I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Outlander". Well, I thought 3x06 was pretty good, especially the second half of the episode. I got this idea for a story watching the reunion episode, I hope you enjoy my first attempt at a multi-chapter story for this fandom. This will be a Future Fiction. Thanks for reading.
Time is Relative
Chapter 1
The Lost Picture
Brianna Randall walks into her house after a long day at work. Her job at the History Museum can be difficult, but she absolutely loves it. She's always loved history, especially from an architectural standpoint, but recently, her vetted interest in history has to do with her parents. Brianna's been following Jamie and Claire Fraser's whereabouts for a little over a year now. As far as she can tell, they traveled around for a few months, before finally settling in the American Colonies. She's glad their together, but she'd be lying if she said she doesn't miss her mother, more than she ever thought she would. Growing up, she had never been close to her mother because she had always kept a distance. Emotionally and Physically. It had hurt Brianna because she hadn't understood why her mother had shut her out. Then, a two years ago, everything became crystal clear. Her mother had been distant because she was living a half-life without her soulmate. She was physically in the present, but her heart was in the past with Jamie Fraser.
Jamie, that name means so much, yet so little to her. He's her biological father, but only in name. It often unnerves Brianna that she's living in the wrong time, with the wrong name. Her identity is split between two times and between two fathers. Brianna makes her way to the kitchen and prays that Roger gets back from his trip to Scotland soon. He had gone to oversee the sale of his father's inn, but hopefully will be back in a day or two. Brianna misses his presence terribly, but she'd never tell him how terribly. She smiles, as she makes her way to the refrigerator and grabs some leftover lasagna from the night before. Brianna grabs the Tupperware and puts the cold food on a plate. She sticks it in the microwave and sets the timer.
The phone rings and she quickly rushes into the foyer to answer. Hoping it's Roger calling, she grabs the phone with haste. "Hello." There's a lot of background noise and she wonders if this is a prank call. "Hello, is anyone there?" Another moment passes, before she decides to hang up the phone. She's just taken the phone away from her ear, when a voice booms out. "Bree, I need to talk to you." Brianna recognizes the person on the other end immediately. "Joe, is everything okay?" More silence on the other end causes anxiety to sweep through her. "What is it?" Joe sighs on the and her heart speeds up in anticipation. "It's…your mom." Brianna nearly drops the phone to the ground. Her mother, how is that even possible? She's supposed to be in the 18th century, unless… "What happened?" Another pause and more background noise drowns out everything else on the other end. "I have to go Bree, I'll explain everything, when you get here." The line goes dead and her lasagna is forgotten. Brianna has to get to her mother, she just has to.
Brianna runs at least ten stoplights to get to the hospital. She's surprised that the police aren't after her, as she speeds into a parking space. Her heart is hammering within her chest, as she gets out of her car, and rushes through the hospital's double doors. When she had been a child, she had hated this place. Brianna had always felt like the hospital was what had taken her mother away from her. Her time, her attention, and her life. She makes it to the emergency wing and the smell of antiseptic immediately invades her nostrils. Brianna quickly walks over to the front desk. "How can I help you?" She takes a breath to try and calm her nerves. It doesn't do a bit of good. "I'm looking for my mother, Claire Randall." The nurse's eyes look from her files of paperwork on her desk and meet hers. "Dr. Abernathy is expecting you, follow me." The nurse starts rushing down the hallway and they quickly enter the double doors at the end of the corridor. Brianna's heart is pounding so fast, she can feel the pulsation within her ears. They walk halfway down the hallway and stop at room 325. The nurse opens the door and Brianna finds herself holding her breath. The sensation makes her feel lightheaded.
Then, her whole world comes crashing down, like a structure made of building blocks. Her mother's face is scarred and her eyes are bruised. There's a cast on her leg, which appears to be broken. The battered sight of her mother makes her feel ill. She can hardly believe that something so horrific has happened to her. "Bree." Brianna's taken out of her thoughts and turns to Joe standing at the edge of the bed. She had been so focused on her mother, she hadn't noticed he was there. "I wish I had better news, but it appears that your mother is in a comatose state. We're not sure how much damage has been done, but it's not looking too good." Brianna feels like she's frozen and can't comprehend what's happening. Her brilliant mother, Dr. Claire Randall, is in a coma that may be irreversible. That thought alone, makes her want to scream to whoever's listening to save her mother, make her come back. Brianna notices the tears in Joe's eyes for the first time and her heart aches. The notion that her mother may indefinitely be lost to her is more of a reality now, than it had been, when she had gone back through the stones.
Brianna sits down in the chair next to her mother. She can feel Joe's eyes burning into her and wishes they could have met under better circumstances. "How did you find her?" Her eyes lock with his from across the bed. "We didn't, someone brought her in." Brianna's heart stops at his words and her curiosity becomes insatiable. "Who?" She watches Joe check her mother's vitals and then her chart. Moments later, his eyes find hers once more. "He wouldn't tell us his name, but he did drop something, when he left that I think you should see." Brianna feels a strange feeling at the pit of her stomach, as he reaches into his coat pocket. He makes his way towards her and passes it over. The moment her eyes focus on the object, her breath catches and everything else fades from view around her. It's a picture, tattered around the edges, but still completely intact.
The picture in question is of her, during winter in Boston a few years back, holding an ax. She remembers her mother taking this picture and wonders how it got to the 18th century. Had she brought it back to remember her by, or had it been for Jamie? Brianna's eyes snap back towards Joe's and all the proverbial puzzle pieces seem to come together effortlessly. "I know who the man was, my father, James Fraser." Brianna knows she needs to find him and hopes he hasn't strayed too far from the hospital. She could only imagine how much trouble an 18th century Highlander could get into in 20th century America.