Notes: Castle McCrimmon was an idea from a planned Doctor Who serial back in the 60s that was later scrapped. While the story itself isn't canon, the idea of Castle McCrimmon's existence is one that I've adopted into my headcanon.
Jamie awoke fully rested, with his head still on the Doctor's shoulder. Outside was still gray and miserable, but it was clearly daytime.
"Ah, good morning, Jamie," the Doctor said, holding up the tray of sandwiches he had been partaking of. "Breakfast?"
"Aye, thanks," the piper said, taking one.
He looked behind him as he ate, seeing that Zoe and Victoria were also up and eating breakfast.
"Do finish up quickly; we'd best get a move on as immediately as possible," the Brigadier said. "And make sure not to take too many supplies. Bring only what is necessary so that we're not weighed down."
"We have a cushion of over twelve hours," Zoe reminded him.
"I still see no reason to delay when we are on borrowed time," the Brigadier pointed out. "And there's no way of knowing what might delay us out there."
"Well, Jamie will be sure to minimize those delays," the Doctor assured him.
"Aye," Jamie said. "I have a pretty good idea of where t' go."
"Read this and get an exact idea," the Brigadier said, handing him the map. "The terrain will have changed considerably since your time. Yates has marked our current location on there for you."
"E'en if the terrain has changed, the distance will be the same," he determined. "That's all I need t' know." He went over the map, anyway, and nodded in affirmation. "Aye, we can keep going through the woodlands in the northwest direction—it'll be a direct line towards Inverness."
"I hope you're taking into consideration that the heavy rains will make traversing through woodlands muddy and unpleasant," the Master reminded.
"I know how my homeland works," Jamie quipped back. "When we're on Gallifrey, ye can give us yer commentary."
"Between McCrimmon's instincts and my survival training, we should be fine, providing we stick together," the Brigadier agreed. "McCrimmon, we're leaving ourselves in your hands. There's a lot riding on this."
"I know," Jamie said, stuffing the rest of the sandwich into his mouth. "Just trust me; I won' lead ye wrong."
"Mind that you don't eat too quickly," the Doctor fussed, as he watching him wolf down the sandwich.
The Brigadier, in the meantime, was now saying an ever-so-slightly tenuous farewell to Yates and Benton.
"As you know, even in spite of our cushion of time and our planning, there is a chance of failure—and a rather disgraceful one, at that," he was saying. "As with every other disaster we've faced, we'll deal with this the same way—head-on, and with full courage. I know I am asking a lot of you to spend what might potentially be your last days here with this vehicle, but if the stars align in our favor, it shan't be the end."
Yates and Benton responded with a salute.
"Whatever the outcome, Sir, it was our honor and our privilege to serve under your command," Yates said.
Jamie, who had now moved on to gathering the supplies he would be carrying, paused to watch the Brigadier return the salute. All this time, he had been thinking only about saving the lives of the Doctor and their close friends. It was beginning to sink in now that there were others at stake—everyone he ever knew, as well as strangers he didn't know, who were huddling in fear somewhere or attempting to continue life as normal as they could.
More than ever, he was determined to help save them. And now, as navigator, he finally had a chance to contribute something to this effort which had, up until now, been only on the shoulders of the cleverer ones.
He silently hoped that he wouldn't let them down.
They had set off soon after, all of them wearing plastic rainwear and carrying supplies in waterproof bags. Though it felt awkward to be clad in plastic, Jamie could appreciate how dry his clothes were as he led the others onward through the woodlands. Some modern inventions had proven themselves to be incredibly useful.
The Doctor plodded along cheerfully behind him; Jamie couldn't help but feel pleased that the Doctor was sticking with him rather than the Master. Jamie suspected that it was because the Doctor was making up for not being able to be with him much during the initial three-day cycle. Whatever the reason, Jamie was happy heading through familiar lands with a loved one right behind him.
Zoe was right behind them, going over the map just to reassure herself that Jamie was leading them efficiently. She seemed to be satisfied, as she hadn't said anything; Jamie knew from experience that if Zoe disagreed with anything that was going on, she would let it be known immediately.
Victoria was walking beside the Master just behind Zoe. She was trying to keep him involved in conversation, though it was a futile effort on her part, as he was not in a good mood and seemed to be mulling something over in his mind. Salamander was behind them, utterly silent, and the Brigadier was bringing up the rear to keep an eye on the two miscreants, making sure they didn't try anything.
Zoe's assessment about their pace had been correct; their progress was slow, but steady, thanks to Jamie's navigational skills. Around noontime, they hunkered down briefly for a rest and for lunch. It was during this time that the Master, who had eaten his fill at breakfast and wasn't hungry, sensed something amiss.
"We are being watched," he declared, glaring at a nearby tree. He stood up, not taking his eyes off of the spot. "Show yourself, and you will not be harmed! Remain in seclusion, and you will face the consequences!"
Jamie stood up now, drawing his knife in the event that it was someone or something unpleasant. To his surprise, a frightened, young teenage girl peered at him from behind the tree she had hidden behind.
"Och, ye great oaf; ye were threatening a poor lassie," the piper snarled at the Master, pleased at how foolish the crafty Time Lord now looked. "All she wanted from us was some food."
The Master refused to dignify his snide remark with a reply.
Victoria now stood up, shielding a sandwich with her rainwear as she headed over to the girl with a smile.
"That's it, isn't it?" she asked, kindly, as the Master sat down. "You're hungry?"
"And a wee bit lost," the girl added, with a nod. "I was visiting here with some friends, and I got a bit turned arooned yesterday when the rain started."
"You've been wandering in these woods since yesterday!?" the Doctor exclaimed. "Where do you live?"
"A wee village near Lochindorb," she replied. "We drove oot here and went for a walk in the woods. Then the rain started, and we all got separated trying t' make it back t' the car. I ne'er made it oot of the woods at all."
"Lochindorb…" Jamie murmured.
"It's out of our way," Zoe said, consulting the map.
"Aye, but it's nae too far oot of our way."
There was a long pause.
"You had better not be thinking what I think you're thinking," Salamander warned, a touch of venom in his voice. "Estupido! We do not have the time to be good Samaritans! Or have you forgotten why we are here!?"
"She's lost!" Victoria exclaimed. "Jamie's right; we can't just leave her here! Doctor, you agree with us, don't you?"
"It's definitely too dangerous for her to stay in these woods," the Doctor agreed. "Even the Brigadier said that staying out here at night is deadly—it's a miracle she survived the night at all!"
The Brigadier exhaled.
"We can't leave her here; you're right about that," he agreed. "We'll just have to take her to Inverness with us."
The girl's face fell.
"If ye can just lead me oot of the woods, I can head home by myself," she said, after a moment. "I don' want ye going oot of yer way fer me."
"It's no trouble at all," Victoria said, gently.
"Her parents must be worried," Jamie said. "Zoe, I have an idea. Ye said we'd have twelve hours t' spare, aye?"
"Yes, that's right," she said. "And I was being conservative about that, as well. If you're asking me if we'd have enough time to take her to Lochindorb, we should. Taking the time to rest for the night, we'd be at Inverness with… probably six hours to spare—we'd arrive approximately at midnight."
"And we cannae program the machine before midnight anyway," Jamie finished. "Aye, that settles it; we're going t' Lochindorb."
"Have you taken leave of what senses you have remaining, huh!?" Salamander snapped.
"Ye heard what Zoe said," Jamie countered.
"You assume everything will go smoothly! What of delays!?" Salamander returned. "How do you know that we will not have trouble trying to get to Inverness!?"
"While I certainly agree that we cannot leave this girl here, I do think it would be prudent to take her with us to Inverness, as I suggested moments ago," the Brigadier said. "That way, we will be covered in the event there are delays."
"I have my reasons for wanting t' take her to Lochindorb," Jamie said to the Brigadier. "If ye want t' go on to Inverness, ye can—I can tell ye which way to go and rejoin ye later so that ye won't be delayed."
"Jamie," the Doctor said, softly. "If you're going to Lochindorb, then I shall go to Lochindorb with you."
The piper looked to the Time Lord with a grateful grin.
The Brigadier stood there for a moment, contemplating their choices.
"Very well," he said, at last. "But I'd rather not trust ourselves to this terrain; if it's all the same to you, McCrimmon, just give us the general direction of where to go, and we'll use the map. Your shortcuts would be useful, but I doubt that we'd be able to navigate them without you."
"Aye, verra well," Jamie said. "Ye'll want t' make for just south of Piperhill. Ye'll find Castle McCrimmon—my ancestral home. Och, well, my ancestral home for the rich ones in the family. We ne'er got t' see the inside because we were poor and lived in that village—"
"Jamie…" the Doctor reminded him, gently.
"Aye, that's nae important now," Jamie agreed. "But, anyway, as that is technically my property, we willnae be trespassing if we stay overnight. We can leave for Inverness after breakfast tomorrow morning. And if we're not back yet, ye can leave withoot us, even."
Zoe calculated the distance.
"Piperhill to Inverness is about a five hours' walk under normal conditions…" she murmured. "Meaning it would take us twice that in this weather… Oh, that doesn't change anything from my initial calculations—we'd still arrive with twelve hours to spare!"
"Aye, see?" Jamie said.
"That does mean extra walking for you and the Doctor," the Brigadier pointed out.
"Don' ye worry aboot that; I know shortcuts, remember?" Jamie said.
The Doctor now turned to the Master.
"You've been awfully quiet…" he observed.
"What difference does it make as to what I say?" the Master responded.
The Doctor shrugged, admitting that he had a point.
"Then, it's settled," the Brigadier said. "Very well, McCrimmon, I wish you and the Doctor good luck."
The girls wished them good luck, as well, and the others soon left, leaving the Doctor, Jamie, and the girl behind.
"I'm sorry for all of this," the girl said. "But thank ye."
"No trouble at all, my dear," the Doctor said, warmly. "Now then, I'm the Doctor, and your fellow countryman here is Jamie."
"Aggie," the girl said. "Aggie McLaren."
Jamie whipped around, staring at her.
"McLaren…?" he asked, nearly breathless.
"Aye. Funny that ye mentioned ye're a McCrimmon; I di'n think there were any left, at least none who kept the name. They were supposed t' be friends of our family long ago, who leaved with some of our family near Inverness, but the last of the McCrimmons vanished withoot a trace. They say he reappeared, years older, t' become the Laird and owner of Castle McCrimmon, and then he disappeared again. He kept disappearing and reappearing so many times, supposedly with the aid of a sorcerer. A portrait of him hangs over the mantel in the Great Hall, so they say; with him in the portrait is the sorcerer who spirited him away."
Jamie stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, and the Doctor cleared his throat to break the tension.
"Yes, well…" the Time Lord said. "We must get to Lochindorb posthaste. There will be plenty of time for stories later."
"A-Aye," Jamie agreed.
Suddenly much more confused than ever before, the piper led the way to Lochindorb, wondering what in Heaven's name did the future have in store for him.