3rd Person POV:
Claire and Jamie walked into a room they had procured above the tavern on their way back to Leoch.
Neither dared utter a word and an uncomfortable silence befell the room.
Finally Jamie, needed to say something clear his throat and prepared to speak,
"I wanna thank yer, Claire, fer marryin me."
"Which time?"
"Both."
Claire nodded and wrapped her arms around herself feeling very self conscious.
"I know this cannae be the wedding yer imagined but aye swear te ya I will be a good husband te ya."
Claire let her hands fall to her sides allowing her protective stance to drop at Jamie's sincere words.
"I believe you will Jamie, it just I didn't ever really wanted to be married again, at least not so soon after Frank."
"I would never treat ye like Frank," Jamie growled out.
Claire studied him for a moment trying to decide if she believed him... his eyes were alight with intense passion, but there wasn't any malice there... not for her.
"I believe you, Jamie. I think you will make a fine husband, I'm just not sure how good of a wife I will be to you at the moment." Claire admitted.
"Will ye be faithful to me?" Jamie asked.
"Yes, I would never betray or humiliate you." Claire quickly told him.
Jamie nodded, "I will never betray ye either Claire."
Claire took in his words and nodded accepting them.
"Will ye ever lie ta meh?" He asked.
"No, not outright but it is hard for me to trust... there are things about me I am not sure I am ready to share just yet, I knew you deserved to know about my Randall but-" Claire admitted.
"There are things I cannae not tell ye either, at least not yet. And I'll ask nothin of ye that ye cannae give me. But what I would ask of ye when ye do tell me somethin' let it be the truth. And I'll promise ye the same. We have nothing now between us, save respect perhaps. Like we said before, I think that respect has maybe room for secrets, but not for lies."
Claire nodded, "I can agree to that,"
Jamie took a step toward her, "Then I think ye will make meh a fine wife Claire Fraser."
He reached out a hand to cup her cheek and Claire couldn't help but to melt a little into him.
"There's one more thing I need you to promise me, Jamie."
"Aye? And what is that?"
Claire looks deep into his eyes so he can see she is serious,
"That you will never, ever, strike me... if you ever do, it will be the first and only time, do you understand me?"
"I take yer meaning Sassernach, but then I must ask you something in return... that ye will never disobey me when it comes to yer safety, that is the only course I could see where I would have warrant to reprimand ye."
"I will never be meek or submissive, I can't be that person again, but if you rationally explain the dangers I will agree to defer to you on what the best course of action is for us, you having more knowledge of... (she almost says this time but catches herself) of Scotland."
"Then I think ours will be a happy marriage." He takes her into his arms again and brushes some of her curls behind her ear, "Mo nighean donn, I am gonna kiss yer now."
Jamie presses his lips firmly against Claire's and it's not too much longer before passion starts to build between them.
Claire opens her mouth slightly and shocks Jamie by gently tracing his upper lip with the tip of her tongue.
"Christ, Sassernach," Jamie growls before plundering her mouth with vigor holding nothing back from his new bride.
His kiss leaves Claire dizzy from lack of oxygen, "Where did you learn to kiss like that?" She asks having believed Jamie to be inexperienced,
"I said I was a virgin... not a monk. If I need guidance... I'll ask." He forcibly turns her around and starts working on unlacing her dress and corset.
Finally free of the restricting material Claire steps away from him and looks him up and down, "I believe it's your turn now." She tells him speaking of his clothing.
Jamie with fire in his eyes never breaks from her gaze as his disrobes.
Free now apart from his tunic he stalks towards Claire intent on taking her right this moment but last minute nerves claim her and she takes a step back.
"I'm I'm sorry, we don't have ta... I would never force ye ta lay with me."
Claire looks down feeling foolish for her moment of panic, "it's not that, it's just... there is still so much we don't know about each other, maybe we could just talk for a while."
"Aye, tis a fine idea, let me pour us both a drink first." Jamie says but needs to turn away from her for several moments to try and get a handle on his urges so he doesn't just throw her down on the table and take her.
After some deep breaths and two glasses of whiskey, he feels more in control to face her again.
He hands her a cup and raises his own taking another large gulp.
"What is it you wish to discuss, Sassernach?"
"Will you tell me about your family?" She asks.
"How many generations back?"
She smiles, "your parents will do."
"Aye. My father was a Fraser... of course. My mother was Aileen Mackenzie, the elder sister of Colum and Dougal. My aunt Janet is dead, like my mother, but my aunt Jocasta resides in the new world. I worshiped my father and was blessed he got to see me grow up. I was always grateful for that and I also have my sister, Jenny, named after my aunt who passed. And what of your family Sassernach?"
"I've never had much in the way of family, both my parents died when I was very young, I was no more than 5 years old. No brother or sisters or grandparent's I just had my uncle Lamb, he was my father's brother and I lived with him even after I was grown we had a very close bond... I was devastated when he passed and then not long after I met Frank."
Jamie took Claire's hand and held it in his own, "I will be yer family now, Mo nighean donn."
"You've called me that before, what does it mean?"
"My brown haired lass."
"I've always been so self-conscious about my hair," She says reaching up a hand to her hair
"Ye shouldn't be, you've the loveliest hair," said Jamie,
"What? This mass of unruly brown curls?"
"I like the unruliness, speaks ta yer independence and passion. And as fer the brown... It's like the water in a burn, the way it ruffles down the rocks. Dark in the wavy spots with wee bits of auburn when the sun touches it..."
Catching both Jamie and herself off guard something within Claire urged her to kiss her new husband, and so she did, with all the passion he had just described.
And he kissed her back just as fiercely and the two tumbled down into bed together taking their time in becoming one, over and over again.