"Ye're from the future."

Eliza felt all of her breath escape her, she immediately started to feel woozy.

"What?!...That's-What?...You're crazy! Why would you...WHAT?"

Her voice was reaching an unbelievably high pitch. She started shaking her head back and forth. She stood up and walked away a few paces and then came back and crouched down before him.

"WHAT?"

"It's true, isna it? Ye're from the future." He said with an unbelievable amount of calm, like he didn't just guess her deepest, darkest secret.

"How would you even... How could you possibly know that?" She questioned him, her eyes wide in shock.

"Is it true?"

She walked way from him again. She took a few deep breaths, trying to take in as much air as possible. She turned back around and took in the sight before her. Jamie was still sitting up, against the back of the small cave. His hurt leg was stretched out before him, his shirt had torn when the tree fell on him. He had bruises and scratches everywhere, his face dirty. And he was looking at her like he was seeing her for the first time, like he was seeing Buffy.

"Yes." She said quietly. "Yes, I'm from the future."

He simply at nodded at her. "I ken."

"That's it?" She threw her arms up into the air, "You don't think I'm crazy, you just...you believe me and that's it?"

"Aye."

She went back toward him and sat down in front him, folding her legs under her.

"But...but don't you want to know why I'm here? How I got here?"

He nodded again, "Aye, but only when ye're ready to tell me, lass"

Her mouth gaped open in disbelief. "You're unbelievable."

"Me? Ye're the one from the future!" He smiled at her wryly.

She turned her head away from him, trying to gather her thoughts.

"How did you know?"

"I've only ever heard one person use the word 'sadist' and they were from the year 1945." He admitted.

"Sadist? That's what made you-Wait! 1945? That's...who?"

His gaze bore into her. He looked like he was trying to decide how much he should tell her, he gave a slight nod, almost to himself.

"My wife."

"Your wi- Claire? She was- she was from 1945?"

"Aye. Is that, is that the year ye're from?"

She shook her head, "No, no, I'm from...ummm...it was 2001 when I...when I came here."

That seemed to finally unnerve him, "Two thousand and-that's-that can not be!"

"Really? 1945 could be real to you, but not 2001? That's what finally freaks you out?" She said, thrown off by his reaction to the whole thing.

"I just uh- I didna think about...I didna think the stones could still be around fer that long, I guess."

"The stones?" She asked in confusion, "What stones?"

"Craig na dun. That's how...how my wife came here. She fell through the stones."

Her eyes grew even bigger if it was possible, "Stones. She fell through stones?"

"Aye. There's a uh- story that's told among my people. It's been told fer centuries, that people have fallen through time, through those stones. I never truly believed it until...until Claire told me the truth about where she was from...but that's...that's no how ye got here?"

She shook her head again. "No, I uh- I came here through a portal." She watched him closely, gauging his reaction, unsure how much she could tell him.

"A portal? What's a portal?"

She sighed, "It's a...it's like a door of sorts, I guess."

"A door?"

"Well, not an actual door. I just mean it can take you to a different place from where you are. Ugh. I'm terrible at this." She shook her head when she realized he was getting even more confused. She really missed Giles. She tried again.

"A portal is like a gateway that looks like a hole in the sky surrounded by light. It's like-"

"Surrounded by light? I didna- it sounds like ye're speakin of magic, lass"

"Yes!" She shouted in triumph, "Yes! It's magic."

But he seemed to withdraw from her at that. "Eliza? Are ye...are ye a witch?"

"What? No, no, I'm not a witch, James, but I..." She sighed again, "I'm not exactly what one would call normal."

He narrowed her eyes at her, "What do ye mean?"

She stood up then and started pacing slowly, back and forth, in front of him.

"I mean...you know when I took down those men? When I took you down without even breaking a sweat?" She tried to hide her blush at the mention of their accidental entanglement earlier.

He just nodded, "Aye."

"Well, I could do those things, not just because I'm a trained fighter, but because I have certain...abilities."

"Abilities?"

"Yes. I AM stronger than you, than any man really. I have the speed and grace of ten warriors combined. I uh- I heal faster than normal. I can hear things that are miles away, long before any one else can. I can see in the dark perfectly. I don't need as much sleep either. I can go days without it actually."

"Is that... is everyone like that in yer time?"

"No, no, just me...mostly."

She wanted to tell him the rest, about the demons, the vampires, but she didn't think he was ready. He was already looking a bit pale.

"There's...there more but I'm not..."

He held his hand, "No. That's okay, that's okay, I didna think I can hear much more. No right now, I mean."

"I'm so sorry, James. Do you want me to...I can go. If you want." She said sadly.

"Go? Why would ye go?"

"You mean? You're not mad?"

"Mad?" He asked in surprise. "Why would I be mad? And why would I want ye to go?"

"Well, I mean, I'm not who you thought I was. And I didn't think you would still want to be around someone like me... a freak."

"Eliza. I didna ken what a 'freak' is exactly, but I ken that ye are the most extraordinary person I've met." He looked at her in awe, amazement in his eyes. "And ye did just save my life and everythin'. It would be rude, to send ye away...right now at least." He said with a grin.

She smiled back and laughed softly.

"You're an amazing man, James Fraser."

"And ye're an amazing woman, Eliza Winters."

"Buffy."

"What?" He asked in confusion.

"My name... My REAL name is Buffy. Buffy Anne Summers."

"Buffy." He said, trying it out on his tongue for the first time.

He smiled then, "It's nice to meet ye, Buffy Anne Summers."

She smiled back, her eyes twinkling, "Thank you, James."

"Fer what?"

"Being you."

"Och! Anytime, lass."

They stared at each other for a long moment.

"Well, I should probably go find the horses and make sure they're okay. Will you be alright for a little bit?"

"Aye. I'll be alright...Buffy."

She walked away feeling like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

—-—
She found the horses wandering the forest together, not too far away. They were a bit spooked, but overall okay. She walked them back and tied them to a tree that was closer to the cave.

It was dark by the time she got back to Jamie and he had slid down the wall and was sleeping soundly. She grabbed a blanket from her bag and gently laid it on top of him. He shifted slightly in his sleep and then curled into the blanket, a slow smile graced his face. She felt her heart skip a beat.

Friends.

She could be friends with this man. Not only was he sweet and kind and unbelievably gorgeous, he was strong and good and just accepted her for her. She wanted him in her life and if being friends was the only way to do it then so be it. She didn't need anything more.

She knew she was lying to herself but she also knew it was for the best. She hoped so anyways.

—

The next day, after Jamie swore up and down that his leg was okay enough to travel, they took off again. They had just entered Scotland and Jamie was literally vibrating with the excitement of finally being so close to his home.
Eliza could feel it coming off of him in waves, she couldn't help feeling just as excited.

"So..how much longer until we get to...Lollypop?" She asked, her nose scrunching up at the name that she knew didn't sound right.

He laughed, "Lallybroch. It means Lazy Tower. And maybe three or four more days...that is if ye dinna go getting stuck in another storm, lass."

She looked at him, appalled, "Me?! You're the one who thought running around in it was a great idea!"

He chuckled again, "Aye, it may no have been my best moment."

She smiled, "Definitely not. You're lucky that I was around."

He gave a nod in her direction, "Aye, verra lucky, I ken that, lass. I ken."

She blushed at the sincerity in his voice. Was he ever not charming?

She cleared her throat, ready to change the subject, "So La-Lee-Brock." she said, stretching out the syllables, "Tell me about it, your sister lives there with her family?"

"Aye. She and Ian, her husband take good care of it and all of the people."

"All of the people? What people?" She asked, confused.

"Och! The people that live there, lass. The town is actually called Broch Tourach. I uh- I used to be Laird, but before Culloden...I signed everything over to my nephew, Young Jamie. Jenny and Ian have been in charge until Young Jamie is ready to take over."

"Laird? What does that mean?"

He smiled softly, now understanding why she didn't understand him half the time. She wasn't kidding when she said she wasn't from around there, he thought wryly.

"Laird. It means ye own the land, a Lord of sorts."

Her eyes grew big with surprise, "You're a Lord? Like Johnny?"

"Nah. It's no like that exactly, Lairds are'na so...well they're no so..."

"Stuck up?" She suggested, thinking about all of the nobles she had met and even how cold and uppity Johnny was when they first met.

Jamie laughed, "Aye. It's different for the Scots. It's no as official, I suppose, but it does mean ye're in charge of the people, ye take care of them and they...they respect ye, if ye earn it."

"And you did that? You were in charge until..Culloden?"

He shook his head sadly, "No as much as I wanted. After..." he paused and took a deep breath, "After my father died, I uh-was supposed to become the next Laird, but I had a price on my head. I had to go into hiding, for years...After...after I married Claire, I took her back to Lallybroch, to finally assume the role I should have long before, but then...then things...things happened and...and we wound up in Paris and we couldna go back to Lallybroch for a while and then Claire told me what happened to the Scots, how they lost at Culloden...we uh-we tried to stop it, tried to make sure the Scots won against the British, but that didna happen, obviously...so I signed my Lairdship over to Young Jamie and had my family lay low, to protect them. Thankfully, since we knew what was comin', they were able to prepare and survive the British taking over. The same canna be said for many other clans."

She was shocked by his admission, but she was grateful for his honesty, for trusting her enough to tell her of his past.

"James...I...I'm sorry. I can't believe...you really tried to stop the war?"

He nodded, "Aye, it was foolish. I ken that now. But after Claire told me what would happen...what would happen to my people, I couldna just do nothing, ye ken?"

"Yes, actually, I know very well. You're a brave man, James, a GOOD man." She said in earnest.

He shook his head in denial, "No as brave as ye, lass...How did ye...How did ye end up in that- that portal?"

"It's a long story. I didn't...know what would happen when I jumped...I thought...well... I thought...I thought I was going to die actually, so you can imagine my surprise when I landed two hundred and fifty years into the past." She said light heartedly, trying to downplay the tragedy that was her life.

Jamie's mouth dropped, "Ye meant to die, lass?" His heart nearly stopped at the mere thought of that happening.

She sighed deeply, "Look, James, there's a reason why I have the...gifts that I have and I'm not sure that you would-"

She was interrupted by a loud bang, a gunshot. She gripped her reins tightly and urged Willow to go faster, towards the sound.

"Eliza! Buffy! Wait!"

Jamie took off after her. He was just a moment behind her, having to take a second longer to register the sound. When they arrived, he was shocked at the scene before him.

There was a man cowering on the ground, a gun in his hand, which was trembling in fear from the creature that stood before him.

Jamie had never seen anything like it. It was tall, almost as tall as him. But it's skin, it was green, made of scales. The face was distorted, but the red, soulless eyes stood out to him the most. It was snarling and was headed towards the man who had obviously tried to shoot it, but was having a hard time with his shaky hands. Jamie was about to grab the gun from him to take aim himself, but then Eliza jumped into the picture.

She quite literally jumped and kicked the monster square in it's chest. It stumbled, but didn't fall. She went to punch it, but it was quicker than she thought. It blocked her move and punched her in return and then kicked her in the stomach, sending her crashing to the ground. Jamie's own stomach clenched at the sight of her getting hurt.

"Eliza! Get away from that...that thing!"

The cowering man had gotten up the moment Eliza attacked the creature. He ran away, abandoning his heroes, thankfully abandoning the gun as well. Jamie had went to grab it, but the creature had started coming towards him when he shouted. He managed to squeeze the trigger at the last second, blowing off the creature's head. He stood there for a moment, in shock, unsure of what just happened. Only the sound of Eliza groaning in pain brought him out of it.

He quickly ran over to her. "Eliza! Ban-dia òir! Are ye alright?"

He crouched down next to her, he tried to help her up, but she gently pushed him away.

"I'm alright, I'm alright. I didn't expect it to be that strong, I'm uh- a little out of practice." She said with embarrassment.

He shook his head in disbelief, "Outta practice? What do ye mean? And what- what was that, that thing!?"

Eliza stood up, catching her breath. She looked at him in awe, impressed by his quick thinking. He had acted on pure instinct, wanting to protect her, he was truly her hero in that moment. She had a feeling that if Xander was around, he would say that Jamie had just earned a spot into the Scooby Gang. Eliza smiled at the thought.

"That, my dear friend, was a demon."