Chapter 1: Into the Rabbit Hole

Jamie looked at Claire with tears in his eyes. "Ye must go now. It isna safe here. Ye *must* keep the bairn safe." He placed his hand on her still flat stomach, as tears fell from her face. She wrapped her arms around him, kissing him desperately.

After a moment, she pulled back, sobbing. "I can't leave without you. You must come with me Jamie! We can have a life together. There's no life for me, without you!"

This scene had been tearing his heart out. The agonizing minutes stretching on and on. He kissed her then, urgently. His hands running over her body, then squeezing her so tight to him that she couldn't breathe.

"It is time, Claire. Go now, and know that you are my heart and the breath of my body. I will die today on that battlefield, but I will find you, Claire. Death canna stop me loving ye. Somehow, somewhere, sometime, I will find you."

As he spoke, he had been walking her towards the stone. Claire realized at that moment that she was only a few inches away from that blasted stone. "Jamie! You must come with me!"

"Ye know I canna…" Just then, his face took on a strange expression, as if something was distracting him.

Claire watched him for a moment, puzzled, but then, recognition dawned on her face. "You can hear them, can't you? The stones! Don't you know what this means? Oh, Jamie, you can go with me! You hear them! I can see it in your eyes."

He looked at her, mystified . "Aye. Aye, I can, but…"

She could see the indecision on his face. "Jamie, all that awaits you here is death. I know you are an honorable man, but you cannot sacrifice yourself for the sake of honor. Not when you can be saved. Don't you want to see your child born? You must live, Jamie! You *must* come with me!"

She took his hand, bringing him closer. A shot rang out nearby - they had been spotted by a redcoat, clammering up the hill towards them. "Jamie, there's no more time. We are going!"

With that, she pulled him with all her strength and they fell purposefully into the stone.

Horrific, disjointed visions. Screams everywhere. Jamie felt like his body was being torn apart, piece by bloody piece. Then, after what seemed like a lifetime, but was, in fact, only a few seconds, it was over. Now *he* was screaming - in terror, in fear. He couldn't believe that Claire had done this twice! For long moments, he lay there, feeling the pieces coalesce. Eventually, he was whole again. His breath came fast, but started slowing as he started coming to his senses.

Claire! Did she...make it? He sat up quickly. A big mistake. After his head stopped spinning, he finally opened his eyes. The hill of Craig Na Dun looked very much the same. Had they actually travelled at all?

He saw movement in the corner of his eye. It was Claire, staggering towards him from behind a tree. He cried out, "Claire! Oh my love. You are alive!"

She collapsed in front of him, reaching out to touch his trembling hand. "Yes, I am alive. We both are alive!" Her face broke out in a smile, the excitement building in her expression. "We are together - and alive!"

She launched herself on him and they fell back onto the ground, kissing and crying, holding each other close. They were together. Alive and well. Love had, quite literally, stood the test of time.

After they had kissed for what seemed a very long time, they sat up again, looking at their surroundings.

"Are we back in yer time, then?" Jamie asked, curiously.

Claire looked around, trying to get her bearings. "I...don't know. I'm not really sure how the stones work. If it is always 200 years, like in the fairy stories, then I would suppose so. It should be around 1947, I should think, if time continues on as usual.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. What am I going to do with myself here, Claire? I dinna ken a thing about the future."

"Don't worry, my love, you have me to guide you. I think you will like it, once you get used to it."

"Aye? Weel, I hope so. Anyway, it doesna matter. I want to be with ye, wherever and whenever ye are."

He kissed her again, softly, then rose to his feet. He reached a hand down to help her up. They stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what to do next.

"There should be a road, just at the bottom of the hill. At least, there was in 1945. If we follow it, we can walk to Inverness." She took his hand in hers and said, "Let's go."

As they walked down the hill, everything still looked much the same, but once they reached the bottom, something was different. Looking around, Claire saw that the road did not have the smooth blacktop surface that she had expected. It was made of crushed stone.

"Hmm," Claire said, puzzled.

"What is it mo nighean donn?"

She looked at him and said, "I don't think we are in my time, Jamie."

"What makes ye think so?"

She told him about the road, but he couldn't quite imagine what a smooth road would look like. From his frame of reference, the road looked much the same as it might have in his time, although the stone was a bit different.

"Something's not quite right here. I guess there's no way to know until we get to Inverness. Surely there will be a clue there," she said, walking toward the road.

Jamie followed and they began walking beside the road, hand in hand, walking towards their future.

They had walked a long time when they saw the faint outlines of buildings. It must be the city. Even from this distance, they could see that Inverness was not quite the same as they had seen it just a day ago.

They walked on, until they reached the outskirts of town, staying in the shadows as much as possible. They didn't know where and when they were and didn't want to draw attention to themselves until they knew what was going on. Here, the crushed stone of the road was replaced by smooth stone bricks - definitely an improvement.

They made it to the central part of the city, peeking around the corner of a tall building. It looked new and was way more opulent than the centuries-old buildings nearby. Jamie recognized the old buildings. Claire recognized the new ones, too, but she noted that there were still many missing.

"It looks like we've travelled to a time before mine. And I think…"

Just then, a carriage drove by, led by two sleek, black horses, with bridles that dinged like little bells. Across the street, a woman stepped out of a dressmaker's shop wearing a long gown with a high neck and ruffles. She wore black gloves and a jaunty little hat atop her head.

"Jamie, I think we are in the 1800's, probably during Queen Victoria's reign."

"Queen Victoria? She rules England and Scotland?"

"Yes, and about everywhere else as well. From what I remember from my history classes, Victoria spread out her forces and claimed many countries throughout the world, in the name of the British empire."

"British empire? That sounds ominous," Jamie said.

"Indeed. But Victoria also brought about great prosperity throughout this part of Europe. Did you notice these new buildings? They have rich marble, fountains, and other touches that are quite expensive."

Jamie looked around in awe. "Aye, I see that. It's almost like being at Versailles again. I wouldna have imagined such a thing in Scotland."

Having determined that their attire wasn't altogether inappropriate for the time, albeit a bit old-fashioned, they walked cautiously down the street, aware of the curious stares they received. Still, they held their heads high.

"I think we should find lodgings as soon as possible, so we can figure out what we are to do," Jamie said. "I dinna ken what to make of all of this."

"Me neither. But whatever we do, we will do it together."

Jamie bent to kiss her softly as they strolled down the street hand in hand.