Elizabeth didn't hear the footsteps coming down the stairs as she scrubbed one of the bowls in the Healer's Wing, nor did she hear the cautious knock that was given before the door opened. Her mind had been so focused on Jamie, that she didn't notice that she had been cleaning the same pot for the past few minutes.

Everything was different now and Elizabeth knew that it was true. Nothing would ever be the same, but what was she supposed to do?

"Elizabeth," Elizabeth gasped and swung around, dropping the bowl and wincing when the shatter echoed through the room.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Claire apologized as she made a move to pick up the broken pieces of ceramic, but stopped when Elizabeth held up her hand.

"It's quite fine, lass." Elizabeth smiled before bending down to pick up the pieces, "You're not the only one to blame for this mess."

Claire nodded hesitantly but made no move to come closer. Since Claire's arrival three months or so ago, it had seemed that Elizabeth was finally opening it up. It wasn't a fast process, Claire noted as she watched Elizabeth throw the broken bowl away, but it was worth the while. Ever since Claire had found out that Elizabeth and Jamie were married, she wanted to know more about her. Claire couldn't picture a man like Jamie being married to a woman with such a cold exterior and Claire knew that Elizabeth was just using it as a defense.

"How can I help you?" Elizabeth asked as she brushed her hands off before looking up at Claire.

"I was wondering," Claire looked around the medium-sized room, eyes taking in every detail, "If you can teach me about the medicine here?"

Elizabeth's ears perked at Claire's comment and she stared at the older woman in front of her. Elizabeth already had an inkling that Claire had had some sort of past with medicine, for she had seen the wrap that she had made Jamie, but she didn't know to what extent her knowledge was. A part of her had greatly wanted Claire to ask her about the herbs and roots she had used over the years because she wanted to get to know Claire for who she really was; after all, Claire did save her husband. However, another part of her wanted Claire to keep as far away from her as possible because she still found Claire a threat. Elizabeth wasn't going to lie, she knew that Claire was considered a very attractive woman, she had heard the remarks the men around the castle had made. And at the same time, she had arrived in very inappropriate clothes on the same horse as Jamie.

"Um, sure," Elizabeth said before reaching for the open book she had left on the table. Picking it up, she walked over towards Claire and handed her the open book. "There are many different roots and herbs around the castle and in the field around the village that are very useful. If you are every confused on how to concoct something, everything I've learned can be found in here. Here," Elizabeth's eyes quickly scrolled through the handwriting before landing on a note, "For a headache, take ye one ball of horse dung. It is to be carefully dried."

Elizabeth turned away from Claire and allowed her time to read some of her mother's notes as she filled up a metal pot with icy water. Struggling slightly, Elizabeth hung the pot over the low fire before adding more wood, knowing that she would need many sterilized clothes and clean materials. She had lived here long enough to know that on preparation days most of the accidents occurred.

"Claire," Elizabeth called as she held a small, grey jar in her hand, "Do ye happen to know what slaters are?"

"Slaters?" Claire questioned as she took the jar from Elizabeth's hand and turned to around. Quickly taking the lid off, Claire tilted the jar and shook out the contents before shrieking with a jump, dropping all the slaters onto the floor, much to Elizabeth's distaste as she dropped to the floor to pick them up. "Woodlice. Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ!"

"What was that?" Elizabeth asked, quickly stuffing the slaters into the jar and cursing when she saw some of them slip through the cracks in the wood.

Alongside the jars of pigeons' blood, ant eggs, and powdered human skull, whose, I wondered and not even Elizabeth knew, there were a number of herbs and extractions in Elizabeth's collection that might actually be helpful.

~8~

"Claire," Elizabeth said as she rushed down into the kitchen, trying to find her new helper. She had sent that girl off on one task and she had not returned for half an hour. Stopping as she entered the entrance of the kitchen, Elizabeth crossed her arms as she stared at Claire who was busily talking to Glenna.

"Claire," Elizabeth drawled, finally catching the attention of the two older women, "Mackenzie's waiting."

The two left the kitchen, walking quickly but not too fast to catch the attention of someone. Elizabeth had been taking care of the Mackenzie leader since she began working at the castle, but she had to earn his trust first. No one had believed that she was married to the leader's nephew until she had shown them the ring that was hanging on a piece of rope around her neck. The ring that had been Jamie's mother's. She opened the chamber door and ushered Claire inside before gently closing it and rushing back down the stairs to grab some clean clothes.

As she headed back up the stairs, Elizabeth quickly slammed her body against the side as a tailor ran down the steps, not noticing (or caring) that she was on the staircase. Elizabeth opened the door and walked in, smiling slightly when she saw that Colum was laying on the table and Claire was standing above him, ready to give him his massage.

"I massaged the base of your spine." Elizabeth heard Claire finish and she stared at her in confusion. Placing the clothes in the boiling fire, Elizabeth raised her eyebrow as she noticed that Colum had allowed Claire to massage the base of his spine.

"I offered to do that for ye years ago." Elizabeth commented as she tilted her head to the side, confused on why Colum was allowing Claire to massage him there. Sure, she had to see his backside, but it's not like she hadn't seen one before. Being a healer meant that sometimes you saw things you didn't want to see.

"Aye, but I didn't find it appropriate for my nephew's wife to staring at my ass." Colum remarked, giving a little chuckle at the end. Elizabeth rolled her eyes as she stirred the clothes in the water.

"Why would I stare at your ass?" Elizabeth questioned, glancing at Colum before muttering to herself, "When I can stare at Jamie's."

~8~

Elizabeth fidgeted in her seat as she took a sip of her wine. She was looking for Jamie through the crowd, though she was trying to be as discreet as possible, and she could feel her heart fluttering in her chest. After having a long talk with Glenna, who Elizabeth had stared to look up to as a mother, Elizabeth realized that Jamie wasn't the type of man to have an affair behind her back. He was only trying to do the right thing. So, with Claire to her left, Elizabeth subconsciously scooched away from the older woman, making room for Jamie.

Elizabeth's eyes connected with Jamie's and she gave him a smile, her smile growing when he returned it and headed towards her. Elizabeth couldn't help but check her dress and try to smooth any crinkles that could be there.

"Laoghaire. Mrs. Beauchamp. Liza." Jamie greeted as he sat in the cleared spot that Elizabeth had made for him. As the music started to play, Elizabeth's cheeks flushed as she felt Jamie's warm, rough hands grab her soft, but rough from work, ones. Jamie lazily drew circles on her knuckles as he listened to the music, enjoying being able to touch Elizabeth after all the years they spent apart.

Elizabeth wasn't aware of Laoghaire's flirting for she was too busy listening to the music that was being played. It reminded her of when her mother was alive and used to sing to her and her sister while they cleaned the house. Elizabeth thought her mother's voice had to be the best voice she had ever heard. It gracefully floated through her ears and she never sounded out of tune. Turning to Jamie, who had just finished conversing with Claire, Elizabeth held up her half-filled glass to him, silently offering him the rest of her drink. He accepted with a nod and glanced at Laoghaire from the corner of his eye.

"This dressing's been chafing me for days." Jamie whispered in Elizabeth's ear once the music ended and she looked at him, "Would you mind helping me with it?"

"Now?" Elizabeth asked as she raised her eyebrow at him, knowing that he could have come in any day for her to help him. Jamie raised his eyebrow and Elizabeth sighed, "All right, come."

Jamie followed Elizabeth out of the room, glaring at the men whose eyes landed a little too low for his liking. The walk up to the healer's wing was silent and the when the two entered the room, they headed different directions.

"I don't know why ye didn't come earlier," Elizabeth said as she grabbed a fresh linen and quickly dunked it in the warm pot, "I would've helped ye earlier."

Turning around, Elizabeth jumped in surprise when she saw that Jamie wasn't sitting on the stool but was resting on the wall next to her and was staring at her with a soft expression. Her eyes fluttered over Jamie's body as her mind calculated what was going on.

"Your dressing hasn't been bothering you, has it?" Elizabeth asked as she stared at Jamie who gave her a cheeky smirk, which caused her to blush.

"I've missed you, mo ghrá." Jamie's voice was low and it was then that Elizabeth truly looked into Jamie's eyes and took account of all the emotions that were swirling in them. Taking large steps, Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Jamie and pulled him close, smiling when he tightened the hug.

"I've missed you too, Jamie."

And with one quick motion, Jamie tilted Elizabeth's face and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

The bed was oddly warm which contrasted to all the nights she had slept in it cold. An odd weight laid heavily on her waist and for a moment, Elizabeth feared that someone had crept into her room while she had been sleeping. Elizabeth tensed in fear when the arm hugged her tighter and brought her closer to the warm, muscular body, and she readied her fist, about to fight the person, when an earthy smell met her nose. She knew that smell, for she had woken up to that sent many times before. It was a soothing combination of fresh soil, right after it had rained, mixed with lavender- the lavender oils that she always bought to wear.

Jamie, her mind sighed, and she subconsciously relaxed into the naked body next to her, remembering their previous night together. Oh, how much she had missed him and when she finally caved into his embrace, well, that's not a story for other's ears.

Elizabeth's heart pounded as she tried to slip out of bed without Jamie noticing, and when she did, the pounding drum relaxed back into a smooth, steady beat. Elizabeth dressed quickly for she did not want to be late or others would notice and ask questions. Questions that she was not allowed to answer. Taking one last glance at her husband- her fear céile- Elizabeth quietly shut the door and hurried down the hall. Huffing, Elizabeth yanked the front of her dress up so that it no longer got caught between her legs, the old, blue fabric, she noted, needed repair desperately. She needed to get to Glenna's house today as quickly as she could. Glenna had told her that one of her nephews- Elizabeth thought it was her nephew but Glenna had such a big family it was sometimes hard to keep track- was going to be exorcised. But, Elizabeth knew better. Her nephew wasn't possessed, he was just ill. She had seen a person possessed once, and it did not look like her nephew.

"Claire!" Elizabeth called as she spotted the raven-haired beauty walking down the pathway. The harsh wind bit at Elizabeth's face but she ignored it and hurried over to Claire. "We're going to Glenna's house."

"But, why?" Claire asked, trying to keep up with the short woman's stride. The look of determination set on Elizabeth's face was unlike any look she had seen before. She knew about Glenna's family issues, and she also knew that Dougal wouldn't be too happy with her helping, "Why do you need me?"

"Ye know why." Elizabeth said, exasperated, but not bothering to look at Claire as they made their way down the cobblestone road, "You're different, Claire Beauchamp, and I don't know why, but, currently, I don't care. Your medical skills rival mine, maybe they're even better, but right now, there's a child who needs help, and you know what they need."

To say that Claire was shocked was an understatement. She had never thought that Elizabeth would speak such kind words to her- or even give her a compliment for the matter. But what worried her the most was that Elizabeth knew Claire was different. Even though everyone knew that she didn't belong here, Elizabeth knew that she didn't belong here. Claire had caught Elizabeth eyeing her as mixed different herbs into concoctions she had never seen before, or the surprise on her face when she was able to cure someone with a 'deadly' disease.

Elizabeth gently opened the door, allowing Claire to go in first, before closing the door softly behind her. Racing over to the bed where the child laid, Elizabeth placed her hand on his forehead as Claire spoke to Glenna. She heard snippets of their conversation but paid no mind to them, too focused on finding out what 'demon' was plaguing these children. Elizabeth turned away and let Claire look over the boy as she looked around the house for a bowl or cup. Luckily, Claire had brought a basket filled with herbs with her and, by the looks of it, they were exactly what Elizabeth needed. Now, if only she could find the water.

"He needs to be let out." Elizabeth heard Claire exclaim to Glenna as she tried to find water. So much was happening. The priest had arrived, the boy was being exorcised, Glenna wasn't listening, and she couldn't find the damned water! "Please, let me help him."

Elizabeth turned to Glenna and raised the bowl with the herbs in one hand while she pointed to Claire in another, "Glenna, tá sí cruthaithe í féin. Cuir in iúl di chabhair. Tá súil agam léi,"

When Glenna gave no response, and stared at Claire warily, Elizabeth relaxed the arm that held the bowl before dumping the herbs into Claire's basket. Without another word, Elizabeth sighed heavily before walking out the door, letting it slam behind her and not caring to heed to Claire's calls for her to slow down and stop.

~8~

"I must go, Jamie." Elizabeth whispered before Jamie's lips crashed down upon hers once again, moving rather hungrily. The two stood behind a pillar so no one could see them and Elizabeth was just about to get lost in the kiss when she heard footsteps heading towards them. "Jamie, I must go."

"Can I come with ye?" Jamie whispered against her lip, pecking them softly, and Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Peeking around the corner, Elizabeth made sure that no one was there before nodding.

"Yes, but we need to go now."

The two strolled down the cobblestone road as they looked for Geillis Duncan's home, a woman whom Claire had become quite fond of. Elizabeth pitied the fact that Claire seemed to have a hard time making friends with the staff and didn't mention her disappearance. The only reason she was getting her now was because Dougal was heading back home and she didn't want to see Claire get berated by him again for misbehaving and so forth.

"Mistress Duncan. Mistress Beauchamp." Jamie's deep voice rumbled as he greeted the two women in the room, both noticing how he stepped to the side to cover Elizabeth's body from Geillis's view, but not bothering to say anything. If Elizabeth noticed, she didn't comment, it wasn't uncommon for people to wary of Geillis Duncan.

"Dougal was called back to Leoch," Elizabeth said, stepping partially outside Jamie's stance, "I thought it'd be best to come and get ye now."

"Mistress Beauchamp was just about to tell me of her unusual upbringing." Geillis said cheerfully and Elizabeth took a step back when she noticed Geillis's eyes flicker to her stomach, "I'm sure it's a good story. Why don't you have a glass of port and listen in?"

Elizabeth had been told the Geillis could see the future.

"More time, we would," Jamie glanced back to Elizabeth and noticed the distracted look on her face as she stared at Geillis's bright smile. Frowning, he turned back to face Geillis, "But we should leave, or we'll get naught but scraps for our dinner."

"Come, Elizabeth." The use of her full name caught Elizabeth's attention and she snapped out of whatever daze she had been in. They were already outside, but Elizabeth didn't remember leaving the house, nor did she remember Claire saying good bye.

"How much longer do you think he'll have to stay there?" Claire's voice was sharp, causing Elizabeth to look over to her with wide eyes. Claire's tone was bitter and spiteful, something Elizabeth had never heard before from Claire.

"He can leave anytime he wants. His hour is done." Jamie said, staring at the young boy sitting on the log. "It's just the lad's not got the courage to tear his ear from the nail."

"You mean he has to tear himself loose?" Claire asked, shocked at how barbaric the punishment was for such a young boy.

"Aye." Elizabeth's voice was soft as she gazed at the child, Geillis's actions playing over in her head, "He's just a bit nervous. He's probably seen this many times before, but I'm sure he'll be free soon."

Elizabeth's head was spinning and her heart was pounding. She didn't understand what was going on or what was causing her to act like this. Elizabeth turned to Jamie with wide eyes. "I'll be right back. Go one ahead without me, I'll meet ye at supper."

She was racing down the streets before Jamie could say anything and when she came across the furnished wooden door, Elizabeth gave three harsh knocks. The surprise in Geillis's eyes was apparent, but Elizabeth could care less.

"Ye know something important."