A/N: This idea is spawned because my two favorite characters/actors did their own "crossover" challenge, dressing up as the other's character. Colin O'donoghue and Sam Heughan both shared pictures of their antics. Sam was a pirate in a long leather duster and a hook, and Colin was wearing a kilt. I mean if that is food for one's muse I don't know what is.
FYI (Disclaimer): I know the Outlander fandom is a bit lost in terms of fanfiction because "Her Self" aka Diana Gabaldon is a bit iffy about peeps writing fanfiction with her characters. Should anyone ever stumble upon this fic and say "hey that is not right you did write a fic including Jamie and Claire." I'll just say, "Yes I did, live with it, I'm not hurting anyone, I strengthen my creativity and practice writing my own work. Someday I might be as big an author as Diana, and I'd be honored if someone wrote fanfiction with my characters. As long as you don't earn any money on what you write… and no, I don't make any money writing this. End OFF!"
When all the formalities are over I'll just end with a small note on where this story is set… think some 20 years after the Jacobite rebellion we read about in the Outlander books (and that happened in real life) I do mention a treasure called "The Frenchman's Gold" which is mentioned in Outlander, but I have not researched the real history behind this part. I have a treasure that everyone wants, I have this set in a pirate world, (around the British Isles) and yeah Jamie is a pirate too, so his life is not exactly as in the books.
Hope you enjoy this little piece of fiction.
Chapter 1:The evening mist hung low over the town of Port Erin on the Isle of Man, the island covered in green fields and several smaller fishing villages. Port Erin was the central hub for traders and other ships to cast anchor for the night. The crews scattered throughout the town, enjoying a pint or two, perhaps a willing lass to warm their beds. During these times of piracy, it wasn't uncommon for the port to harbor a pirate ship or two; the King's guards would ignore these as long as no one caused any harm to the people living on the island.
Emma Swan worked at the Wilted Willow, a tavern and inn for whoever traveled through the town. Her evening watch had just begun when a large crowd of sailors piled through the door; she could spot sea-fairing men the moment they entered the establishment. Their talk was similar to that of her pirate captain, whom she hoped would be back soon. She wiped down the counter getting ready to take drink orders from the men. Soon the orders came in and she was busy filling tankards of ale and serving the ordered shots of rum too. She had to call her friend and coworker out."Ruby! Get your ass out here and help, will ya?"
"Hold your horses, girl, I'm right here." Ruby came through the back door, smoothing her hair back from her face. She looked a little out of breath and a rosy hue had spread over her cheeks.
"Did you have a little tête-à-tête with your royal guard, Graham?" Emma nudged her friend's shoulder as she poured another pint.
"Shut up, he is going to London soon, so we had to make good use of the time we have left." Ruby pouted but took orders.
It took some time before the hustle died down and everyone was happily enjoying their drinks. Emma took a moment to scan the room; she was sure the new group might be pirates, but sometimes it was hard to tell. What she did notice was the distinct Scottish accents most of the men had. It was rare that pirates from the north came down here; usually, it was merchant ships trading the Scottish wares to the English.
The door opened and a couple came in. The man had a mop of dark red hair falling around his face, his shoulders broad and he looked quite intimidating as he took in the room. The woman pulled down the hood of her traveling cloak and revealed dark curly hair with sprinkles of gray peppered throughout. She smiled at the man and pointed to the bar; he nodded and moved to the newly arrived crowd.
"Our captain graced us wit' his presence," a crewmember hollered and lifted his tankard in the air. Someone else passed a pint to their captain and everyone cheered.
Emma turned her focus on the woman approaching. "How can I help you?"
"I'll have a whiskey." The woman gave a small smile and pushed away her unruly curls.
Emma nodded and found a tumbler for the woman's drink. "Here you go. Just passing through?" she asked.
"Yes, for now at least. My husband and his eh… crew are heading further down south." She shrugged and swallowed the shot of whiskey in one go. She grimaced and mumbled, "not as good as my husband's." She gave Emma an apologetic smile. "My husband brews his own up north in Scotland."
"Ah yeah, I detected a Scottish accent," Emma tilted her head, "but you sound more English?"
The woman fiddled with the tumbler and nodded. "I'm English, came to Scotland… oh well it's quite a long story. But he swept me off my feet when I met him." She glanced over at her husband whose eyes seemed to light up when he noticed her looking. Well, that was love if one ever saw it between two people, Emma mused with a smile.
"He loves you," Emma acknowledged with a smile.
"Oh, very much so." The woman tapped the tumbler. "Perhaps a refill?"
Emma nodded. "I'm Emma by the way." She usually never gave her name to the guests but something about this woman made her trust her.
"Claire Fraser." She lifted the refilled tumbler and nodded.
"Nice to meet you. So will you stay long?" Emma asked, glancing at the large crowd. It would be good for business for sure if such a large ship stayed for a few days.
"They will head out tomorrow."
"And you?"
Claire shrugged. "I will need a room if you have one?"
"Oh, we have one available, let me just find the key." Emma glanced over her shoulder. "For how long will you stay?"
"A week at the most," Claire confirmed with a smile, now only sipping at her whisky.
Emma found the key for their new guest and they sorted out the payment.
The evening dwindled, and the large crew dispersed one by one, a few walking out in smaller groups, others shouting about a visit to the local brothel down the street. Only the captain stayed behind, tugging his wife to his side as the couple walked upstairs. Claire gave Emma a small wave. "Goodnight, thank you for your hospitality."
"Goodnight," Emma called back. "There will be breakfast at eight."
The couple nodded and slipped into the dark hallway and Emma could hear them unlock the door and close it behind them.
"They seem so in love," Ruby gushed beside her, her head resting on her clasped hands as she leaned over the bar top.
"Yeah." Emma felt a pang of longing for her own man.
"Missing your own Captain, hmm?" Ruby waggled her eyebrows.
"I'm sure Killian will be back this week." Emma stacked the last dirty tankards on a tray and carried it to the kitchen. Granny had already left for the evening, so she set the tray in the sink, found the water bucket, and filled each tankard with water. They would clean them in the morning.
The following week Emma got to know Claire a bit more. When the older woman learned that the town had a well-stocked apothecary, she seemed excited. Emma later learned that Claire was well-advised in medicine and healing.
It was a bright sunny day when the door to the Wilted Willow opened up and Emma spotted a leather-clad pirate in the doorway. "Killian you're back!" She rushed towards him and jumped into his embrace.
"Gods above I've missed you, love," he whispered against her hair. "Came as soon as we moored the good Jolly Roger."
Emma looked up at him and she didn't care if anyone saw her, most here knew that she was in a relationship with the pirate before her. She lunged forward and grabbed his high-collared leather duster and pulled him closer, claiming his lips in a passionate kiss.
The clanking of a tankard being slammed into the counter had them both jump apart and when Emma turned to the bar, she saw Granny staring at them both over the rim of her glasses. "Take the welcome session somewhere else." She waved at the few early patrons lingering in the tavern. All eyed the couple with bemused smiles. Granny not so much. "I know you missed him, girl. But I'm not running a brothel here." She waved her hand to the stairs. "Take him to your room."
"But don't you need help with…"
Granny gave her a small smile and shook her head. "I can spare you a few hours, as long as you come down for the evening rush. Ruby can cover for you."
"Someone said my name?" Ruby came from the kitchen as she tied an apron around her waist. When she spotted Killian she gave Emma a wolfish grin and waggled her eyebrows. "Someone is lucky today." She did a silent wolf howl and smirked when Emma rolled her eyes at her friend's antics.
Killian had slipped his arm around her waist and whispered close to her ear, "Come now love, it's not every day you have time to spend an afternoon in bed with your devilishly handsome pirate." He brushed his lips over the pulse point of her neck, making her gasp in surprise as desire pooled in her stomach.
"Come," she urged and pulled him towards her room, ignoring Ruby and Granny.
"Keep the noise down!" Granny bellowed after them.
Hours later, Emma lay sprawled over her lover's chest, both still trying to get their bearings after the passionate lovemaking they'd just shared. Her fingers trailed through the thatch of dark curly hair covering his chest.
"I'm so happy that you're back." Emma lifted her head and gazed upon him. "It took far too long this time." She frowned in worry.
"We ran into Blackbeard in the waters south of Ireland." Killian rubbed his face with a groan. "It was brutal. The bloody privateer has heard that we've found The Frenchman's Gold."
Emma nodded in understanding remembering how the crew on the Jolly Roger had celebrated the finding of one of the area's most sought-after treasures. The gold that had been sent to aid the Jacobite rebellion 20 years ago never arrived and it became legend that it supposedly was hidden somewhere along the coast of Scotland. What Killian and his crew had found last year was only half the treasure, no one knew if the other half had ever been found. Since she'd learned the history of the treasure, she'd promised Killian to keep her ears open whenever a new ship moored in Port Erin.
"So you have heard nothing about the other half?" Emma rested her chin on her folded hands laying over his heart.
"We fought Blackbeard on the beaches of southern Ireland. He shouted something about a 'Red Jamie' and me being the bane of his existence." Killian shrugged. "Not sure I've heard the name Red Jamie before. I'll have my crew ask around in Port Erin. Perhaps someone knows who the bloke is. It seems as if Blackbeard believes this other pirate might have the last part."
Emma nuzzled her cheek against his chest, it was nice to have him back. She knew what he did for a living, but the man had a huge heart. When he loved someone, he loved fiercely and it would take a Kraken destroying his ship for him to never return to her. She had met Killian the first time his ship moored in Port Erin two years ago. Their courtship had been intense and had a lot of trials and errors along the way. Emma had doubted his honesty when he first proclaimed his love for her, he was a pirate after all. But in the end, he broke down the emotional walls she'd built around her heart.
"I've met a new friend," Emma whispered after a few moments of silence. She knew she had to be downstairs soon, or Granny would come and drag her out of the bed herself.
"Male or female," Killian mumbled, his fingers idly tracing up and down her spine.
Emma chuckled. "Don't be jealous, her name is Claire. She's a healer of sorts, she helped a few of our guests with some indigestion troubles they had."
"New in town?"
"Hmm only for a short while, her husband is returning in a few days." She lifted her head. "He's a trader from Scotland, his ship moored here a week ago."
"Trader of what?" He lifted an eyebrow.
"Whisky I think. Claire mentions his formidable whisky from time to time." She chuckled. "The Scots certainly are proud of their whisky."
"So is the Irish," Killian grunted. "I believe we were the first to brew the amber gold."
"So full of yourself my Irish pirate." Emma smoothed her hand over his face, combing her finger through his fringe that flopped over his forehead.
"Hmm gotta keep up with the competition. Might stick around so I can get a feel for who this new trader is." Killian smirked.
"You just want to plunder his ship." Emma laughed when he grunted in reply.
"Perhaps. But it doesn't hurt to know who is around here." He grabbed her hand and kissed her fingertips.
Emma was about to lean closer to him to claim another kiss when a hard knock interrupted them. "Get your rump downstairs now, girl, the guests are piling in," Granny bellowed from the hallway.
"Better go." Emma groaned and lifted herself away from the warmth of her boyfriend. She sauntered over to the washbasin and cleaned herself up; she was sure that Killian's eyes were on her bare backside the whole time. Grinning, she moved around the room with a provocative swing of her hips. When she heard him groan she glanced at him. "What's the matter, darling?"
"You're trying to kill me." Killian slumped back in the bed and covered his eyes with his hand, his stump resting over his abdomen. "I won't ever find that last part of the treasure if your goal is my demise."
"I wouldn't want to kill you, darling. I want you in my life, you know that." Emma slipped on her dress and adjusted the neckline.
"Aye, I know love, the same goes for you." He smirked and peered at her from under his hand. "Be safe down there."
"Always." She ruffled her long blond hair and blew him a kiss before she stepped outside and ventured downstairs.