Chapter Four
"So?" Jenna asked while lying under the duvet with Jamie and her head rested on his chest.
"Eh?" Jamie asked while she stroked his chest and his hearts thumped softly in her ear.
"How does it feel to be a dad?"
"I've been a father before," he sighed as she felt his skin growing tighter and his breathing became hard and fast. She had forgotten that a part of his mind and soul had lived a full life a long time ago as she nodded and did little kisses on his chest.
"Tell me about them," she said as he placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.
"Well, my first born was a boy named Alexander. I remember the midwife getting really angry when I kicked in the door an' stormed toward the bed. Men were supposed tae stay outside in those days but Rosealie an' I made him together an' I was nae going tae miss him coming into this world. He was a pretty big bairn an' had a great set of lungs. I could be out in the glen an' heard him crying," he said as she giggled and he started stroking her hair. "A year an' a half later was when my second son, Donald, was born. He wasnae as loud as Alexander but he was big. Alex wasnae pleased that there was another boy in the house an' would cover him up with a blanket so no one could see him."
"He really did that?"
"Aye, and one time, when he was older, he tried to sell Donny tae the lady down the road," he said and she softly laughed.
"Poor kid," she said as he nodded and wrapped some of her hair around his finger.
"I wasnae mad at him but we did have a wee man tae man talk aboot Donny an' I explained that it was a big job, being the oldest. He got the idea a year an' a half later when my third son, Daniel, was born. Now, Danny was like Alex when it came tae crying. It sounded like a siren going off," he said as she laughed and kissed his chest. "Two years later was when my fourth son, Hamish, was born."
Looking up at him, Jenna noticed sadness in his eyes and she blinked, snuggling closer.
"Did he...die?" she asked, knowing that infant deaths were high in his timeline.
"Och, no, he lived. See, out of all of us, I think I'm the only one that understands what the Doctor an' Rain are going through."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking aboot Namid."
"Namid is…Hold it, are you saying that Hamish was born blind?"
"Aye, he was. See, Rosealie had gotten ill while she was pregnant with him an' I was afraid I was going tae lose both of them. She got better but we didnae ken that he was blind until he tried tae crawl an' crawled into the wall. The doctor examined him an' told us that our little bairn was blind. He nearly got a dirk in the ribs when he suggested we drown Hamish in the river."
"What?" she asked with wide eyes and he sighed.
"He told us that children like Hamish were weak an' they wouldnae have any sort of life other than being a beggar. Now, me, I knew that my son wasnae weak an' would make his way in the world. I carved him this wooden stick so he could move around the house an' Alex used tae tie a string around Hamish's wrist when they went out tae play. We had explained tae the boys that Hamish couldnae see but they didnae care an' Alex was very protective of him. Though, tae be honest, I think most of the bumps an' bruises Hamish got were from rough housing with his brothers. A year and a half after Hamish's birth was when my first daughter, Ashley, was born. She had a set of lungs on her an' Hamish proved tae be a great big brother. Anyone who tried tae hurt her had tae duck because he would pull her behind him an' swing his stick at whoever it was. He never hit them but they got the idea nae tae be mean tae Hamish McCrimmon's wee sister," he said as she giggled and he kissed the top of her head. "Two years later was when my fifth son, James, was born. He had these two wee freckles on the bridge of his nose an' was a wee bit smaller than his brothers. A year and a half later was when my second daughter, Catherine, was born. Like her big sister, she had a set of lungs on her an' would wake us up exactly at two in the morning when she wanted tae be fed. The last of my children was…Mary."
Jenna knew the story about what happened to his daughter as she nodded and he sighed, rubbing his eyes with his fingers.
"What happened to them?" she asked.
"Well, Alex went tae work on a horse ranch for a British laird an' ended up marrying the daughter of the head man. Her name was Grace an' she was a lovely lass. Mind you, she was also tough as nails an' never put up with Alex' silliness. Donny and Danny went off tae see on this fish trawler an' married twin sisters, Lily an' April. I had the hardest time trying tae remember which was which when they werenae with their husbands an' they loved pretending tae be the other one. James went tae work for the local carpenter an' married his youngest daughter, Natalie. Ashley married the son of a British laird, who wasnae keen on his son marrying a Scottish girl, an' they ran a small sheep ranch near where I lived. Catherine married the son of a local blacksmith an' he treated her like a princess. Ashley's husband was the same but he did a wee temper on him. He never hit Ashley but he wasnae very nice tae his ranch hands."
"What about Hamish?"
"Och, see, Rosealie an' I never treated him like he was different. We did make sure no harm came tae him an' let him grow up knowing that he shouldnae let his limits prevent him from having a good life. When he told us that he wanted tae become a teacher, we werenae really sure but he studied hard, with some help from a tutor, an' ended up teaching at one of our local schools. His friends used tae love playing pranks on him but he seemed tae ken what they were up tae."
"Did he ever get married?"
"Aye, he married a lovely girl named Lucy. She was a teacher at the school an' didnae care that he was blind. She loved the man inside an' never put up with his anger when people would pity him or look down on him. I remember this one time when we were all walking through town an' these women were looking at him with such detest in their eyes. Lucy just stopped then cussed them out an' I was sure she was going tae get arrested. Hamish didnae care an' laughed. He was used tae her being a spitfire," he said and she smiled.
"Do you remember what it was like to be a grandfather?"
"Och, aye, I do. Alex used tae tease me an' say that I loved spoiling them but nae my own children. I just told him that it's the grandfather's job tae spoil them," he said then sighed and she looked up at him.
"Then you died, got reborn, got your mind back and became a father all over again," she said as he smiled then nodded and she climbed on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her as she slid her hands under his arms and he wiggled a bit under her.
"That's why I was so reluctant tae ask you tae marry me. I wasnae sure if I should have anymore bairn because I felt like they werenae be mine but his."
"That's silly. This is your body."
"No, he might have sounded like me and looked like me but that's where it ends. Genetically, it's his body."
"You sure about that?" she asked as he gave her a confused look and she smiled. "Did you forget those tests my dad did after you got your mind and soul back together?"
"Aye, I ached for weeks."
"Did you ever ask him what he found out?"
"No, I didnae want tae to ken," he said when she climbed off of him and opened the nightstand drawer. He watched while she took out a small scanner then tossed it to him and he caught it with one hand. She snuggled down next to him when he pushed the button on the top left corner. Reading the information, he blinked several times when she took the scanner out of his hand and placed it back in the drawer. "Is that true?"
"Yep, according to the tests, some of your original genetic material was absorbed along with your mind and soul," she said, climbing on top of him and she kissed his lips.
"Are you saying that I cloned myself?"
"Well, it was more like you stabilized your DNA," she said when she saw the tears in his eyes and she got off of him and sat against the headboard. She held her arms out as he snuggled against him and she rocked him when he started crying. She waited until he stopped when she handed him a tissue and he blew his nose.
"Anyway, we didnae even have time tae get settled in this universe when we went off with the Doctor, Jack, Alan an' Adam an' found six wee orphans as well as one hell of a mystery."
"Yep, you were bound and determined to raise those kids even if it meant you and me staying in the past."
"I ken what they were going tae have tae go through if they were left on their own," he sighed and she rocked him.
"I never asked how you knew that. I thought you were raised by your laird."
"I was but I also spent three months in a workhouse until he got the proper guardianship papers. It was the longest an' scariest three months of my life."
"Well, they didn't have to do that and we ended up with six great kids."
"But it wasnae always easy, was it? Angus and Robbie were always getting into trouble, Ian nearly got killed in the hover car accident, Victoria had that abusive boyfriend an' Frazer..." he said with a smile and she giggled.
'Yeah, well, Frazer has always been the wild one."
"It still bothers me that he might end up like…" he said then sighed and she kissed his fingers.
"He isn't going to end up like Mary. The Doctor, let alone my dad, would never let them take him."
"I ken that but it still bugs me."
"What I'm happy about is Frazer finally told Angel that he loved her."
"Aye, that lad took his good time, unlike his brothers and sister."
"Yeah, Angus married Colleen practically after their first date. Robbie and Catherine got married on that ice planet and Ian and Toni got married on the beach."
"That just leaves Conner an' Victoria."
"Vicky does fancy Derek, so you never know. As for Conner, I don't think he'll ever find the right woman."
"What aboot Melissa? They seem tae be getting on."
"I don't know. Anyway, if she does marry him then she is in for a fight. Conner is really stubborn."
"Aye, that's true," Jamie said as he sat up then nodded and she straddled his hips, sitting on his legs. "Going back tae Frazer, I just hope he an' Angel wait a bit because I'm nae ready tae be a grandfather just yet."
"I don't think Alan is ready either."
"Och, I just realized that he an' I are family now."
"And what's so bad about that? Alan's nice."
"He's also bonkers. I swear someone dropped him on his head at some point," Jamie teased and Jenna giggled. Suddenly the sound of a baby crying filled the air as he sighed and Jenna kissed his lips. "Want me tae go get them?"
"If you don't mind," she said as she climbed off of him and Jamie moved the duvet back, getting out of bed. Turning the light on, he left the room when he walked down the hallway and walked into the nursery. He turned the light on when he walked to the cot and looked down at the twins. Tears dribbled down Zoe's cheeks as he picked her up and placed her head against his shoulder. Hushing her, he gently rubbed her back and sent love and comfort into her mind.
"Now, now, it's alright. Daddy's here," he whispered when he smelt something and held her away from his body, frowning. "Och, Pixie, what did you do?"
Zoe wiggled in his hands as he smiled then walked to the changing table and gently lowered her down onto it. Undoing the snaps on her sleeper and opening the nappy, he coughed then waved his hand over her and she giggled.
"It's a good thing Daddy has a respiratory bypass system," he teased then changed Zoe's nappy and placed the sleeper back on her. He did the snaps then picked her up and held her against his chest. He walked to the rocking chair when he sat down and placed his feet on the footstool. Gently kissing the top of her head, Jamie started rocking Zoe as he softly sang a Scottish lullaby and placed his cheek on the top of her head. A few minutes later, Jenna walked into the room when she saw Jamie and Zoe sound asleep and she took the blanket off of back of the rocking chair and covered them with it.
"Night, Love," she whispered as she kissed the top of Jamie's head then turned the light off, leaving the room, and Jamie softly smiled.