Welcome To Farringham
"Ahh," John said sniffing the air. "Smell that fresh country air," he continued as he hopped off the back of the cart. "I'm telling you, Martha," John said as he held his hand out to help his companion down from the cart, "the fresh air of the countryside will do us some good. Being around all those fumes in London isn't doing anyone any good."
"I guess so," Martha replied hesitantly as she took in her surroundings which consisted of miles and miles of open fields. This was one adventure that she was not looking forwards to. Firstly, she was going to have to babysit the human Doctor for who knows how long; secondly, she was going to have to spend that time in a time-period before woman were given the right to vote. And thirdly, she was now going to have to spend that time in the middle of nowhere, where all she could smell was manure. "Smells, fresh," Martha agreed at a loss for words.
John could only offer a sympathetic smile; he knew that Martha was not happy about their sudden change of locations. "You know," John began as he finished offloading their luggage from the back of the cart and paying the driver, "you didn't have to come with me this time," John offered. "It's not too late for you to head back to London and find employment elsewhere?"
"No, no," Martha was quick to reply, not wanting to be away from the Doctor… er John, as she would have to get used to calling him. "I like being your maid, Mr Smith, really I do," Martha reassured him with a smile. "I know you needed a change and I'm sure in the long run, it will be good for me as well." Martha just had to keep reminding herself that it would not be for long. This situation was only temporary until the family had died. Three months, she reminded herself once again, like mayflies the Doctor had said. "Now," Martha began as she picked up her two suitcases by the handles, "why don't you lead the way to the school."
"Very well," John replied as he picked up the handles of his two cases, "this way," he gestured as he began to lead the way down a gravel path. John smiled to himself as the gates to their new home came into view. "Here we are," he announced as he approached the gates, his family maid following not far behind. "Farringham School for Boys," he declared as he opened the gates, "our new adventure begins…"
– Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf –
Six days, Martha sulked, it had been six days since they had arrived at Farringham. Almost one week they had been here, and Martha was no where near not even close to getting where she wanted to be with her plan. She had hoped to use their time here to get the human Doctor, or 'John' as he was calling himself, to fall in love with her. She still hoped that he would forget about Rose and would see that she was the logical options. But all she had gotten so far was dirty linen and racial slurs spat at her by some of the elder students. Martha could not wait for their time to be over, and she could tell some of those brats what she really thought of them. Martha just had to keep reminding herself it would only be three months.
Although, she couldn't complain too much, since starting at the school Martha had made some friends in her fellow maid staff; one of them being her roommate, Jenny. Jenny wasn't very book smart, but what she lacked in knowledge she made up for in spirit. Whenever a student made a derogatory comment towards her, Jenny was always there to cheer her up or to offer a shoulder to cry on. Martha hoped that they would be able to remain friends when the time was over, and she would be able to show her some of the wonders of the universe.
Since she had started as a maid at the school, she had learned which teachers were friendly and appreciative of her work when she brought them their breakfasts and offered to tidy their things. She had also learnt which teachers to steer as clear from as they weren't the most welcoming of faculty members. She had also learnt to finish her duties as quickly as she was able for those teachers so she could remain on their semi-good side. One faculty member that Martha was not fond of was the Matron. Ever since she had sneered down at her, with a look that said, 'I'm better than you.' Martha had tried to avoid her, for fear she would tell the good Matron exactly what she thought of her.
Since starting at the school, she had learnt that the maid staff were splint into two shifts, morning shifts and evening shifts. The morning shifts would be in charge of serving the morning breakfast trays to the faculty members; doing a quick tidying the teachers' studies; collecting the linen; washing a scrubbing the floors; and putting away the previous days linen that had been washed by the evening shift. The evening shifts would be in charge of serving the evening tea trays to the faculty; washing, drying and folding all of the linen ready for the day shift to make the beds and place the teacher's laundry away. They would also be in charge of making sure that the teacher's private studies are cleaned and organised by the evening; as well as making sure that all of the floors were scrubbed once again after the boys had finished with their outdoor sports. The day shift would start at five in the morning and end at two in the afternoon. The evenings however started at two in the afternoon and finished at eleven at night.
Even though the shifts were both the same number of hours; Martha volunteered to be a part of the morning shift. She was always an early bird, even as a child. She hoped that be finishing her duties by mid-afternoon, it would aloe her more free time to keep an eye out for the Family. It would also allow her more time to herself and helped to keep her away from the school kids as they were stuck in class all day.
Whilst there were bad sides to Martha's new role as one of the school maids, there was also positives as well. One of them being that the schedule allowed her more free time in the evenings to work on her plan to get the human Doctor to fall in love with her so that when he wakes up, he will see how perfect they are for each other. Another being that one of the teachers she gave to morning breakfast trays, just so happened to be one Mr Smith. Martha couldn't help but chuckle at the memory of a flustered John this morning when she had entered his room, and he was still dressed in his nightwear. She hoped that she would be able to see him flustered once again for an entirely different reason soon.
– Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf –
John had only arrived at the school five days previously and was already settling into his new life quite nicely. He was even beginning to make friends with some of the faculty members. When he had first arrived, John was shown to his private room and study and was given a schedule of his time there. Mondays through Thursday, he was to teach history to the students. Friday morning, he was to assists the school's artillery teacher on the grounds. Although John was opposed to violence, he acknowledged that this was a military school and accepted that he would have to teach some form of combat.
As today was now Thursday, John's schedule was free from midafternoon. This made his happy as it allowed him time to himself to gather books to help plan the next weeks lessons. John had currently finished accumulating books from the library, and he hoped that the school would employ a librarian to sort out the mess that was the library so it would be easier to find the books of his choosing. Making his way back to his study, John could barely see above the stack of books and hoped to god that he would not bump into anyone. John's pleas must have fell on deaf ears as he crashed into an unknows person, his books flying everywhere as he landed ungracefully on his behind. John quickly looked up to see who had crashed into and to make sure that he had not caused them any harm.
Looking up, John was met with the face of a rather attractive woman in her late thirties, who had also been knocked to the ground during their collision. "Oh, my Lord, I am so sorry," John apologised as he hurried to his feet and offered out his hand. "Here, let me help you up," he offered, ever the gentleman.
"Thank you," the woman replied gratefully taking his hand as he helped her to her feet. "You must be Mr Smith."
"John Smith," he introduced himself as he bent down to place a gentle kiss upon the back of her hand. "And you are?" he asked eagerly wanting to know who she was.
"Matron Redfern," she introduced herself, trying to hide the blush on her face. "But you can call me Nurse Joan."
"I must apologise once again for crashing into you," John apologised once more as he bent down to collect his books. This time he made sure his books were more secure in two piles so he would be able to see where he was walking.
"No, worries," Nurse Joan reassured him, "no harm done."
"I'm sure I will be seeing you around," John smiled hoping that he would see the attractive woman again soon. "I am quite accident prone," he joked.
"I will make sure that my office is free to patch you up whenever you injure yourself if that is the case," Joan joked back. "I must be going but it was nice meeting you Mr Smith."
"And you, Nurse Joan," John smiled as he watched the woman walk away and down the staircase. When she was out of sight, John hurried back to his study, with a dopy smile on his face. It had been a long time since John had a crush on anyone. But for some reason as John began to consider attempting to pursue a romantic relationship with the Matron, he felt an aching in his chest. Like he was betraying his heart. Later that night as John began to slip into a dream state, he began to have the most wonderful dream.
– Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf –
John was sat on a bench watching as the sun set over the River Thames. "It's beautiful," breathed a voice next to him. He couldn't believe how perfect that voice sounded, like bells. He turned to see who the voice belonged to only to be disappointed that the wind was blowing to woman's golden hair all around her, blocking him from seeing her face.
"It really is," John declared looking at the woman rather than the view in front of them. "Absolutely perfect," he stated willing the woman to look at him. John's heart began to swell as the mysterious beauty turned towards him. Disappointment began to briefly fill him when he realised that the sun was shining too brightly behind the woman for him to clearly see her face. That didn't matter for long because before he knew what was happening, he was leaning towards this mysterious woman, his lips inching ever closer towards hers. Fear and panic began to fill him as he realised what he was doing was improper behaviour for a man who had just met a woman.
All that fear and panic faded away as heat and desire replaced them when his lips connected with the mysterious woman's. Before John could let his head catch up with his actions, and stop him from continuing this abhorrent behaviour, a feeling of right and familiarity filled him. It was like his lips had been made to fit hers and hers only. When their lips parted for breath, John knew in his head that he should pull away and stop his actions. He didn't even know the woman's name for Christ's sake. In his head he knew that he should pull away and introduce himself. In his head he knew that he should apologise for his less than gentlemanly actions.
What he should not have done was slide one of his arms down her side and around her waist, pulling her closer. What he should not have done was slide his other hand up and into her hair, securing her lips back to his own. What he most definitely should not have done was give her bottom lip a nibble, coaxing her lips open so he could gain access to her mouth. And what he absolutely should not have done was let out a moan as he did this nor should he have shuddered in pleasure when his actions elicited a moan from the golden-haired beauty in his arms.
As their kisses began to slow and they both began to regain their breaths, John began to come up with a million apologies and reasons for the way he acted. However, four little words stopped him from saying anything. He almost couldn't believe what he had heard. "I love you, John," the words kept repeating in his head like a mantra.
Hope and joy and love filled him as he continued to rejoice at hearing those words. His heart was beating so fast, he was sure that it was going to stop any minute as two things became clear to him. The first thing was that he wasn't sure who this mysterious woman was exactly, but he knew that he loved her with all his soul. And two, he knew that he would spend the rest of his life finding out who she was and where he could find her. He knew that the next six words out of his mouth were a promise.
Reaching his hand up to cup the angel's face, he leant closer so that his lips were pressed against her ears, and he whispered those six words. "I love you too, Rose. Forever," he promised as he pulled away and once again pressed his lips to hers.
– Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf – Bad Wolf –
"Rose!" John cried out as he sat up in his bed. It took him a few moments to remember where he was. Ever since he had arrived at the school, John had been having strange dreams each night. Many had been filled with such whimsical stories that John felt he had to record them in his journal so that he wouldn't forget. Each night he had his adventurous dreams, he was always a character called 'the Doctor.' This helped him to differentiate between what was real and what was a dream.
However last night's dream was different. It felt real, in a way that his other dreams hadn't. One startling difference was that in his dream last night he was called 'John,' not 'the Doctor.' Another difference being that the dream didn't feel like a dream. It felt like a memory. He could almost feel how the sun felt on his skin as it shined on him. He could feel how the woman's body felt under his hands. He could taste how she tasted as their lips met in passionate after passionate kiss. And lastly, he could have sworn he had heard that moan before, he was almost positive that sound was engrained in him.
As John began to reminisce the dream, fear struck him as he was already beginning to forget details. He hurriedly reached for his journal that was kept in the top draw of his nightstand and began to scribble the dream onto the pages. He was almost finished documenting the breath-taking dream when fear struck him. Like most of his dreams, if he didn't write them down first thing in the morning, they began to fade, almost like they never happened. One thing that was as clear as day to him when he woke up was the mysterious angel's name, now as he stared blankly at the page, he could not remember what it was. As he continued to look at the pages he had just scribbled in, a small doodle at the bottom of the page stood out. Bringing the book closer to his face, a smile broke out as the image came into view. A beautiful rose was as clear as day at the bottom of the page. A beautiful flower, and a beautiful name.
"Rose," John whispered to himself, "my precious angel." John couldn't help but hope that his mysterious angel was real. He hoped that one day he would be able to find her. John's mind began run wild as he wondered if the reason his dream last night felt so real was because it was actually a memory. John began to search his mind to recoil all his memories of his time in London. Although he remembered attending university in London, his memories of what he got up to in his free time remained blank. He began to wonder if he had sustained a head injury which led to him losing some of his memories.
John was not able to ponder these thoughts for long as a knock interrupted him. "Come in," he called knowing it would just be Martha with his breakfast tray.
"Oh, pardon me, Mr Smith," Martha said hurriedly as she noticed his attire. "You're not dressed yet; I can come back later?" she offered.
"No need, no need," John said as he grabbed his robe to ensure that his bare chest was no longer on show. "You can place the tray down on the desk," he stuttered as his ears turned a cute shade of pink; embarrassed at being caught undressed. John sat silently at his desk, eating his breakfast as he watched Martha tidy his things his mind drifting off into space.
"Umm…," Martha began as she picked up the journal that had fallen onto the floor. "Where does this belong?" she asked. "I've never seen it before."
John looked up, breaking out of his thoughts to see what Martha was holding. This time, John blushed from his ears all the way down his chest as he saw what she was holding. John was sure he had never moved so fast. One moment he was sat at his desk staring off into space, the next he was darting over towards Martha snatching the journal out of her hands. He was almost positive she hadn't been able to get a good luck at what he wrote. "I'll take that," he said as he closed the cover and held it tightly to his chest.
"I'm sorry sir," Martha said hesitantly, almost like a scolded child, "I really didn't mean to pry. I just wondered where it belonged," she whispered. "I didn't mean to be intrusive."
"No, don't worry about it," John reassured her. "I just didn't realise I had left it out," he said as he placed it safely back into the top drawer.
"What is it?" Martha asked her curiosity getting the best of her before she could remember where she was and what time period, she was in. "If you don't mind me asking?"
John smiled at his maid, he even started to think of her as a friend. "I don't mind, Martha, we're friends," he smiled reassuringly. "You can always ask me anything," he promised as he sat back down on his bed and reached into the drawer to retrieve his journal. Placing the book gently onto his lap, he began to explain what was inside his journal. "This is my dream journal," he explained, "it is where I write down each wonderful dream I have. And before you ask no, you can't read it," he smiled knowingly as he saw the look on Martha's face.
"I wasn't going to ask to see it," Martha pouted, knowing that was exactly what she was about to do. "Well, if that is all you need from me," she said as she gathered up the tray, "I had better be off."
It took John less than a minute to gather up his courage and ask Martha the question that was on the tip of his tongue. "Martha wait!" he called as she was almost out the door. "Can I ask you a personal question?" John asked quietly almost afraid of what the answer would be.
"Of course you can," Martha smiled reassuringly at him, not wanting to get her hopes up about what he could ask her. "You can always ask me anything."
"It is a private matter, and I hope that what I am about to ask you stays between us," John explained. Martha felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest seeing the look of love and hope in John's eyes. She was not at all prepared for what came out of John's mouth. "Does the name 'Rose' mean anything to you?" he asked hopefully.
The question really had stumped her. She tried her best to hide her reaction to that name, but John already knew her answer. "No, nothing at all," Martha rushed out in one breath. "Now I must be going, to catch up with the rest of my chores. I'll see you next week, Mr Smith," and before he knew it, she had disappeared from sight.
John couldn't help the smile that broke across his face. Although the answer he received wasn't what he was hoping for. Her reaction certainly filled him with hope. He already knew that he would not be able to get any more out of Martha, but her body language had given plenty away. As soon as he had said the name, Rose, Martha had stiffened up. Clearly the name meant something to her, and she did not want to talk about is. Especially with how quick she changed to subject and left the room. John wasn't an idiot; he knew how his maid felt about him and unfortunately, he did not reciprocate those feeling. He knew that most mornings, Martha would linger as long as she was able to, hoping to spend as much time with him as she could. Her shooting off as quickly as she did today was cause for suspicion. John spent the remainder of the early morning pondering his thoughts and getting ready for his one class.