CHAPTER 23

BOOM!

Skylar woke with a start at the loudest clap of thunder she had ever heard. The room had become dark and she could feel the ship being tossed and jerked around violently. She sat up and looked around. Ian wasn't there.

"Fergus?" she said, seeing if he was still in the room. No answer. She climbed down from her bunk and left her cabin to go find them.

As she walked down the hall, the violent rocking of the ship made her fall and be thrown into the walls over and over. It was almost impossible to keep her balance. She held onto the wall and anything else she could reach as she went to try to keep herself steady.

"Skylar!" she heard someone shout. It was Fergus. He was coming towards her, having extreme difficulties walking as well.

"What's happening?" she stupidly asked. She knew it had to be a storm, but she more wanted to know how bad of a storm it was.

"It's a hurricane," Fergus told her. "Ian and I went to help when the rain first picked up, but it has gotten so much worse. I was coming to get you. Milord ordered us to get below deck."

"Where's Ian?"
"He's already below. We have to go, now!" He took her hand and they went to the main deck to get where everyone else was.

Skylar held onto his hand and arm as tight as she could as they crossed through. The rain was falling in sheets so thick she couldn't see, and was hitting her at such high speeds that it was painful. And between the monster waves that kept hitting the ship and the brute force of the wind, it was a challenge to stay on her feet. She looked around as Fergus pulled her and she saw the crew doing everything they could to stay afloat and upright. There were men trying to secure the ropes that held the sails so they wouldn't fly off. Others were tying down cargo in hopes it wouldn't get washed away. She saw Jamie and Baxley at the wheel, desperately trying to steer the Artemis against the wind and current to keep it steady.

They finally got to the grate covering. Fergus opened it and they ran below, thankful for the relief from the wind and rain. Claire, Ian, Marsali, Hayes and Lesley were there as well.

"Skylar! Thank Christ!" Ian cried out when he saw her. She went right to him and held an arm around him for comfort as well as balance. He gripped tight around her shoulders while hanging onto a rope for himself.

They hadn't even been down there for 30 seconds when Fergus exclaimed, "We must help Milord!" He took a couple steps toward the stairs, but Marsali pulled him back and sat him down.

"Ye'll do as yer ordered this time!" she yelled.

Lesley had the same idea as Fergus. "He needs all hands on deck!"
"Mac Dubh kens what's best!" Hayes argued, holding firmly onto a bucket as he felt horribly sick.

"Yes, he does!" Claire agreed. "And he wants you all to stay down here! It's best to let the experienced sailors do their duty."

"I don't want te stay below, where I'll be tossed about wi' no notion of what's happenin' overhead!" Ian fought.

"Too damn bad! You're not going anywhere!" Skylar shouted back, tightening her hold on him.

Claire backed her up, saying, "Skylar's right! You have no choice in the matter, young man!" She then turned and started up the stairs.

"Well, where are ye goin' Auntie?" Ian questioned.

"I'm still the ship's surgeon."

""You won't be able to help anyone if you're killed! Stay here!" Skylar begged.

"I'll be right back!" And she was gone.

As they waited for her to come back, hopefully with Jamie, the waves continued to attack the Artemis with incredible power, causing everyone in the cramped room meant just to hold storage to get thrown around like rag dolls. Skylar could feel bruises forming as she kept hitting the wall or sharp corners on crates.

As time passed, more of the men joined them. But there was still no sign of Claire and Jamie.

They suddenly heard a loud cracking and crash from up above, and the ship started to tip dangerously onto its side. Thankfully, it straightened back up.

"We're goin' under! There's nothin' we can do! We're doomed!" Hayes cried, grasping onto his bucket for dear life.

"Shut up! No we're not! The storm will pass and we'll be fine!" Skylar yelled at him. "Where the hell are Jamie and Claire?!"
Before anyone could utter a word in response, they were hit by the biggest wave yet. Water poured in from the grate that Claire had left open and soaked them all to the bone. Ian could feel how terribly Skylar was shaking against him. He didn't know if it was from fear or the cold of the water, so he just pulled her closer to him and held her tighter to try to help with both.

She looked up at him and he back at her. They were both thinking the same thing.

I finally have you, and now we're going to die.

After another 30 more agonizing minutes had gone by, neither Jamie nor Claire had come back. Everyone's faces were very clear that they were all scared for them and had started to think the worst; though no one dared to say it out loud.

All of a sudden, with an earsplitting CRUNCH and CRASH, the ship was thrown down onto its side. Skylar hit her head on the wall hard, and was knocked unconscious in a shipwreck for the second time.

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"Skylar! Can ye hear me? Ye need te wake up, Yank. Please! Please wake up!"

Skylar let out a small groan as she started to come to and let her head fall to the side. The voice she was hearing sounded very far away.

"Oh, Christ in Heaven. Thank ye, Lord," she heard it again.

When she was able to open her eyes, she saw that the voice belonged to Ian. He was right next to her and it looked almost like he was about to cry.

"Ian," she muttered, her voice hoarse. Her throat and mouth felt very dry and her head was throbbing.

Ugh, my head again? Are you serious? she thought, letting out a quiet "Ahh" in pain and holding her head.

Ian helped her to slowly sit up, but barely a millisecond after she was sitting straight, he forgot all about needing to be gentle. He hugged her so fiercely she couldn't breathe.

He held her for nearly a full minute. When he pulled from her, he looked her all over, asking, "Are ye alright? Yer head, is it badly hurt? I was frightfully worried. Ye werena with us fer so long."

"I'm okay. I'm okay. My head hurts but I'll be fine," she assured him. He grabbed her face and kissed her over and over, rejoicing that she was in one piece. "It isn't a nice feeling, thinking you've lost the one you love, huh?" she teased.

He laughed lightheartedly, thankful she was making jokes. "No, no it isn't. Don't do that again. Are we even now?"
"I almost lost you twice. I still have another chance." They kissed again, Ian keeping a hand on her cheek when they separated.

He dropped his hand as she looked around for the first time. She saw that they were on a beach, but that's all she could tell about their location. The crew were scattered, salvaging any supplies or goods they could find that could possibly be saved. The ship, or what was left of it, was on its side at the edge of the shore.

"We crashed here, right? That last wave, it capsized us," she said to Ian, though her statement was more asking him to clear up any details she couldn't remember.

"Aye. And when that happened, ye hit against the wall so hard ye dropped te the floor and wouldna wake up. I started panickin' thinkin' I'd lost ye. The others told me ye'd been put out like that before and ye'd come around soon. I held ye close te me until the storm passed and it was safe te go out. I brought ye up here so ye'd be away from everyone when ye woke up."

"Where are Ja-" she started to ask, but was interrupted by someone shouting her name. She looked towards the direction of the voice and saw Fergus and Marsali running to her.

They fell onto the sand next to her and Fergus hugged her just as crushingly as Ian had.

When he let go of her, he kept his hands on his shoulders and said very seriously, "Stop doing that! You're taking years off of my life ma soeur."

She smiled somewhat apologetically to him, then looked to Marsali, who just took her hand firmly, her face showing just how relieved she was to see her sister-in-law awake.

"Where are Jamie and Claire?" Skylar pressed, that being the most important question on her mind.
"We don't know," Fergus answered her, his voice filled with anxiety over the couple who might as well be his parents.

"What do you mean?" Skylar's stomach became one large knot.

"Fergus and I went with Lesley and Hayes te search fer them. We walked fer over a mile down the shore and didna see them," Marsali said.

Skylar shook her head. "No. No, no. They're here. They're close. They've been through things so much worse than a hurricane. They're alive and here somewhere. We-we just have to keep looking." Without waiting to hear what anyone else had to say, Skylar broke from Ian and started towards Lesley and Hayes; the others followed her. They were going to come up with a plan, and they would find Jamie and Claire.

I thought having Ian back would be the end of our problems. Boy, was I stupid.

Before they could reach their friends, they were met with a group of maybe 10 people, men and women, who had come down the beach towards them.
"Are you all in need of any help?" one of the men asked. "I saw your ship get wrecked onto the shore. As soon as the storm passed, my wife and I gathered our friends and we made haste to know if there's anything we can do." The way he addressed them held such gravity for their situation, and the group from the Artemis was thankful that these kind strangers could possibly help them find Jamie and Claire.

"Who are you?" Fergus asked.

"Joseph Oliver. And you?"
"Fergus Fraser."

"Are all your crew accounted for, Mr. Fraser?"
"Almost. Two are missing. Our captain and his wife. We started to search for them, but there's no sign of them."

Joseph could hear the desperation to find these people in Fergus' voice, and from the looks he saw on the other's faces, these lost two were of high importance. He looked to his group, then back to the young man.

"My wife and I will continue to explore the beach for them while the rest of my friends will stay with you to do whatever they can to assist you all. Are any of you seriously injured?"

"I do not believe so."

"Then Patsy and I will take our leave." He reached out his hand to the woman right behind him, who they assumed was his wife. She joined next to him and Joseph turned back to Fergus and the others. "You'll be in good hands here. And I promise we will do everything we can to find your captain."

"Thank you, sir," Fergus said, expressing how grateful he was through those two words. Joseph nodded at him, and he and his wife started their search.

As much as the four wanted to go with them to look, they knew they needed to stay at the ship in case Jamie and Claire came back on their own. And they couldn't leave the men to hunt for all the savable pieces of cargo on their own.

The others that had come with Joseph helped them find any provisions that were not damaged beyond repair.

When everything that was still in relatively good shape or could be fixed was collected, one of the other men who had introduced himself as Wesley Smith said, "Why don't we take you all into town. We'll find you a place to sit and rest, get you some food and drink." Nobody spoke against that suggestion. Everyone was exhausted and the idea of food made them all realize how hungry they were.

As they made their way into town, Ian said to Skylar, "Did ye notice, a lot of them talk like ye."

She had been so preoccupied with thoughts of Jamie and Claire that she didn't hear it when they first spoke. Though not all of them, a small handful of members from the group who found them had American accents.

Where the hell are we? she thought.

"Um, Mr. Smith?" she spoke up to him. "In all the…excitement, I guess you could say, none of us thought to ask. But, uh, where exactly are we? Are we near any mainlands?"
Wesley laughed at that, then realized she was serious. "We're on the mainland. You washed up on the shores of the colony of Georgia."

Skylar stopped in her tracks. "We-we're…we're in…America?"

Wesley stopped when she did and smiled at her. "From the sound of your accent, I should say welcome home, miss."

Holy shit. Talk about coming full circle.

When she started to wrap her mind around that, she ran to catch back up with Ian. He, and everyone else from the Artemis, was shocked about where they had ended up as well, having overheard Wesley say it to Skylar. The words that Skylar heard them all saying in regards to America varied from excitement over being in the New World and the thoughts about making a new life, to some saying when's the soonest they can get on a ship back to Scotland.

The group of Georgia citizens led them to a tavern in the town they came to learn was Savannah. They bought the storm survivors different foods such as breads, cheese, and even some beef; as well as beverages like ale, milk and coffee.

Skylar sat at a table with Ian, Fergus and Marsali. She was angry because her worry over not knowing anything about Jamie and Claire's whereabouts made her stomach hate the idea of food, and after months of not being able to eat due to her absolute horrific anxiety over Ian, all she wanted to do was be able to eat again.

"Why aren't ye eatin', Yank?" Ian asked her. "Ye've got te be starvin'."

"I'm pretty sure that if I try to eat anything before I know where Jamie and Claire are, it'll just come right back up," she said.

"Skylar, no," Fergus responded, very firmly. "You are not continuing this a moment longer. You need to eat something, now." He stared at her intensely, not looking away until she picked up a piece of the bread and started taking small bites.

"If I throw up, I'm aiming it at you," she told him.

After everyone had finished eating and were feeling a bit recovered, the tavern door opened again, and Skylar gasped loudly as Jamie and Claire walked in. She was the first one to jump up and run to them, crashing into Jamie first and then hugging Claire, her arms securely wrapped around her. When Skylar allowed them to move again, they made their way through the crowd. Everyone was more than happy and relieved to see them safe and alive. They joined their son, daughter-in-law and nephew at the table with each one welcoming them the same way Skylar had.

Before they sat down to relax, Jamie made a speech to the men of the Artemis that they were all released from his service and were free to do as they liked regarding staying in America or returning to Scotland. He assured them that they would all still be getting paid for their work. This included Lesley and Hayes, but the two said that they would be sticking with Jamie for whatever course of action he chose.

As Jamie and Claire ate and drank, their small group discussed what their plan would be. It was decided that they would travel to North Carolina and find passage back to Scotland from there. That way, they could also visit Jamie's Aunt Jocasta who may be able to help provide them with any needed funds or goods for their journey home. At everyone's surprise at hearing he had a relative living in the Colonies, Jamie explained that she and her husband had fled Scotland to America after Culloden and had been able to make a good life for themselves and were well off.

After spending the rest of the day using the gems Ian had taken from Geillis' cave to buy food and some extra items of clothing to replace those lost in the shipwreck, they returned to the tavern where they would be spending the night.

The people that had helped them chipped in to pay for some rooms for a couple nights, for which they were all exceedingly grateful. The rooms were attached to the dining room, and each one had two beds and a dresser. Jamie and Claire slept in one room, and Fergus and Marsali in another. Jamie had decided that Ian would stay with himself and Claire while Skylar would be in Fergus' room. But the teenagers argued that they should be allowed to room together, reminding him that they had been separated for months and didn't want to be for another minute. Jamie understood what they were saying, knowing far too well the feeling of thinking you might die if you couldn't be around with the one you love. So, he relented and allowed them to stay in the same room; under the condition that Hayes and Lesley share the room as well. Neither pair was happy about the deal, but they all went along with it.

That night, Skylar and Ian were in one bed while Hayes took the other and Lesley was on the floor, having lost a coin flip.

"Just ken ye two," Lesley said to the younger couple before they all went to sleep, "I have the ears of a bat. So if ye try anythin', I'll hear it and Mac Dubh will have yer head, lad."

Back in Edinburgh, when Jamie began to grow suspicious of Skylar and Ian's relationship and gave them warning after warning about being alone together, he would always direct his glare to his nephew, inherently putting the blame on Ian if anything were to happen between them. And it was the same now, though tenfold.

Though the temptation was absolutely there, they didn't feel the need to do anything that everyone was assuming they were going to do. They just laid in the bed, facing each other. They kissed sweetly and lovingly for a while, but they were just relishing being with each other, and having their other half back.

They just stared at each other until their eyes got heavy, and then fell asleep in each other's arms.

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Ian's eyes shot open. He was breathing heavily and was soaked with sweat. He looked around, recognizing that he was in a tavern in Georgia, not in Jamaica with Geillis like his dream made him believe. The room was near pitch black, so the sun was still many hours away from rising.

Not wanting to go back to sleep out of fear the same dream would continue, he carefully sat up, careful not to wake Skylar who was still asleep next to him, and walked out to the dining room. He sat on the couch facing the fireplace, whose bright orange flames from that afternoon had died down into small flickering embers. He put his face in his hands and took some deep breaths. He didn't want to remember. But he couldn't help it. The images just came, even when he didn't want them too. He sniffed, forcing himself not to cry.

"Ian?" His head whipped around, but he relaxed when he saw it was Skylar.

"Why are ye awake?"

"I could ask you the same thing." She walked to the couch and sat next to him. "Are you okay?"

"Aye, I'm fine, Yank. Just couldna sleep. Ye dinna need te worry. Go back te bed."

"Well, you know I'm not going to do that," she told him plainly. "So, you may as well talk to me." She took one of his hands and held it on her knee.

He was quiet for a long beat, wondering if he really should tell her out of fear she might think less of him. She waited as long as he needed. He would start when he was ready.

"I had a nightmare," he finally told her. "Except, it wasn't. It was a memory, really, playing out." He paused, not sure if he wanted to go on. She didn't say anything. She just held his hand, waiting to see if he would continue. He did. "It was a memory of…her. And what she did te me." Skylar knew exactly who he meant.

She moved in closer to him. Still holding his hand, she looped her other arm through his and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Geillis is dead, Ian," she reminded him. "She can't hurt you. You're safe."

"I ken. I ken she's gone. But when I close me eyes, it's like I'm back there." He stopped talking. He didn't want to tell her everything of what had happened. He didn't want her to leave him after he just got her. He was so ashamed of what he went through, how could she not be as well?. Feeling his distress, her grip on his arm and hand tightened, letting him know she was there.

He shut his eyes tight, willing himself not to let any tears fall and to keep a straight face. He didn't want her to think he wasn't strong or was less of a man who couldn't control his emotions. He was practically shaking from how hard he was fighting them off. She saw this and knew what he was doing.

"Hey," she said very softly. She let go of his hand to turn his face to her. "You do not have to be brave for me. I don't know all the details of what happened, and you do not have to tell me anything until you're ready. But I do know that what you went through must've been unthinkable. It must've been terrifying. You're allowed to feel that. You never need to hide emotions from me, ever. Okay? I am here for you. Whatever you need, whenever you need it. I'm not going anywhere." She leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips, brushing away some of the tears that he couldn't stop from breaking through.

"What did I ever do te deserve someone as incredible as ye?"

She pushed some pieces of loose hair behind his ear and replied, "Probably something similar to whatever I did to deserve you." She smiled at him.

This time, he kissed her first. They pulled apart, barely an inch, then met again.

They went on for a few seconds until Skylar pulled back and said, "Do you hear that?"
He listened carefully, but he didn't hear anything. "Hear what?" he asked, confused.

She smiled. "Exactly. Everyone is asleep. No Jamie, no Fergus or anyone to keep watch over us."

He understood what she meant and returned her grin before connecting their mouths again. They let their kiss get deeper and more passionate quickly. They weren't planning on doing anything past making out, but they recognized that just getting opportunities to be alone like this were going to be few and far between. So they allowed themselves to fully enjoy this moment.

As their kiss went on, Skylar moved to sitting on Ian's lap, which he very much did not mind.

They continued for a few more minutes when they heard, "Ahehem!" behind them. They pulled their faces apart, startled at the noise, and looked to see who it was. There was Fergus standing a little ways away.

Skylar groaned and let her head fall on Ian's shoulder. She looked back up and said to him, as he came towards them, "You are married now, mon frère. Shouldn't you spend your time, oh I don't know, being with your wife?" She was obviously not happy about the interruption.

He sat down in the chair next to them. "My wife, ma soeur, is asleep. I, on the other hand could not. So I came out here. I did not mean to find you two. Though I am glad I did since Milord does not want you alone together."

She pushed herself off Ian and sat back next to him. "You're really annoying, you know that? Also, you were the one basically begging us to be together, remember? So, you really should not be the one to try to stop us from doing stuff."

"And what kind of 'stuff' am I stopping?" He looked directly at Ian for that question. Ian suddenly felt nervous, like he was in trouble. "Sky?" Fergus went on. "Would you be my favorite person in the world and get me some water? I am very thirsty."

"Wow, I'm your favorite person in the world? Can't wait to tell Marsali." Fergus just looked at her. She rolled her eyes. "Fine." She stood up and started for the kitchen. Passing Fergus, she paused and whispered, "Be nice," knowing what this was really about. And she went on, leaving the two young men alone.

Ian was extremely nervous now. He couldn't bring himself to look at Fergus, one of his closest friends, as he was feeling a little afraid of him.

"Ian," Fergus started. Ian made himself look at him. "You and I have known each other for a long time, aye? You are one of my dearest friends and I know that you would never do wrong to anyone. You also know that no one is happier than I am that the two of you have finally come together. I must tell you though, I love Skylar as if she were my own sister with my own blood. So," he leaned forward in his seat, not breaking eye contact, "if I hear that it has come to pass that you have hurt her in any way, or are trying to make her do things she does not want to do, I will not hesitate to…act on her behalf, if you understand what I mean."

Being afraid of Fergus was something very new to Ian. He had never seen this side of him before, nor did he want to ever again. But he knew this came with the territory of courting his sister. Fergus had been rooting for them since the day they met and had been wanting them to be together more than anyone, second only to Skylar and Ian themselves. But now that Ian was actually with her, it was a completely different story and Fergus needed to take on the role of the protective older brother.

Ian straightened his back as much as he could and responded, looking him in the eye, "I love Skylar, Fergus. I love her more than I ever thought I could love anything in this world. I would rather pain be inflicted upon me before she were te go through any. Ye ken I will never hurt her, ever. Ye have me word on that. I will do everythin' I can te make sure nothin' bad ever comes te her."

Fergus gave a slight smirky smile and sat back up. "Very well," he said. "I have your word and you have mine."

Skylar came back out holding the cup of water. She handed it to Fergus and sat back down next to Ian.

She looked back and forth between them and joked, "So, did you decide how many goats I'm worth?"

Omigod, I can't believe part 1 of this story is over! Now we go on to part 2, SEASON 4! An enormous massive thank you to everyone who has stuck with Skylar's story so far. I'm really enjoying writing it and I'm so so so happy so many of you are enjoying reading it. Much more to come! Please keep reviewing and please favorite and follow if you haven't! Onto chapter 24!