Chapter Eighteen:
"That's amazing!" Claire squealed into the phone, "Thank you so much, John."
She hung up, beaming across their bathroom to Jamie. He'd just gotten out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist. He came to stand beside her, patting her hip and nodding his head toward his phone she was holding. "What was that about?"
He picked up his deodorant, applying it as she bounced up and down, telling him, "John called."
"Aye," he chuckled, "I kent that."
Rolling her eyes playfully, she hit his bicep, turning to face the mirror and finish applying her mascara. "He just heard from Ned, said Frank and the rest of Master Raymond's gang took that plea deal." She smiled in the mirror over at Jamie. "They're all getting twenty-five years in prison."
"That is… wonderful news, Sassenach!" he cried, wrapping his arms around her from behind. Her mascara smudged a bit at the contact, but she couldn't find the strength to care. She turned, winding her arms around him, her hands splaying across the scars on his back, and suddenly, everything seemed right in the world.
It was all over. Finally.
Master Raymond had been sentenced to life for weapons dealing and first degree murder of one of Sandrigham's men, a charge that came to the light of day during the whole investigation.
"They're being processed now," she told him, pulling back to kiss his lips.
He smiled into the gesture, whispering into her mouth, "It's all over."
They stood there a while, bodies swaying with their foreheads pressed together, both thinking of the nightmare they'd survived and how their lives could finally begin again.
"We have tae tell the lasses!"
He pulled back, swatting at her ass before walking into their bedroom and throwing on some clothes. "Hurry up, mo chridhe."
"Jamie," she laughed, "it's seven in the morning. The girls are still sleeping."
She listened from their bathroom as he grumbled, milling around the room and muttering about how he wanted to wake them up.
"Don't you dare."
An hour later, the girls were finally awake and sitting around the kitchen table, listening as Jamie told them, "John called this morning. All the bad guys that hurt me willna ever hurt me again."
"Are you sure?" Faith asked, looking to Jamie, then over to Claire.
Claire reached across the table, taking Faith's hand. "Yes, sweetheart," she smiled, "John said they're all going to jail for a very long time."
Faith's eyes watered and she smiled, nodding. Her little lips rubbed together, and Claire could tell she was holding back tears.
Brianna got up from the table, making her way to Jamie's lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face there. "I'm glad," she whispered, and Claire watched as a tear slipped down her cheek.
This clearly affected their children more than even she realized, and she made a mental note to call the therapist Joe had recommended for them all. It was going to be a long process for everyone to heal and recover from what they'd been through.
Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for what she needed to say next. The girls had been asking about him over the last few months, ever since they got back from Spain. They'd only seen him a handful of times, and they did love Frank so much, that this would crush her to confess. "Girls," she breathed, "there's something else I need to tell you about the bad guys."
Faith and Brianna both looked at her with questioning gazes, and she sucked in another breath. "I know you both have been asking me about Frank," she said, watching as their little heads nod, Brianna reminding the group that she and Frank broke up, causing Jamie to try and hide a grin. "Well," she started, "Girls… I don't know how to tell you this, but… Frank was… well, he was one of the bad guys that hurt Daddy."
Their eyes grew wide, Faith's hand slipping from Claire's grasp as she sat up straighter. "What do you mean?"
She explained, as well as she could, how Frank had just been pretending to be a nice guy, and fuck, she hoped this didn't give them trust issues with men for the rest of their lives. Claire told them how he worked for the bad guy, and when the men thought Jamie might still be alive, Frank infiltrated their lives, becoming her friend and eventually her boyfriend. "He was just trying to find out if Daddy was alive or not. He was a bad guy all along."
"Even when he took me to riding lessons?"
Claire smiled despite herself, knowing this was hard for them to understand. "Yes, darling, even then."
They looked so confused, and she didn't really know how else to explain it without hurting their tender little hearts much more, but thankfully Jamie clapped his hands, tightening his grip around Brianna's belly as he said, "Enough of that now, let's just finish our breakfast and enjoy the day." He smiled across to Faith, saying, "Ye've got piano lessons today, m'annsachd," then looked to Brianna, "and ye've got to get tae the stables to ride Mickey."
"Yeah!" Brianna called, clapping her hands together. "I can't wait!"
Jamie told them that they were going to split up, he'd take Bree to the stables, while Claire took Faith to piano, which Faith pouted about. "But next week we'll switch," he added, attempting to wink at Faith.
Claire beamed listening to the conversation, glad their lives were going back to normal. The girls' lessons had fallen by the wayside during everything that went on, each of them only going a few times, but she'd explained everything to their instructors and everyone understood they were going through a difficult time. It was nice, though, to get back in a routine… a routine that now included Jamie.
She felt light… lighter than she'd felt in the past almost seven years.
That was six months ago, and Claire smiles as she thinks about that day, and how after both sets of lessons, she and Jamie had taken the girls to the pool, enjoying one of their last days of summer break.
She'd slept better than ever before after that phone call with John, knowing that everyone involved in hurting her husband was tucked away in a prison, never to be seen again. They could no longer harm Jamie, and their lives could move forward.
Today, however, she's determined to put all thoughts of Frank and Master Raymond out of her mind.
It's her wedding day, and just like her first one, she feels giddy at the knowledge of who stands at the other end of the aisle waiting for her.
Her Jamie.
Claire listens as the girls giggle and prance around the kitchen, swishing their light blue dresses around them. They have tiny flower crowns adorning their heads, and she smiles as she watches Geillis calm them down, taking their hands to walk out the backdoor and down the aisle.
She stands back, watching through the large kitchen window as the whole thing unfolds.
It's a small ceremony, smaller than their first wedding. Joe, Geillis and Dougal are there of course, as are Murtagh, Jocasta, John and Hector. They'd flown back in just for this, and the girls had been so excited to see Sophia again.
John and Hector had brought some special guests as well. Fergus' trial had taken place during the six months since Jamie's, and he'd been reunited with his family—a wife, Marsali, and two little children, Germain and Felicity. They were adorable, and Claire had loved getting to know them over the last few days.
Jenny and Ian flew over from Scotland last week as well, crying in her husband's arms when she finally set eyes on him again.
Telling Jenny and Ian that Jamie was alive had been the biggest relief, and though Claire thought Jenny would be angry with her for not calling her as soon as she found him in Spain, she said she understood.
They'd spent the last week letting Faith and Brianna run wildly around the house with Jenny's son, Jamie, and their daughters, Maggie and Kitty. The house had been a zoo with five children under the age of ten all together, but Claire couldn't be happier. It was the type of chaos she'd been missing for years, and having the whole family together brought her a sense of rightness again.
Jenny had helped her finalize some details for today, while Ian and Jamie got in touch with their inner children and chased the kids around, or taste tested all the new whisky with Murtagh and Dougal at the distillery.
Laughing at the memories, Claire catches Jamie's eye at the end of the aisle. The ceremony is taking place in their backyard, and she's thankful she had the hindsight to buy a house years ago with a large yard. The aisle is a burlap runner, and their friends and family are sitting in off-white chairs, all eyes trained on her.
It's late January, but blessedly it wasn't too cold, plus they had the large outdoor heaters lining the rows decorated with greenery to match the wedding decor.
She feels her eyes mist over as she watches Faith and Brianna make their way down the aisle, dropping flower petals as they make their way to Jamie while music softly plays.
He's standing there, so reminiscent of their first wedding, in his tartan kilt and boots, long sleeve white shirt with a tuxedo jacket over it. His hair is gelled back, and she has to bite her lip, imagining running her fingers through it later to mess it up again.
She fluffs the skirt of her dress, preparing to walk down the aisle. Toward a future she never thought possible.
Her dress is simpler than her first. Where her first was a small ball gown, this one is an A-line made of tulle and lace. The sleeves are long and lace, giving peeks of her skin from beneath. The tulle skirt cascades down her body—no poof, no fuss, just simple and elegant.
As she takes her bouquet of peonies in hand, she smiles down the way to Jamie. He stands underneath an archway covered in beautiful white peonies intertwined with white fairy lights and soft greenery. It reminds her of the place he proposed months ago, and the thought brings tears to her eyes.
The music begins, and she walks toward her husband, following the trail of flower petals Faith and Brianna had scattered around.
She looks to the girls, standing next to Geillis and Jenny, smiling broadly at her.
The cool, crisp air only makes this more magical, like a rustic getaway in a winter wonderland.
She feels nervous, though she shouldn't be, but catching Jamie's blue eyes instantly calms her down.
When she reaches him, she glances over his shoulder at Murtagh and Ian both standing as groomsmen, and she giggles, thinking how he'd wanted Hector and John to stand with him as well, but she'd had to put her foot down, saying they'd have no guests if he used everyone as a groomsman. He'd agreed with a grin, but spent time assuring the other men they were just as important to him in their lives.
Handing Jenny her bouquet, she takes Jamie's hands in hers, listening as the preacher begins the short ceremony.
She barely hears his words, too enraptured by her husband's gaze and her barely there pooch that holds the secret of another life they've created between them. She's planning on telling Jamie tonight, having just taken the test last week when she just knew her nausea recently hadn't been due to nerves over the upcoming wedding.
They're leaving tonight for Spain, having decided as soon as they started planning the wedding that it was the only right place for them to go. They'd now each gone separately, finding one another there, but they wanted to really go, together, and enjoy every second worry free.
"Sorcha," he whispers, pulling her from her thoughts. "Yer like the sun shining through the clouds, ye look sae bonny."
She smiles, eyes filling with tears at her cheesy, romantic husband.
Her hand pulses in his as their vows begin. They'd chosen to write their own this time, and she smiles nervously as the preacher calls for her to start.
With a deep breath, she blows it out slowly, saying softly, "I once told you I took you 'til death parts us', and I did, and I still do again." Their friends chuckle softly, and Jamie smiles reassuringly as a blush warms her cheeks. "Even in death, you were mine, and I was still yours."
She feels the emotions take over, unsure if she'll be able to finish around the lump in her throat. She sniffles, adding in a choked voice, "I love you so much, James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser, and I vow to always be by your side for the rest of our lives." Smiling, she swallows thickly, adding, "I promise you today to always cherish each and every moment we are given together. You're my other half, my better half, and I will always love you." She slips his old wedding band back onto his finger, having taken it from him last week to get cleaned up for today.
Jamie beams, his own eyes filling with tears. He reaches around to Ian to take Claire's new wedding band, a very thin one covered in small diamonds. It joins her original band and engagement ring he'd given her years ago, fitting into place perfectly around the top of her larger diamond as he says, "We could be separated by time itself, and I'd wait for ye for two hundred years in purgatory, two hundred years wi'out ye just for a chance to see ye again." He smiles, making a joke about how the last six years in North Carolina felt like that, making her and everyone else laugh softly, before he grows serious, adding, "When I stand before God, I'll only have one thing to say to him: Lord ye gave me a rare woman, and I loved her well." He goes to lean in, and she does too, but the preacher clears his throat comically, making everyone snicker.
They pull apart before their lips can meet, smiling widely at one another.
Jamie smiles sheepishly at the preacher, then to her, finishing with, "Ye are the best woman I've ever kent, and I'm sae glad you chose to let me love you all those years ago." His eyes fill with tears, and so do hers, but they smile at one another, calming the other with their presence. "I vow to ye, and to God, and tae everyone here today, that I will love and cherish ye til my verra last breath, mo ghraidh."
For the sake of tradition, just as their first wedding, they repeat the Gaelic vows, promising one another, "Blood of my blood, and bone of my bone. I give you my body that we two may be one. I give you my spirit til our life shall be done."
"I love you," Jamie whispers.
"I love you, too," she responds, their tears falling silently down their cheeks.
Jamie glances down, then flicks his eyes back to hers nervously, saying, "I've failed ye before, but I promise you I'll keep you safe in my arms for as long as we both shall live."
She shakes her head, knowing he'd never failed them, and she tells him so. They fall into their own little moment, the entire ceremony floating away as she makes sure he knows what happened wasn't a failure on his part. "You've always protected us, Jamie," she squeezes his hand, their new wedding rings clinking together, "Your entire disappearance was to keep us safe. Don't ever say you failed us again. Do you hear me, James Fraser?"
"Aye," he smirks, sniffling, "I hear ye."
The preacher clears his throat, bringing them both back to the moment, and Jamie laughs awkwardly, the corner of his mouth tipping up into a smirk.
"Well, then," the preacher says with a chuckle, "I now pronounce you husband and wife, again, and now you may kiss your bride."
With that, he pulls her into his arms, leaning her back as he presses his lips to hers.
She savors the moment, thankful her morning sickness held off for the whole ceremony, and she wraps her hands around her husband's neck, knowing this is the type of love she'd never experience with anyone else.
Everyone cheers, the girls jumping up and down before Jenny takes their hands, leading them inside along with the rest of the guests as music begins to softly play.
"Come on, inside, all of ye!" Jenny calls, herding their friends and family like cattle. "Give the bride and groom a moment alone, will ye?"
Claire giggles, cuddling into Jamie's chest under the archway as they watch their small group head inside.
A gust of wintery air blows over them, making Claire shiver, and Jamie unclasps the tartan that he had over his chest and shoulder for the ceremony. He wraps her in it, pulling her close again.
They take a moment just for themselves, and Jamie reaches for her left hand, slipping her new wedding band off her finger.
"Hey, mister," she chides playfully, "you're supposed to leave that on."
He grins, holding it up between his large fingers. "Look at the inside, mo nighean donn."
She takes it from him, squinting to see there's an inscription around the inside.
Da mi basia mille
"Give me a thousand kisses," she whispers, eyes misting over for the millionth time today.
It was a poem he'd read to her at university, late one night when she was stressed and sick of studying. He'd picked up a book of poetry, reading to her softly until she calmed down. It had become their poem from then on out, and the thought makes her want to cry all over again.
She looks up at him, stepping into his embrace again. She plants her lips on his, kissing him deeply, then pulls back.
"One," he chuckles, pressing another kiss to her lips, "Two," then one to her neck, his tongue peeking out to tease her. "Three."
He then presses a succession of quick kisses to her jaw, cheek and lips, and she breathes out huskily, "Five," followed by a little moan.
Jamie pulls back with a smug grin. "Five?" he murmurs with a gleam in his eye, and she bites her lip, her cheeks heating.
"Oh," she laughs, leaning her head back as his lips find her neck. "I seem to have lost count."
"Guess I'll have tae start over tonight," he rasps, pressing one more chaste kiss to her lips. He laughs into her skin, the feel of his scruff making goosebumps flare on her skin.
"We'd better get inside," she breathes, gripping his hair as he presses a kiss to her collar bone. "Everyone is waiting."
Jamie sighs dramatically, pulling back. "Ye're right," he looks toward the house, laughing, "Plus Jenny is standing in the window death-glaring me. I dinna want to die quite sae soon after our wedding vows."
She chortles, looking over to Jenny, and shakes her head. "Alright, alright."
He stretches his hand out, taking hers in his, but grows serious as he turns to look at her, stopping their walk to the house. "Sassenach…"
Her head tilts, her hand resting on his bicep in concern. "What is it, Jamie?"
He sighs, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips. He lifts her amber engagement ring she has strung on a necklace today, hanging down to accentuate the V of her dress, then lets it drop with his boyish grin. "When the day shall come that we do part," he begins, lifting her left hand to press a kiss to her knuckles, "if my last words are not 'I love you', ye'll ken it's because I didna have time."
She bites her lip, trying to control her tears. Damn him. He just continues to be so sweet and loving, she doesn't think her emotions will ever calm down. Especially not for the next several months with these hormones raging through her body.
"That was always my biggest regret, ken?" he asks softly, shaking his head, "I spent sae many nights praying that ye kent I loved you after ye thought I was dead. I never want ye to question my love."
"I don't, Jamie," she states with a fiery passion in her tone, her head shaking vehemently. How he could even think that she ever questioned his love, she'll never know. "Your love for me has never been a question in my mind. I hope you know that."
He nods, taking a deep breath. "Aye, I ken…" he trails off. "It's just a fear o' mine."
Her shoulders sink, and she takes his hand, kissing his wrist. "I love you, James Fraser, and don't you ever forget it."
She pulls him in for another kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, Jenny and her glare be damned.
When they break for air, she smiles sweetly, her fingers tracing soft patterns on his jaw before resting under his chin as her forehead comes to press against his.
They take another moment for just the two of them, enjoying the peace the outside provides.
Their eyes close, breathing each other in, before they slowly open almost simultaneously. They grin at each other, and Jamie takes her hand, leading them back inside for their reception.
{**********************}
The warmth of the house surrounds her as they step in from the cool winter day, and Claire laughs as she watches Faith, Brianna, and Sophia entertaining their guests with their dance moves in the living room.
John and Hector make their way in from the entertainment to the kitchen, smiling at the newlyweds. "The ceremony was gorgeous," John says, kissing Claire's cheek. "I can't believe you pulled it off on such short notice."
"Well, it helps when there's only twenty people to seat and feed, half of which are children." She grins, saying, "Plus I have Hector, so I didn't need to pay for a caterer."
"It's what I'm here for!" Hector exclaims jovially, pulling Claire into a tight hug and kissing her cheek. "Speaking of, the cake is gorgeous, and ready to cut when you guys are."
She nods, glancing over as she sees Fergus joining them in the kitchen. He'd been a delightful surprise to officially meet four months ago. They'd taken a weekend trip back to North Carolina to pack up all of Jamie's things, and the girls' toys they'd left there—much to Claire's bemused chagrin—and Fergus had been home.
Jamie was elated to finally tell Fergus the truth of his family, and the younger man had been overjoyed to meet Claire and the girls.
Once Fergus' trial was over two months ago, he'd called Jamie, introducing himself as Claudel, but said he was choosing to keep his new identity, claiming Fergus sounded much cooler. He told them of his wife and children, and as it turns out, Marsali and the kids lived in North Carolina, too, just five hours from where Fergus and Jamie had been. The family had been reunited, and Claire was thrilled to meet Marsali the other day when they arrived for the weekend.
They were a young couple, and Claire felt as if she was their mother, but they were hilarious, and Marsali loved to help Claire in the kitchen, so she's enjoyed them being in town.
"This was a great wedding, Milady," Fergus tells her gallantly in his French accent, bowing and kissing her cheek like he belonged in the eighteenth century. Claire laughs, pulling him into a hug. When she releases him, Fergus claps Jamie on the shoulder. He and Jamie had grown close as roommates over their time together, and she could tell Fergus truly looked up to Jamie as a father figure. "And these biscuits are très délicieux," he adds, holding up one of the treats.
"See?" she grins, looking to Hector. "You can never go wrong with your biscuits, no matter what time of day it is."
She leaves Jamie to entertain the small group, picking up her tulle skirt and meandering over to the kitchen to make sure there's enough food on the counters for everyone.
"Stop yer fussing," Geillis says, stepping up beside her. "I've kept the masses plenty fed, including all the bairns."
Claire smiles, listening to the kids' laughter coming from downstairs—Faith, Brianna, Sophia, Jamie, Maggie, and Kitty, along with Germain and Felicity. It was a full house today, the basement teaming with rambunctious kids, but she loves the sound of so many children, and she thinks again of their newest addition growing inside of her.
She helps Geillis fill the trays with more appetizers—biscuits, chicken fingers, fruit—a random assortment, really, nothing fancy, but she wanted today to just feel like a backyard barbeque with family, just inside where it was warmer.
Geillis takes a tray, lifting it up and onto the kitchen counter, saying she'll go tell Murtagh there's more food since he'd been scarfing everything down.
Claire laughs, watching as her friend goes. Jamie joins her then, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. His head comes to rest on her shoulder and her hands wrap around his over her stomach.
"Today was braw," he murmurs, kissing her neck.
"Mm," she agrees with a small nod, "it was wonderful."
They stay there a moment, enjoying the nook of quiet in the kitchen now that Jamie's witness protection family has wandered back into the living room.
"Come on," she says, patting his forearms and stepping out of his embrace. "Let's go mingle with our guests."
She takes his hand, their fingers linking together as she leads him into their party.
Once there, she beams as she listens to Jamie talking to Murtagh and Dougal. They're discussing work, and she knows that Jamie has a renewed sense of peace working for the distillery again, especially because he'd talked to Brianna's horseback riding instructor and said he'd love to volunteer there from time to time.
Hector and John had promised them that if they ever wanted to move to North Carolina, they could, and Jamie would always have a job at the stables.
It was tempting, for sure, but their family was here in Georgia, and the girls had their friends at school. This is where their life was. And who knows, maybe one day they'd find themselves settling in North Carolina, but for right now, this is where they needed to be.
She settles onto the couch next to Joe and Gail, patting her friend's knee. He takes out his phone, snapping a selfie with the two women, and they spend the next ten minutes lost in their own conversation about work and a surgery they have to perform next week. Gail listens closely, never too interested in their medical talk but always with a smile on her face.
The girls come running in, a gaggle of kids behind them, and Faith and Wee Jamie, being the eldest of the kids, announce that they've come up with a new routine to show off.
Claire laughs, letting Faith turn on her music once more, the whole group performing a disjointed dance that only Faith, Maggie and Jamie seem to be able to handle.
All the adults cheer them on, her house being filled with so much laughter and joy that she thinks it may burst at the seams.
Looking across the room, she catches Jamie's gaze, and while the children entertain everyone else, they're once again lost in each other.
This is wonderful, this is how their lives were always supposed to be—hosting large gatherings like they always helped Jenny and Ian do at Lallybroch, the kids running wild and carefree as the fireplace warmed their home.
She breathes in, a feeling of contentness taking over. Her hand falls to her stomach, a smile fighting it's way to her lips as she thinks of how Jamie will react tonight when she tells him, and what spoon he'll choose for this one.
"Earth to Lady Jane," Joe calls, pulling her from her thoughts. Her whisky eyes break away from Jamie's blue, and she laughs, watching from the corner of her eye as Ian hugs Jamie, whispering something to him.
"Sorry," she laughs, shaking her head.
Joe assures her that it's alright, then says, "You look really happy."
"I am," she smiles, knowing that this is the happiest she's been in years.
Claire thinks about how much freer she feels now that everything is over and out in the open. She basks in how safe she truly feels now, and she knows that this is just the start of the rest of their lives.
END.
{*******************************}
Thank you so, so much to everyone who read this story! This has been one of my all time favorite stories I've told, and I'm thankful y'all stuck with it. I'm sad that it's over, and lowkey wish I would've not done weekly updates to draw it out longer LOL!
I am (maybe, possibly) planning to do some one shots showing their time with John, Hector and Sophia living with them while they waited for the trial… simply because I really enjoy writing this Hector I created and I think the four of them have a fun dynamic! Haha
I have also posted some pictures on my tweet of this update to show Claire's wedding dress, her bouquet and (sort of) Jamie's kilt/tuxedo lol
Stay tuned for the epilogue next week! 3