Elizabeth didn't really know what to feel as she stared at Jamie, and it seemed as though Jamie, too, had no idea what to feel as he stared at Elizabeth. In the reality of the situation, both of them thought that they would never see each other again. Jamie had been taken away from Elizabeth and her only hope of seeing him again was if he ever decided to come back to Castle Leoch or their family farm, and Elizabeth thought that was never going to happen.

Maybe she was feeling rage, anger, betrayal, hurt all coiled up together… but Elizabeth mostly felt betrayed. Why hadn't Jamie told her that he was coming back? He could have sent her a letter. The deeper her mind traveled into her now twisted thoughts, the more she could only stare at Jamie with wide, sad eyes and a face that screamed, 'why didn't you come back to me sooner?'. In her mind, the only reasonable answer of why Jamie never wrote to her telling her that he was coming back was because he didn't want her to know that he was coming back. Even though they had vowed to each other that they would always try and find a way home, maybe Jamie wanted a new home. One by one, the scouts dispersed and each headed in his own direction till it was only her, Jamie, Glenna, and the whore.

Swallowing, Elizabeth raised her voice only loud enough for Glenna to hear her, "I see that this is all taken care of. I'll head back to my chores."

As she walked away, Elizabeth tried not to make it look as though she were trying to run away. If Jamie really did want another woman in his life, she would walk away with enough courage to show him that she didn't care. That she was better off without him like she had been these last few years. She wanted to show him that she didn't need him to survive and that she had survived without him perfectly well. So, with her head held high, Elizabeth calmly walked back into the castle, deciding not to look back.

Unbeknownst to her, Jamie did watch her walk away. Sparing a glance at Claire, Jamie quickly informed Glenna of the situation at hand, "Murtagh found her. Dougal said we must bring her along with us. So…"

"So." Glenna Fitzgibbons was not a fool. She had been working long enough with Elizabeth to know her connection with Jamie and that he was the nephew of Dougal and his brother. Even though Jamie's ranking could be considered to be higher than hers, Glenna did not miss the waver in Elizabeth's voice or how her eyes glistened when she turned to away. "Well… Claire." The disdain in her voice was evident.

Claire only nodded cautiously towards the woman in front of her.

"Come with me. We should find you something to eat. Something to wear that is a bit more…" Glenna's eyes looked at Claire with disapproval, "Well… a bit more."

As Glenna turned to go, she caught Jamie's eye and nodded towards the side door, "You should go see her and fix this," She roughly gestured to Claire, "misunderstanding."

Jamie gave Glenna a quick nod before grabbing his bag and throwing it over his good shoulder. He turned to leave when Claire suddenly made a movement to stop him, causing him to slow his pace.

"He's hurt." Claire gestured to his wrapped arm and the sling she had made.

"Oh, don't you worry, dearie." Glenna smiled as she pulled Claire along, nodding her head to the door Elizabeth went through so Jamie could find her, "He's already got someone to fix him all up."

~8~

A loud clang could be heard from the Healer's room as Elizabeth kicked a bucket to the side, watching it hit the wall and fall over, spilling the water within it. She hurried over to the bed before sitting down and burying her head into her hands, taking deep breathes as she tried to stop the tears from falling. Sniffling, Elizabeth gave a light laugh before wiping her eyes, feeling relief when she noted that they were dry.

"Come on, Liza." She cooed to herself as she grabbed a rag, "Yer gonna be fine. Ye always are in the end."

As she bent down to clean up the spilt water, a loud knocked on the door caught her attention and she halted her movements before calling out, "Who is it?"

"An injured lad in need of assistance."

She knew that voice.

"Well, yer going to have to wait," Elizabeth said as she angrily scrubbed the floor, "there's already a line of people in front of ye."

"Is that so, Lassie?" Elizabeth shrieked as Jamie's voice appeared right next to her ear and she whirled around, clutching the rag to her chest.

"Don't do that!" Elizabeth pressed her hand to her racing heart and closed her eyes, inhaling deeply, "Didn't ye hear me say that there is a line."

"Ah, I did." Jamie said as he sat down on a stool, "But I was hoping that ye'd make a special exception for me."

"And why should I do that?" Elizabeth challenged, already grabbing a fresh cloth from a table and dipping it in warm water. She had yet to look at Jamie for she refused to give him the satisfaction of her attention.

"Because I think I'm the most injured in this line," Jamie stated before lowering his voice to a whisper and looking around to make sure that no one was looking at them, even though they were the only people in the room. "Besides, I think they're all here just to be attended to by a pretty lass."

Elizabeth fought to keep the blush from coloring her cheeks and sighed, before taking in the view of the man in front of her. A frown crossed Elizabeth's face as she stared at the cuts and bruises that littered Jamie's body. And, even though she was still mad at him, she couldn't help but notice how attractive he looked. Missing a person for quite some time makes one realize details about them that were never noticed before. Like the freckles that littered one's cheek, or how their hair rippled in loose curls for example.

"Alright then, let's have a look at ye." Eliza said before she gently pulled at the fabric of Jamie's shirt as he continued to stare at her, "Yer going to need to take this off."

Once his shirt was removed, Elizabeth started her task and gently dabbed at the cuts that covered his body, making sure that they were clean. She knew that he was staring at her. For as much as he had changed over these past years, she had too. She knew that she had lost the leftover baby fat that had once clung to her cheeks and that she had become much leaner than before. Lifting buckets of water and scrubbing filthy floors every day tended to build up muscle.

"Have ye been eating well?" Jamie's question startled her, but she kept calm and continued to clean his wounds.

"Yes," Elizabeth said as she stood up and walked over to the bowl of light red water before dropping the bloodstained cloth into it, and grabbing some clean fabric. "I eat what they serve me. No more, no less."

"Do they serve ye well then?" Jamie could see the hollowness of Elizabeth's cheeks as she leaned over his shoulder to wrap it.

"They serve what they are allowed," Elizabeth responded stiffly, tying a knot as she finished the new casted sling. Stepping back, Elizabeth made sure that he was all cleaned up before placing the rest of the fresh linens on the table, "Ye can leave now."

The scrapping of the stool signaled that Jamie was about to leave and Elizabeth refrained herself from looking at him. However, to her surprise, he didn't. Instead of leaving, Jamie had walked over to Elizabeth and stood behind her. She could feel his hot breath hit her ear and felt as though her legs had become one with the ground.

"Nothing happened between Claire and I, Liza." Jamie's voice had a deep, hush tone to it and Elizabeth stared at the table in front of her. Jamie gently pressed his lips against Elizabeth's cheek, smiling at the blush that flooded her cheeks, "I missed you, mo ghrá."

~8~

Elizabeth missed the feast that night due to the fact that she didn't want to go, even though she had to. Confiding in the Glenna, Elizabeth told her that she was not yet ready to see Claire or whatever her name was. Elizabeth did not want to hate this young woman who seemed to be confused and scared, but Elizabeth felt insecure when it came to her.

Claire seemed to have a certain aura around her that made men and women question who she was and why she was here. Sure, everyone was wary of the young lass, but her aura was… powerful. Elizabeth had only been in a room once with Claire, and she felt the need to attend to her every need. She wanted to make sure that she was happy with her stay? If that was a good way to put it, and Elizabeth hated that feeling.

Not only did Claire have a confident aura around her, but she was extremely pretty. Her hair fell gracefully in loose curls to her shoulder while her eyes carried a lovely blue to them. They reminded Elizabeth of a clear stream that ran through the woods near her house. Claire was also taller than Elizabeth. While Claire stood around five-foot-six, Elizabeth stood at a measly five-foot-three. Missing the feast would have its punishment, but they were all something Elizabeth would be able to handle.

A few days later, Claire took the opportunity to speak to the young women with dark, curly hair and green eyes. Ever since coming to the castle, Claire had noticed the young woman's disdain in her appearance and had felt the glares that she had thrown at Claire. Asking around, Claire had found out that her name was Elizabeth and she had been working at the castle for around five years. Claire often found Elizabeth watching Jamie from the window as he trained the horses or play- fought with the stable boys. It wasn't until her fifth day of staying at the castle Claire was finally able to speak with Elizabeth.

"I thought I would find you here." Claire's voice rung out so clearly that it echoed down the hall and caused Elizabeth to jump, turning away from the window, "I've noticed that you're always here around this time."

Claire watched as the young woman's faced morphed from surprise to shock to suspicion.

"Are ye spying on me?" Elizabeth's voice was clear and for the first time, Claire noticed the light tone it had to it. Her voice still seemed soft, even though it was expressing anger and distrust towards her, and it felt peaceful to listen to. It somehow reminded Claire of the nights when her mother would brush her hair and tell her stories of princess and dragons, the mystery and excitement echoing in her mother's voice.

"No," Claire immediately defended herself as she found dark green eyes staring at her, "It was just something I observed these past few days."

The dark green eyes fluttered as they observed Claire. It was almost as if Elizabeth was trying to decipher if Claire was telling the truth, which she was.

"I see." Elizabeth's eyes immediately looked back out the window and she was once again staring at Jamie's form. Claire observed the small woman for the first time and noticed an elegant beauty that hung around her. Long, loose, dark curls were thrown into a bun on the top of her head and the small tendrils that had escaped hung next to her face. Her cheeks and nose were lightly dusted with freckles and long, dark eyelashes framed her deep green eyes. She carried herself with strong confidence and Claire thought of how much she would have succeeded in her actual time.

"He's a nice man, you know." Claire found herself saying as she, too, stared out the window and at Jamie, "You should talk to him if you fancy him instead of staring at him."

Claire watched as Elizabeth turned and looked at her with a cold gaze, "And who said that I fancy him."

"Well," Claire began, looking back out the window, "For one thing, your gaze seems to soften every time you look at him, there hasn't been a day that I haven't seen you looking out this window, and" Claire chose her next words carefully, "You look at him with love."

When there was no response or retaliation, Claire turned to look at Elizabeth and was shocked to see the woman already staring at her, rage flickering in her eyes. Elizabeth did not speak for she didn't know what to say. She wasn't angry with Claire, she was angrier at the fact that Claire had caught her being weak.

"Ye should leave." Elizabeth spoke with venom in her voice, "He's heading in, probably looking for ye." Ignoring Claire's shocked face, Elizabeth turned to leave when Claire's voice rang out once more.

"What have I done to cause to you to hate me so much."

Elizabeth froze in her steps and took a deep breath before turning to face Claire, "Do ye have a husband?"

"I had one."

"Did ye love him?"

Claire looked at her, shocked that she asked such a question, "Of course."

"Then how would ye feel when ye saw the man ye love with another woman."

"I would be furious with him." Claire didn't understand the point of the conversation they were having.

"And the woman he was with?"

"I would hate her."

"Then ye understand how I feel right now."

Claire looked at Elizabeth, confused, "I'm not sure I understand what you mean."

"I don't appreciate seeing my husband for the first time in three years with another woman." And with that, Elizabeth spun on her heel and headed back towards the kitchen while Claire looked at her in shock and, at that moment, Claire finally understood.

~8~

Rushing to the stables, Claire finally allowed herself to catch her breath when she saw Jamie. Hiking up her dress, she quickly sprinted to where the young man stood grooming the horse and stared at him in shock for a few moments.

"You didn't tell me you have a wife."

Jamie smiled lightly as he continued to brush the horse, not looking at Claire, "Well, Lassie, ye never asked."

"Well, I would've liked to have been informed before I caught her sending me glares every five seconds."

Laughing, Jamie turned to face Claire with a large grin on his face, "I see ye've finally met Elizabeth. She's quite lovely isn't she."

"She is when she isn't glaring at me."

"Ah, yes. She's awfully good at holding grudges. Sadly, ye and I are on the end of that."

Sighing, Claire looked at Jamie before asking, "What's she like when she's not holding a grudge."

"Ah," Claire watched as Jamie's face lit up at the mention of his wife, "Elizabeth Fraser has to be one of the nicest people I know. Always ready to lend a hand, no matter what type of help is needed. She loves children, and I often caught her playing with them instead of helping around the farm."

"She sounds like a lovely woman."

"She is."

~8~

Elizabeth would have been lying if she said that she wasn't avoiding Jamie, or even Claire for the matter. For the past three days, Elizabeth had holed herself up in the Healer's room or stayed close to Glenna as she did her chores. She didn't want to be angry with Jamie, honestly. It was just hard for her to come to the realization that he had truly come 'home'... and had brought another woman with him. Sighing, Elizabeth placed the wet rag down and wiped her forehead, trying to clear the rancid thoughts from her head. She had seen Claire's frequent visits to Jamie in the stables and she couldn't help but rethink what Jamie had told her.

"Nothing happened between Claire and me."

Elizabeth couldn't help but scoff before angrily dunking her wet rag back into the bucket that was next to her. If nothing happened, then why does Claire keep visiting you? Hmm, Jamie? Elizabeth thought as she furiously scrubbed the vase in her hands. The harder Elizabeth scrubbed, the quicker her anger turned into fear and sorrow. Jamie and she had been apart for three years, and a lot had happened in those three years. Elizabeth didn't know if Jamie had changed in those three years. She didn't know if he remained faithful to her or if he strayed along the way. Sure, he said that nothing happened between him and Claire, but were there other women in his life that she didn't know about? Slamming the vase back onto the table, and breathing heavily, Elizabeth threw her rag into the bucket before picking it up and stalking out of the room. She knew the longer she dwelled on the thought of Jamie's possible infidelity, the more pain it would cause her and that it wouldn't solve any problems.

The bucket felt heavier as she carried it outside. Pushing open one of the many side doors, Elizabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she felt the cool air brush her face. She stood there for a few moments, absorbing the breeze the playfully pulled at her loose curls and the sounds of horses, men-talking, and the children playing. The familiarity of the area around her helped calm her senses and push the dark thoughts away. Sighing, Elizabeth quickly tossed out the water before grabbing the basket at the side of the door and making her way towards the stables. Elizabeth huffed as she walked up the never-ending hill, cursing Glenna. Elizabeth rarely had to take lunch to the stable boys, but it seemed that as soon as Jamie had returned, Glenna had made it her goal to try and get Elizabeth to go up there at least once a week. Luckily, Elizabeth managed to catch a lad heading up and gave them the basket, warning them that if they ate it before they got there she would find them or tell Glenna and let her deal with them.

Slightly hiking up her skirt, Elizabeth took longer strides, nearly crying with joy as she saw the horses and the stables come into her view. Lightly swinging the basket in her hands, Elizabeth slowly walked towards the stables, hoping to catch anyone who was not Jamie. One of the things she loved about living on the farm was all the times she got to go ride the horses. The cool wind causing her eyes to water, her hair freely waving in the wind, her time to go wherever she wanted, whenever she wanted. Not even noticing, a gentle smile crept on Elizabeth's lips, but soon vanished as Claire's figure came into her view. Elizabeth halted and observed Claire. Immediately she noticed the basket in her hands and how there was a man walking behind her. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes as she noticed that Claire's moves became more frantic and that she was trying to get away from the man as quickly as possible. Whatever the man was saying was greatly troubling Claire.

Now, Elizabeth didn't like Claire, but that didn't mean she would watch as Claire was harassed. Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth quickened her pace and she soon saw the figure that stood behind Claire, trailing her closely.

"Claire," Elizabeth called out, watching as both heads whipped towards her small figure. Claire seemed to look relieved while the man, Rupert, seemed to look a bit peeved. Stopping in front of the two, Elizabeth brushed the stray wisps of her hair behind her ear, "I have been looking for ye everywhere."

"You have?" The shock and confusion were evident in Claire's voice and Elizabeth tried her best not to roll her eyes.

"Of course, didn't ye say that ye would help me prepare the meal for later tonight?"

"Oh, right." Turning to look behind her, Claire gave Rupert a cold glare, "I best be going."

Elizabeth only held out the basket and waited for Rupert to take it. She knew that Dougal had sent him to spy on Claire. The whole castle knew. Claire was a mysterious figure who had appeared and held the accent of a Brit. No one knew who she was, why she was here, and what her purpose was.

"Don't want to miss your meal now, do ye?" Elizabeth questioned, her true intentions evident as she forced the basket into Rupert's hand and gave him a cold glare, "Better make sure that everyone gets their share, don't want them coming and complaining to Glenna."

To say Claire was shocked was an understatement. For the past few days, she had noticed how Elizabeth had gone out of her way to purposely avoided, but now that she helping her escape Rupert, Claire didn't know what to say or to think. She watched as Rupert begrudgingly took the basket and headed back towards the stables. Claire jumped as she felt a hand lightly touch her shoulder and turned to meet Elizabeth's cool gaze.

"We should go." And with that Elizabeth had turned and headed down the hill, Claire hesitantly following.

~8~

The next night, Elizabeth stood cautiously in the great hall. She tried to get Glenna to excuse her from the events of tonight because she hated watching people get injured, but Glenna refused and told her that people were starting to notice her absence from these events. Elizabeth sighed and fidgeted with the strings of her golden-brown dress. Glenna had told her to wear one of her nicer dresses, and since Elizabeth only owned two nice dresses (one which was her wedding gown), she had decided on the dress that her sister had made her before she left.

Standing in the middle of the crowd, Elizabeth couldn't help but look to see if Jamie was standing on the other side of the hall. There was a vacant strip going down the middle, allowing Colum to have room to walk down and for whatever was going to be happening tonight. Elizabeth honestly didn't know why she had to attend tonight nor did she know what was going on. A sudden hand on her shoulder caused Elizabeth to gasp and turn around, slightly relaxing when she saw Jamie's face.

"What are ye doing?" Elizabeth hissed as she gently pulled Jamie's hand from her shoulder. Not many people knew that she was married to the nephew of Colum and Dougal.

Despite Elizabeth's harsh voice and cold eyes, the twinkle in Jamie's eyes only seemed to grow. He knew that she wasn't really mad at him, she was just confused about his sudden reappearance and the fact that he had brought a woman along with him.

"I was hoping that I could stand with my wife," Jamie responded, noticing the quick flicker of surprise in Elizabeth's eyes before she put her guard back up. Sighing, Elizabeth only pushed Jamie in front of her.

"Ye can't, but ye can stand in front of me." Elizabeth immediately straightened as the bagpipes began to play. Silence fell across the room as Colum and Dougal walked down the aisle and Colum took a seat in the chair, the bagpipes stopping.

As soon as the talking began, Elizabeth knew why she was here and she silently rolled her eyes. Twisting the ring around her finger, Elizabeth allowed the evening to pass by slowly, not mentioning anything when she noticed Jamie's attempts of trying to get closer to her by slowly backing up. She couldn't help but allow the blush rush to her cheeks when she caught him turning to gaze at her. The night seemed to pick up its pace as case after case came and went, happily settled; that was until Laoghaire MacKenzie was brought forth. Elizabeth's ears perked as her brother explained why she was here. Swallowing, she turned her to catch Jamie's gaze, not noticing the pair of prying eyes watching them.

"Nach fiú smaoineamh faoi, Jamie." Elizabeth tried to keep her eyes cold and guarded, but she knew that Jamie easily saw right through them. He knew that she was scared of the events that were about to occur. Laoghaire's brother had requested that she was to be punished for her loose behavior and Jamie knew that it pained and frightened Elizabeth to see people purposely be injured or be caused pain.

"Nach bhfuil sé sin ceart." Even though Elizabeth knew that Jamie had a point, she also knew that there was no reason for him to interfere. She knew what he was planning on doing, and as much as she loathed seeing people in pain, she never wanted to see Jamie in pain.

"Jamie, le do thoil." Elizabeth begged, her eyes slightly watering, "Nach é seo a."

Jamie only ignored her pleads before walking out and standing before his uncles. Elizabeth inhaled deeply as she heard him state that he was willing to take Laoghaire's place and take the punishment instead, and swallowed as Colum agreed. Elizabeth bit her lip as Jamie chose to take fists over the strap and wanted Agnus to perform the punishment. Elizabeth caught Jamie's eye as he looked her way in the crowd and looked away, not because she was ashamed of his actions, rather that she was frightened of what would follow.

Elizabeth flinched as Agnus threw the first punch, hitting Jamie in the gut. As soon as Jamie straightened, Agnus threw the next one, hitting Jamie in the side. As the punishment dragged on, Elizabeth couldn't help but wince and flinch as though she was the one being punched. Elizabeth drew blood as she bit down on her lip when Jamie was punched in the face and a loud crunch echoed through the hall. Closing her eyes, Elizabeth didn't have to see to know that whatever Jamie had just spat out was blood. With a punch like that, a broken nose was the only diagnosis. As Elizabeth's eyes flickered back open, she could only stare in shock as Dougal gave a nod to continue the punishment and she immediately knew that something was wrong. When blood had been drawn, the punishment had ended, so why was Jamie's continuing.

As Angus reared his fist back, Elizabeth's eyes widened in horror as he sent a punch straight to his dislocated shoulder. A sharp gasp left Elizabeth's throat and echoed through the hall as Agnus punched Jamie across the face, causing him to fall to the floor. Elizabeth watched as Agnus helped Jamie up and as Jamie bowed to Colum. Before she could stop herself, Elizabeth had already walked to where Jamie stood as wrapped his good arm around her shoulder, helping him out of the room. She felt the stares from the people of the room, but she could care less at the current moment. Her husband was hurt and needed her assistance.

Kicking open the door to the Healer's room, Elizabeth led Jamie over to the bed and gently sat him down on it. After making sure that he was comfortable, Elizabeth walked over to the bucket near the window and drew him a cup of water. Elizabeth handed him the cup before she headed towards the fireplace and dipped a clean rag into the warm water.

"What were you thinking, Jamie?" Elizabeth asked, lightly dabbing the wound on his cheek. She was too exhausted from the events that had just occurred to be angry at Jamie.

"It was the right thing to do, Liza. Imagine if it had been her." Jamie raised his cup to his lips and took a sip.

"If it had been her, she would have been punched in the face and that would've been all." Jamie winced as Elizabeth touched his nose, "It's not broken."

"See, I'm fine," Jamie grumbled before he grabbed her wrist, halting her actions. "I'm fine."

"I was so scared," Elizabeth finally admitted after a few moments of a heavy silence and she finally met Jamie's eyes. It was then that Jamie saw her true emotion. Her normally bright green eyes looked dark clouded as they stared into his bright blue ones. They seemed to constantly flicker around, looking at every part of his face to make sure that she hadn't missed a bruise, scrape, or cut.

"I'm okay, a ghrá." And with those simple words, Elizabeth finally broke down, allowing Jamie to pull her into his arms.

Translation

"Don't even think about it, Jamie."

"This is not right."

"Jamie, please. Don't do this."

Sorry if these translations are incorrect. I used google translate.