CHAPTER 18

It had been 5 days since the Porpoise had taken Claire. Captain Raines refused to sail any faster than what felt like a slow crawl through molasses. Skylar was certain he was doing this out of spite. He didn't like Jamie much from the beginning, and she thought he was using this as a way to punish him for pushing back so often and to demonstrate his dominance and control.

The hope and optimism that she had been feeling was nearly gone. She tried to hold onto the last shreds of it as hard as she could, but it was getting increasingly difficult. Instead of only thinking about Ian's safety and being anxious as hell to get him back, she was scared for Claire. She knew plenty well that Claire was a strong and tough woman who was able to defend herself. But she was the only woman on that ship. God forbid she was ganged up on. Even Claire would not be able to fight her way out of that.

The dim silver lining that Skylar clung to was that the amount of injuries sending the men to the surgery had been cut in half or more. Hayes had told her that since she was now the acting surgeon, having any sort of experience whatsoever after having assisted Claire, all of the crew were being extra cautious to not get seriously hurt. He said that they all knew she must be feeling stressed and in over her head without Claire's help, so they didn't want to add to that. Though she believed it was less that and more they didn't trust her nearly as much as they trusted Claire to heal them, she felt indebted to each and every one of them for it.

To say she was stressed about running the surgery didn't reach the half of it. She understood how it was set up and what specific tools and medicines were used for, but to actually use them herself was a whole different story. Though the amount of patients had been low, that didn't mean there were none. She put up with the blood as best as she could, but when there were one or two wounds that were deep enough to need stitches, she called on Willoughby to take care of those while she would put all of her focus on to not passing out.

And then on top of thinking constantly about Ian, Claire and the surgery, she was very worried about Jamie. He hadn't been let out of the galley and she wasn't able to see him. Fergus informed her of this after the first time he saw Jamie.

"What do you mean I can't see him?" she questioned.

"His sea sickness is the worst it has been. He is very angry and is getting sick constantly. He is not in a good way. It isn't something that a young lass should see," he told her.

"You really think I'm gonna get thrown off by puke? Back home, I took care of many a sick kid. I am no stranger to vomit." She remembered the multiple sleepless nights with her small foster siblings when a stomach bug was spreading through them and her foster mom had been too busy with work to help out.

"Sky, please. It's Milord's request that you stay away. He doesn't want you to see him like this. He asked me to beg that you respect that."

She crossed her arms. "Fine. I will respect his unnecessary wish. But I don't have to like it."

That had been three days ago. Fergus went to Jamie at least once a day to give him food and have him see a friendly face. Skylar would ask for details, but he kept saying nothing had changed. Jamie just sat in his cell, not moving and not wanting to eat. They barely spoke when Fergus was there.

Done in the surgery for the day, Skylar was walking back to her cabin when she saw Fergus come up onto the deck.

"Hey!" she called to him. He turned and she went to him.

"How was it today?" She just shrugged. "All the men you've tended to are still alive, so I'd say you're doing pretty well."

She chuckled. "Yeah, I'm a regular Clara Barton."

"Who is Clara Barton?"
"Um…n-no one. Never mind." She quickly switched subjects. "How's Jamie?"

"He's, uh…he's okay."

"Okay?"
"I mean, um, nothing-nothing's changed. He's very worried for Milady and he keeps threatening that he would do anything in order to get her back." He was acting really off. He was wringing his hands together and he kept looking around, like he was looking for someone or making sure people weren't around.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"What?"
"You're acting all fidgety and nervous. Something's wrong. What is it?"

He quickly glanced around again, then came in closer to her. "Milord wants me to help him take the ship."

"What do you mean?"
"I mean, he's asked me to break him out and then we will relieve Captain Raines of his position."

She processed that for a minute, then realized what he was talking about. "You and Jamie want to attempt a mutiny?" she whispered harshly. "That's the most idiotic idea I have ever heard. I hate Raines just as much as you do, and I would love to see him gone. But his men will destroy you."

"It wouldn't just be us. We would have Lesley and Hayes and Willoughby. And I am going to talk to the crew and get as many on our side as possible. It might work."

"Emphasis on 'might.' That is a suicide mission. You're not actually going to go through with that, are you?" He didn't answer her. "Omigod, you are."

"Milord told me that if I do this for him, he will give me his blessing to marry Marsali. Ma soeur, this is the only way we can be together. He will never approve of it otherwise. I love her so much that I am willing to do whatever I must in order to be with her. If you and Ian were not allowed to be together and then someone offered you a way, would you not take it?"
"Ian wouldn't want me to risk my life in some pointless and moronic fight I am sure to lose just to marry him. Just as I would never ask him to do that. If we were given an ultimatum like that, we would do whatever we could to figure out a way around it that isn't dangerous and reckless. Why don't you ask Marsali what she thinks about it? I am certain she'll feel the same way."

"It doesn't have to be doomed. It could work! And then with Raines taking Milord's place in the cell, we can sail as fast as we can to Jamaica and we will get Milady and Ian back."

Skylar took a breath. Seeing that she wasn't going to be able to talk him out of this, she just said, "Do what you want. I'm not in charge of you. But you told me, after I broke down in a panic because everyone I love was being taken from me, you promised that you weren't going anywhere. You said I didn't have to worry, that you would never leave me. And now you're going to get yourself locked up with Jamie, or worse. And Marsali and I will be alone." They stared at each other for a moment more, then she turned and left him standing on the deck.

When she walked into her cabin, she saw Marsali collecting materials to clean Fergus' stump, as she did a few times a week.

"Your husband is being stupid," Skylar told her.

"What's he done?"
"Jamie has convinced him to help form a mutiny against Raines."

An expression of extreme disbelief crossed her face. "I beg yer pardon?"

"Apparently, Jamie said that going along with this is the only way he'll give you two his blessing. So, Fergus agreed."

Marsali sighed and shook her head as she gathered her supplies in her arms. "Well, I'll try te talk some sense inte him."

"Good luck. He wouldn't listen to me."

After Marsali had gone, Skylar collapsed onto her bed. She had never felt so physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. Without even bothering to change out of her dress, she pulled the blankets over her and was asleep within minutes. But she was woken up after what felt like no more than 30 seconds to Marsali running in. Skylar opened her eyes and saw her friend leaning her back against the door. Her cheeks were flushed and she was breathing heavily. Her face held a look of amusement.

"You okay?" Skylar asked her.

"I almost just slept with Fergus."

Skylar sat right up. "Um, explain please."

"Well, I was cleanin' his hand – or actually, not his hand but where his hand should – never mind! Um, and while I was doin' that, he was tellin' me about what ye told me, the mutiny Jamie wants him te be a part of. And I told him how I felt about it, that I didna like it and he was riskin' no bein' wi' me at all if it failed. But I could see there was no talkin' him out of it, and I kissed him. And when I did, I dinna ken what, but somethin' just came over me. I just felt like I needed him right then and there."

"So what happened? Why didn't you?"
"He told me we needed te wait until we were married. He had promised Jamie and he didna want te break that."

"I cannot believe that Fergus said no to laying with a girl, especially it being you."
"He's just like Daddy. Once he gives someone his word, he'll never go back on it. 'Tis one of the best things about him, about both of them."

"Unfortunately, that plays against Jamie also. It's why he's trying to make this insane plan happen. He's so desperate to get to Claire and have her with him safe again because he gave her his word a long time ago that he would protect her from anything at any cost. I know you hate her, Marsali, but you need to see that Jamie loves her so much. He didn't mean to hurt your family, neither did Claire. He just loves her; as much as Fergus loves you, if not double." She could tell Marsali's brain was churning. Hopefully she was letting Skylar's words sink in and actually mean something. "Do you think Fergus is gonna go through with it?"

"I dinna ken. When he left he seemed verra sure about his decision. I hope he doesna though. I dinna want te be left alone surrounded by all these men wi'out protection. Ye see how they look at us. It makes me verra nervous."

"If, God forbid, something should happen that puts both Jamie and Fergus away from us, Hayes and Lesley won't let anyone near us. You can trust them."

And Skylar believed that fully. She knew they were loyal to Jamie and cared for Skylar, and in turn Marsali, so they would do everything in their power to keep them safe. But Skylar couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive thinking about it. She did notice members of the crew giving her lewd looks and making comments as she passed. She didn't want to think about what they would do if both Fergus and Jamie were gone.

Skylar was on high alert all day the next day. Marsali stayed in the surgery with her, both them anxiously waiting to hear any sounds that Jamie's plan was put in action. But nothing happened. It was just another day. The girls were relieved until they realized they were going to be stressed about this again tomorrow. They hadn't seen Fergus all day so they hadn't been able to ask him anything.

That evening, there was a knock on their cabin door. Skylar opened it and there stood Fergus. He didn't look well. He seemed uneasy and he looked paler than usual.

"What's wrong?" she asked, letting him in. He sat on the bench; Marsali stood next to him with her hands on his shoulders and Skylar stood in front of him. "Is Jamie okay? Did Raines find out what you were planning?"

"I told Milord that I would not go along with the mutiny," he told them.

"Oh, thank God," Skylar exhaled as a flood of relief rushed through her body.

"What made ye change ye mind?" Marsali asked him. "Ye seemed so sure about it yesterday."

"I was. And earlier today, I meant to act on it. I went to Captain Raines' quarters to steal the keys to let Milord out of his cell. But when I got there, I heard Raines talking to Warren, Baxley and Manzetti. And the things they were saying…not only about Milord but about…" He looked hard at Skylar and Marsali and they quickly understood. "I wanted to bust in the room and run each of them through. But I knew, hearing them, that no one would join our side and that we stood no chance. I will not leave you two alone." He took Marsali's hand and reached his out to Skylar, which she took. "You two are everything to me. And I would never do anything that would put either of you in harm's way." He looked directly at Skylar as he added, "I'm not going anywhere."

She squeezed his hand and sat next to him. "I assume telling Jamie didn't go well." She reasoned that that was why he looked very distraught and upset.

"He was not happy to say the least. But I told him that I was not going to send him to his death or leave both of you without protection. The risk was far too great and it was not one I would take. And the look in Milord's eyes when I told him that…I feel so awful for disappointing him."

"He'll get over it," Skylar told him. "You saved his life, Fergus. He'll realize that soon enough. He's just blinded by worry over Claire right now. He's indebted to you, mon frere. He just doesn't know it yet."

"I just hate that he's trapped in there like a prisoner. He is not well and his stress is only making his seasickness worse. I feel so guilty. I gave him my word that I would get him out of there, and I broke it. That was the first time I've ever done that."

"Marsali was right. You really are just like him." He looked at her and she smiled at him softly, cupping his face.

Marsali stood up straighter and her face lit up with an idea. "That's it. Jamie never goes back on his word. So, let's have him do just that."

"What do you mean?" Skylar questioned.

"We can convince Captain Raines that Jamie willna rebel and have him swear it. Once he does that, he'll be let out."

"You really think Jamie will give in that easily? That doesn't seem like him."

"If ye and I, Sky, help to encourage Jamie a bit on it, he'll listen. If we can get him te see that it'll help us te have him out, he'll do it."

Agreeing that this was probably the only chance they had to free Jamie, Fergus and Skylar went with Marsali to Captain Raines' quarters without wasting another minute.

With the respect that they were forced to show him, they knocked on his door. He had barely finished saying "come in" before they showed themselves inside.

"And what can I do for you three?" Raines asked, clearly not actually caring about why they were there. He barely glanced up from his maps when they walked in.

"We need to talk to you about Jamie," Skylar answered.

"Let me guess, you want him released." None of them said anything in response, but they didn't lower their stares from him. "I apologize, but I am unable to allow that. That man is a danger to me and my crew, not to mention himself. Neither I, nor my men, trust him enough that if I were to let him out he would not attempt to take over the ship himself."

"I can promise ye that he willna rebel against ye," Marsali told him.

Raines looked up at her. "And how can you be so certain as to assure that?"

"Jamie Fraser is a man of his word. If he swears te ye that he will no fight against ye, he willna go back on it."

The captain chuckled at her idea. "And you expect him to make such a promise? That seems very unlikely. He does not seem like the kind of person who respects an authority figure."

"If you let us talk to him, we'll be able to convince him that this is the best thing for him to do. And if he sees that it'll protect us from any of your men coming after us," Skylar gestured to herself, Fergus and Marsali as she spoke, "he'll do it. We promise. He will not fight you."

The older man opposite them moved his gaze from one to the other to the other, looking for any sign that they would give up this naïve notion. He saw nothing of the kind.

Fergus glanced down at the map on his desk and said, "You need him."

"I beg your pardon, boy?"
"Excuse my bluntness, Captain. But we do not just want him out of his cell for his company. You need him on deck, sir. We are close to land, aye? And we will need to dock there to restock, will we not?"

"I'm listening," Raines said, knowing where Fergus was going with this and he didn't like it.

"When we approach the shore, we're going to deal with the shoals. And they are very difficult to pass through safely. You need everyone you can get to help with that, and Milord is one of the best men you could have with you for it. He is as experienced with sailing difficult waters as you are, and you know that. You need him, Captain."

Skylar saw Raines' chest go out and in with a large breath, trying to find a way out of this.

"Have him give ye his word, and he will be no trouble," Marsali said. "He'll help ye."

He stared at each of them a beat longer, then stood up, took the lantern from his desk, and went to the door. He opened it and stepped out. Turning back to the three, he ordered, "Follow me." He led them down to the gallery where Jamie was being kept. Outside the room, he stopped and said, "You'll get him to swear to me he won't rise up against me."

"We will," Skylar guaranteed. Raines gave a single nod, then continued forward. Fergus went to follow them, But Marsali stopped him.

"I think it would be better if it was just me and Skylar who talk te him, love," she told him. "He was upset wi' ye earlier and if any of those feelin's are still there, it will no help matters."

"Aye," was all he said in response. Marsali squeezed his hand and Skylar touched his arm, and they followed Raines in.

They saw Jamie, still in cell, with his back to them. They saw his head move when they walked inside, so he knew they were there.

"I expect to be in sight of land by dawn," Raines spoke to him.

"What's that te do with me?" Jamie muttered back.

"Passage between the islands is hazardous all year through, but much more so in winter. I need all good and able men if I'm to navigate the shoals."

"So I'm good and able now, am I?"

"Depends on how fast you recover from puking your brains out the last 6 days," Skylar said. Hearing her voice, Jamie sat up straighter and he turned his head slowly around. He only made it halfway around before whipping the rest of the way at seeing both Skylar and Marsali. He got on his knees and hung onto the bars that trapped him.

"What are they doin' here?" he questioned.

"They've persuaded me you'll not rebel," Raines told him.

Without breaking her gaze from her ex-stepfather, Marsali said, "Aye. Ask him te give ye his word. Once he gives it, he'll never break it."

"What are ye doin', lassies?" Jamie said, with a warning tone to his voice.

Marsali continued as she and Skylar walked over to him and got down to eye level with him. "Just give him yer word, and he'll set ye free."

"Now is not the time for stubbornness and pride," Skylar added. "If we want to get to Jamaica, we need you up there with all of us, not locked in this cell."

Jamie didn't say anything, he just tightened his grip on the bars and looked down. He obviously did not want to show any sign of weakness to Captain Raines.

"Ye canna see what he's done fer ye, can ye?" Marsali said.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Raines?"

"No, Fergus."

He didn't understand what she meant. "What Fergus did, he did fer ye, Fer the both'a ye."

"If ye believe that, ye dinna deserve te be let out of here." She looked at him for another moment, then stood up and walked out.

Jamie looked to Skylar about to say something in protest, but she interrupted him, "You're not a fool, Jamie. You know what you need to do. Just do it. We're not going to find Ian and Claire without you. We're not asking you to grovel. Just lose your hardheadedness, put on a good face, and give him your damn word." With that, she walked out as well.

She, Fergus and Marsali stood outside the door in an anxious silence for a few minutes. When they heard footsteps, they looked and saw Raines come out, followed by Jamie. His discomfort in giving in was apparent in his body language; his shoulders were slumped and his eyes looked down as she forced his legs to walk behind Raines. But he also knew that the girls had been right. He needed to do this for Claire and Ian.

"You may have a moment," Raines told the three younger ones. "But as I said, I need all hands." He went back on deck and left them alone.

Jamie slowly approached them. Looking at Fergus and Marsali, he said, "Ye have me blessin'. Ye can be married in Jamaica. By a priest," he added, sternly. He directed this to Fergus, "Ye'll need te prove yerself te her, as much as te me. And then-"

"First, let us get to Jamaica," Fergus said, cutting him off. He was trying to stay serious, but his smile was breaking through.

Jamie looked from him to Skylar. "Thank you," was all she said, but with an overwhelming sense of gratitude and love. He gave her a slight smile and went to join the crew.

When he was gone, Fergus and Marsali turned to each other, overjoyed and ecstatic. When they kissed, they seemed to forget Skylar was there as they started to deeply makeout.

"Hey!" she shouted, which broke them apart. "You're not married yet. Keep your tongues to yourselves."

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Being so close to land, no one slept that night. Though they were of no help, Skylar and Marsali stayed on deck with everyone. They just did their best to stay out of the way. Skylar took a seat at the highest level with Jamie near the steering wheel while Marsali was on the main level, leaning on the ship's railing.

As the sun started to rise, the day did not get much brighter. Clouds covered the sky and it had started to rain. Not heavy enough to be concerned about a storm, but it did affect their vision.

"Keep your eyes sharp men! The less light we have, the harder it is to see where the coral might begin. We don't want to run onto the shoals," Raines called out.

"Looks calm enough ahead, Captain!" Warren called back. "No signs of coral patches and the waves are still a safe size."

"We should slow her down a bit, bring her in easy," Jamie decided. He was looking towards the land through his spyglass. "Hayes! Start sheeting out the main sail!"
"Aye, Mac Dubh!" Hayes answered back from the mast, obviously more than happy to be receiving orders from Jamie again. He added some slack onto the rope that held the main sail and they started to slow. But that didn't last long.

They had made it forward barely another quarter mile when the winds picked up and pulled them forward.

"Luff the main sail and loosen the others!" Jamie ordered Hayes.

"Do not touch the sheets, Mr. Hayes!" Raines countered.

"Captain, we're being pulled in too fast! If we don't loosen them we'll only pick up speed!"

"And if they are not in enough we will be blown off course! Keep them as they are, Mr. Hayes."

"Aye, Captain," Hayes reluctantly followed.

Skylar was feeling a little nervous. They were definitely going too fast. But Jamie and everyone else seemed relatively calm about it, so she tried not to worry.

Until she heard Marsali say, "What are those dark patches?"
Baxley used his spyglass to look and announced, "We're headed for the shoals! Coral ahead!"

"Turn starboard, Mr. Warren. Now!" Jamie shouted. Warren used all his strength to try to steer their ship, but it wouldn't budge.

"The current's too strong! It won't turn!" he said. The rain and wind had picked up and caused the waves to grow, only adding to the current.

"Jamie, what's happening?" Skylar cried.

"Skylar, ye and Marsali need te get below deck now! It's gettin' too dangerous!" he told her.

"I can help! Just tell me what-"

"You agreed te follow me orders te the word when I said ye could come wi' me! Honor that!"

Realizing arguing anymore would be a waste of time, Skylar started down the stairs to the main level. As she was walking, the ship got jerked sharply and she was thrown violently, making her fall down the last few steps.

"We're gettin' dragged inte a whirlpool!" she heard someone shout out. She looked back up and saw Jamie working with Warren to turn the ship against the whirlpool's current.

Trying to keep her balance, she continued towards the opening to the gallery. She had almost made it when there was a loud grinding sound. The impact of the crash onto what she heard was something called a sand wave pushed her down to the floor again. As she started to push herself back up, she heard yells and shouts accompanied by a cracking sound. Whatever broke off hit her hard on the head and everything went black.