ask some of the locals about the disappearances, and get more information. I think we should start at the town hall and work outwards.”
Rose frowned slightly as she jumped down from the table. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the Doctor's concern for her safety, but she also wanted to prove that she could manage on her own. Rose Tyler was no damsel in distress.
“We’ll cover more ground if we split up,” she suggested. “Why don’t I work back from the outer limits of the village and meet up with you?”
It was the Doctor’s turn to frown.
“I’m not sure that’s such a great idea,” he stated.
“But you just gave me a clean bill of health,” she reminded him. “And you know I’m right, too. Ye canna babysit me like a bairn all day, Doctor!”
The Doctor grimaced profoundly. “No,” he discouraged, “don’t do that. But you’re right. I don't want to waste any time, if that's possible. Let’s meet up at the McClean’s afterwards. Around noon, perhaps?”
Rose gave him an indulgent smile and tucked her arms behind her back.
“Right,” she agreed.
**
Rose had been touring Brigadoon’s countryside for most of the morning when she reached an abandoned house on the outskirts of town. She glanced at her watch briefly and realized she was supposed to meet up with the Doctor soon, but didn’t want to miss a chance of investigating one of the places she might not be able to get back to.
She took a walk around the perimeter of the dilapidated cottage before spying a small stream nearby. She could just make out a distant figure on the banks, which appeared to be a young girl washing laundry in the water. Rose made her way toward the girl while carefully navigating the gopher-hole ridden ground, and called out to make her presence known before getting too close.
The young girl turned at the sound of her voice and waved shyly.
“You must be one of the travelers,” the girl said. “I’m Anne O’Connell, but everyone calls me Annie.”
Rose smiled as she approached and came to stand next to the girl.
“I’m Rose. Are you out here all by yourself?” she asked with some concern.
Annie shrugged as she dipped a pair of bloomers in the bubbling stream.
“I come out here all the time,” she answered. “It’s just so peaceful! My house isn’t far, anyways.”
“Not that one up there?” Rose asked while pointing to the broken-down cottage.
“No,” Annie replied. “That used to be the Learys’ home some twenty years ago, but they’ve long since moved into the village proper. They were gettin’ too old to be so far out of the way, with no one to look after them any more. I live on the other side past the trees, there.”
“Aren’t you worried about all the missing girls?” Rose persisted. “You should probably try to keep someone with you until it’s safe.”
Annie smiled and Rose admired the light freckles on her face.
“Yer sweet to worry about me,” she said. “But I’m really fine. My father is an arms maker in the village. I’m more than capable of taking care of myself. He saw to that.”
Rose couldn’t help but feel an affinity with the girl’s independence. After all, she was just fine without the Doctor by her side.
Annie squeezed the water from her last garment before placing it a hand-weaved basket.
“I’ve heard you’ve come to stop the trouble,” the young girl commented lightly.
Rose nodded and clasped her hands in front of her.
“We want to help in any way we can,” she agreed. “Is there anything strange that you’ve noticed? Maybe you can help, too.”
Annie picked up her basket and held it protectively against her side.
“Not other than my friends going missing,” she offered sadly. “At first I thought they’d run off with some local boys. That tends to happen from time to time…but neither Sorcha nor Una had a sweetheart that I’d ever known about. They just disappeared out of thin air.”
“I’m sorry about your friends,” Rose said. “But the Doctor and I are going to do everything we can to get them back.”
Rose paused for a moment and looked out at the rolling hills, as if scanning the horizon for a sign of them.
“Something wrong?” Annie asked.
“No…I just. Do you hear that?” Rose questioned distractedly.
For a moment, she thought she had heard the sound of distant bells again. The same ones from her dream the other night.
“I don’t hear anything,” Annie said. “Oh…wait…”
Annie strained her hearing and suddenly turned around.
“I hear my father calling!” she said excitedly. “I’d better go! Good luck, traveler! I hope you find what you’re looking for!”
Annie ran away before Rose could ask her anything else, and so stared at her retreating back as she was left alone to ponder what the young girl had meant.
**
The Doctor stood inside the old tavern nursing a sour tasting ale as he interviewed some of Brigadoon’s elders. On his right sat Boyd Abernethy, the town tanner, and on his right was Ian Humphrey, a retired chief.
“Brigadoon is a mystical place,” Ian was saying. “Age hardly matters here. Can you guess how old I am, lad?”
The Doctor shook his head and leaned forward on the table.
“160 years old,” Ian revealed. “I don’t know if it’s in the water, or what…but I’ve hardly aged these last fifty years. That’s why we’ve got to protect this place, Doctor! It’s a gift!”
“I’ll say,” the Doctor assented. “You’ve extended well past normal human lifespans. But that’s otherwise unlinked to Tam Lin? Or has he always been around?”
“Ye want to know more about our Tam Lin?” Boyd piped up.
“I would,” the Doctor replied.
“There’s little known beyond the old songs,” Boyd sighed. “I’m sure you’ve heard them.”
“Humor me,” the Doctor said with a smile.
Boyd groaned as he picked up his battered pipes from the ground and slowly began to play a series of haunting tones. Ian began to bob his head in time with the music, and started to sing the opening lines with a surprisingly brassy voice.
“O I forbid you, maidens all, that wear gold in your hair. To come or go by Carterhaugh, for old Tam Lin is there. There’s none that goes by Carterhaugh, but they leave him in a wad. Either their rings, or green mantles, or else their maidenhead…”
The man continued to sing, but the Doctor’s attention had stuck upon the second line.
“Golden hair,” he mused suspiciously, and then stood up abruptly as he realized the time had long passed since he was supposed to meet up with his companion.
“Rose!” he breathed.
**
Rose stood by the water’s edge and stared thoughtfully at the water. The song she’d heard was still echoing in her ears, and it set her teeth on edge. She grew cold in the afternoon wind, and realized she’d have to hurry to make it back to the Doctor in time. Annie had long since gone, and standing out in the middle of nowhere all by herself was probably a bad idea.
Rose turned to walk back toward the village, but was almost bowled over the Doctor.
“Rose!” he half-shouted. “Where have you been?”
“Here!” she answered in a rush. “I thought you were-“
“No time to explain!” he interrupted. “Run!”
Rose peered around him to find no imminent danger, but she’d never questioned that command before, and wasn’t going to start now. She grasped his hand and followed his lead as they pelted over the rolling hills, and made toward the closest line of trees.
Rose nearly fell when they passed a rocky outcropping, but the Doctor bore her up and urged her on.
“Almost there!” he gasped. “Come on!”
Rose ran until he pulled her down to the ground behind a large felled tree trunk in the undergrowth. They were both breathing heavily, but the sound of the blustery wind covered their panting.
“Are you okay?” Rose whispered as the shadows from the canopy played over the Doctor’s wild eyes.
“Yeah, fine!” he answered. “Never better! You?”
Rose gave him a relieved smile and snuck a peek back over the log.
“Great,” she answered. “What happened?”
The Doctor loosened his tie and relaxed enough to unclench his fingers from her side.
“I think I got a peek of that unsavory Tam Lin character,” he answered. “I was just on my way to check on you when I saw an eerie figure in that old cottage back there. I decided it wasn’t a good time to ask any questions. You’re my first priority, after all.”
Rose nearly laughed out loud, but appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.
“Well here I am, safe and sound!” she reported. “Did you find out anything interesting today?”
The Doctor took her hand and held it over his chest as he played with her fingers.
“Not much, unfortunately,” he replied. “It’s going to take more than a few days to get to the bottom of this mystery. But I suppose we have time.”
Rose nodded.
“All the time in the world,” she agreed. “Or at least in Brigadoon.”
The Doctor went silent as if contemplating that statement.
“Time moves differently here,” he said softly. “Something like an eternity actually. The Brigadoon villagers age much more slowly. If you were to stay here Rose, you’d look and feel the same in fifty years time. The normal rules just don’t apply.”
Rose was intrigued and nestled more comfortably into his side now that the danger had apparently past.
“How long would I live, then?” she asked curiously.
The Doctor glanced down into her eyes and pursed his lips.
“Another hundred years, easily,” he answered. “Far past a human life span. Imagine that!”
Rose felt her heart skip a beat as the Doctor’s eyes softened.
“I can imagine it,” he revealed in a moment of unusual candor. “For all the times I’ve reminded myself of how little time we have to spend together.”
Rose squeezed his hand unconsciously.
“I didn’t realize you would want that,” she murmured. “I’m afraid I would overstay my welcome…”
She tried to turn it into a joke, but the Doctor’s serious gaze silenced her instantly.
“No,” he said simply. “I…I think I’ve always been afraid I would be the one to impose on you. If I had it my way, you’d stay with me forever, Rose Tyler.”
Rose bit her lower lip and leaned into the Doctor’s side as she listened to his words.
“Forever is an awfully long time,” she reminded him.
The Doctor’s lips swayed closer to hers, and the moment stretched out into the eternity they had just been speaking about.
“Not for me,” he answered as he crossed the diminishing boundary that held them apart.
Rose closed her eyes when the Doctor kissed her, and was instantly reminded of her dream from the previous night. In the distance, she could almost imagine those haunting bells chiming on the moors.
“Doctor,” she breathed when they broke apart. “What does this mean?”
She was scared that the Doctor was playing at some fantasy that would never come true. And if that was the case, Rose was going to be the one who ended up hurt. But he looked at her with absolute certainty in his eyes.
“You know what it means, Rose,” he answered.
He stood up and held out his hand for her to follow.
“It’s only you and I now, Rose,” he continued. “Come away with me.”
Rose felt something pricking at the edge of her consciousness, and was slowly filled with a drunken contentedness.
“Come away with you?” she asked slowly. “Come away where?”
The Doctor put his arms around her and kissed her temple before trailing his mouth down her cheek. She felt his hands wandering over her hips, and breathed in dizzily when he squeezed her sides.
“Come with me,” he begged in half-whispers. “Come away with me to the lost woods. Sing with me, Rose Tyler.”
Rose looked up into his dark eyes and lost herself in them.
“The lost woods,” she repeated dully.
“Yes,” the Doctor replied as he pushed her into the closest tree. “You and I can be together. Forever.”
Rose gasped when she felt the evidence of his passion against her body, and spread her legs to give him more access. The Doctor moaned in response, and rocked his hips forward while Rose savored the feeling of him. And then she could feel him pulling her down to lay in the soft grass, and forgot about everything else in the world. It was only him, and the scent of the forest, and those far-off bells rolling in the distance.
The Doctor kissed down her blouse and opened the top buttons to lave his tongue over her clavicle as she swayed over him.
"Doctor, please," she begged as he nuzzled between her breasts.
Rose cried out in shock when a pair of hands suddenly tore her away, shattering the sound of the bells that had been chiming so sweetly.
“Rose!” she heard the Doctor’s voice coming from behind her. “It’s going to be okay. Hold on to me.”
Rose struggled in his arms and whirled around to find the Doctor looking scared and confused. His eyes trained on hers, however, and seemed to bring her back from the trance-like state she’d been in. Rose whipped back to look at the place where they had just been about to make love and gaped.
“I was dreaming again?” she asked in horrified surprise.
“No,” the Doctor answered in a deadly serious tone. “Not this time.”
He pulled on her hand and started to lead them out of the forest while Rose looked around for any sight of the dream Doctor.
“I don’t understand,” she cried. “Everything was so real. I thought you…”
The Doctor stopped and held Rose’s arms tightly.
“You thought what? Tell me what you saw Rose.”
His companion blushed and looked at the ground.
“I’m not sure I should say,” she answered. “But what I must have looked like to you…”
Her trail of thought wandered off and left the Doctor looking rather embarrassed, but also a little angry.
“I saw you in the clearing with some man,” he told her. “But by the time I got close enough to see what was happening, he’d vanished. You were just lying on the ground...and it looked like you’d been hurt. I was afraid he’d hurt you.”
Rose shook her head vigorously.
“No, he would never do that,” she answered before she could think it through.
The Doctor eyed her fiercely and dropped his hands from her sides. A look of defeat and suspicion took the place of his earlier concern.
“How do you know that?” he answered. “Who was he, Rose? Did you meet him in the village today? Or was he there last night too?”
The Doctor trailed off and bit his lower lip before crossing his arms, making Rose go on the offensive.
“You know I was dreamin’ last night!” she shot back. “You think I’m lying to you? And frankly, I’m not sure if I should tell you anything else if this is the way you’re going to react!”
Rose stomped her foot before storming off toward the village, leaving the Doctor to metaphorically kick himself in her wake. He’d never meant to say anything hurtful or make her think he didn’t believe her. He’d just seen her with that strange man and reacted instinctively to protect her.
“Rose, wait!” he shouted as he ran to follow her.
From the forest behind them, a shadowy figure peered around one of the large trees and frowned darkly.
"So close," he whispered, his bright eyes flashing angrily.