Ellie woke up late the next morning and headed downstairs once she was dressed. She noticed the door and the curtain were closed to Claire's clinic, so she headed to the kitchen to see if there was breakfast. A basket with some bananas and apples in it was on the table so Ellie helped herself to a banana. She opened the door to the porch and noticed several unfamiliar people waiting on the bench outside the clinic. "Hello Ellie," greeted a familiar voice from behind her. Ellie spun around to find Malva.
"Why are you here?" she demanded immediately.
"Mrs. Fraser allows me assist her on Wednesdays," Malva replied.
"And your father knows about this?" Ellie questioned with surprise.
"Aye," Malva responded.
"That's weird," Ellie commented. "You said horrible things about Claire and Jamie yesterday. How can you even show your face here?"
"Ellie, come in here please!" called Claire's voice. Ellie threw Malva a dirty look and then headed into the clinic to find Claire wiping off her examination table. "I see you found something to eat," Claire commented when she saw the banana in the child's hand. Ellie nodded her head. "Listen, I want you to stay away from Malva today."
"Why is she here?" Ellie questioned with irritation to her voice.
"Well….she wants to learn how to care for people…like I do," Claire replied. Ellie was confused and a little angry at the same time. "Roger and Bree will be here soon to keep an eye on you, and I want you to help with the barn chores today."
"I don't understand. She's awful! Why are you being nice to HER?" Ellie demanded, still stuck on the fact that Malva was there to assist Claire.
"I suggest you change your tone with me," Claire replied abruptly. "What I do and who I have here are none of your business." Claire's voice was harsh, and her response left Ellie feeling betrayed. She felt tears fill her eyes and she quickly turned away from Claire. Ellie looked up to find Malva approaching them with what Ellie thought was an evil grin on her face. She hurried from the clinic and outside onto the porch.
"There you are," commented a voice. Ellie looked to find Bree headed up the stairs to the porch with a basket in her hand. Jeremiah was trailing behind and hurried to give Ellie a hug when he saw her. Brianna smiled. "He was so excited to come see you this morning. We're going to pick some strawberries and I thought we'd make a pie. Would you like to join us?" Bree asked.
"Can't…..I have barn chores to do," Ellie replied as she looked to the barn.
"Ellie, are you ok?" Bree asked, surprised that the child was choosing chores over strawberry picking.
"Yeah, I'm fine, I'll catch you later," she replied as she hurried down the stairs and out to the barn. Bree didn't follow after her since Roger was in the barn untacking their horses and he could keep an eye on her.
"Hello Ellie," Roger greeted when he saw the child. Ellie sighed, disappointed that she couldn't find anywhere to be alone. "How are you this morning?" he questioned. Ellie shrugged her shoulders as she stroked the nose of one of the horses. "Did Bree find you? She was going to take you and Jemmy strawberry picking."
"Yeah, but Ms. Claire told me to help with the barn chores today," Ellie huffed.
"I see," Roger replied. "Well…I'm sure you'll have time to do both if you'd like to go with Bree first. I know Jemmy would love you to go." Roger thought the child seemed distraught as she paced back and forth from one side of the barn to the other.
"I don't want to," Ellie replied abruptly. "I really just want to be left alone today."
"Well, unfortunately we told Claire that we would keep an eye on you today, so you're stuck with us," he replied with a smile.
"I don't need a babysitter," Ellie huffed with a stomp of her foot. "I was on my own for a long time and I managed to survive. Jamie and Claire are helicopter parents and I'm getting really tired of it."
"Really?" Roger questioned with a smile on his face, "Because I believe you caused quite a ruckus yesterday if I'm not mistaken and you're lucky we were there to help you."
"It wasn't my fault," Ellie snapped. "It was Malva's and now she's HERE helping Ms. Claire in the clinic!" Tears filled Ellie's eyes. "I don't understand, why would Ms. Claire be so nice to her?" Ellie wiped a few tears that fell from her eyes.
"Malva's been helping here for a while now, long before you showed up," Roger replied. "It's good for her and Claire appreciates the help."
"She said such horrible things yesterday," Ellie sobbed. Roger approached Ellie and put his hands on her shoulders. He wasn't sure how to respond or how to comfort the child. Ellie stopped moving and looked up at him. "Ms. Claire was mean to me this morning and she's never been mean. What if she hates me now and doesn't want me here anymore?" Tears continued to fall from Ellie's eyes. Roger took Ellie's hand and led her over to a few hay bales that were on the ground and motioned for her to sit down. He took a seat next to her.
"Ellie, I can assure you that Claire does not hate you," Roger commented. "I'm not sure why you think she was mean to you this morning, but the Claire I know has always been patient and understanding unless maybe you did something to upset her? Could that possibly be the reason?"
"Maybe," Ellie sighed.
"When Claire's done at the clinic, I'm sure she'd love to hear an apology from you and maybe you can tell her what's bothering you," Roger replied. "I'd recommend leaving your attitude out of it though," he mentioned and gave her a little nudge. He looked at Ellie and smiled. "You'll get a lot further with sugar rather than spice."
"Ok," Ellie replied with a slight smile. She knew what he meant but she also knew it was really hard for her to hold back her emotions when she was upset.
"How about we go find Brianna and Jemmy?" Roger suggested.
"Ok," Ellie agreed. They headed back toward the house and across to the field where the strawberries grew. Jemmy ran to them as soon as he spotted them. Roger lifted him up and gathered him in his arms. Ellie smiled slightly and wondered if her parents had loved her as much as Roger and Brianna loved Jemmy. Roger carried Jeremiah over to where Brianna was picking strawberries. Ellie was about to head that way too when she heard a noise come from the woods.
"Psst….psst….come here," called a voice quietly. Ellie peered into the tree line and saw a boy standing there. "Come here," he called again. Ellie sighed and looked behind her to find Brianna and Roger deep in conversation, and then looked back at the tree line. She wasn't allowed in the woods, that was one of Jamie's rules. He told her she had to be able to see the house at all times and she couldn't go beyond the trees. But….her curiosity got the best of her, and she headed to where the boy was standing. Ellie paused just outside the woods. "Come here," the boy called again.
"You come here," she called back.
"I can't," he replied. Ellie looked toward Brianna and Roger again, and they didn't seem to notice she wasn't there, so she stepped into the woods several feet until she found the boy. He looked a little older and he was bigger than she was with messy brown hair and freckles splattered across his nose and cheeks. "I'm Travis. You must be that girl," he stated. Ellie threw him a dirty look.
"What girl?" she demanded.
"The one Mr. Christie warned us about," he replied. Ellie huffed, annoyed that it always came back to Malva or Mr. Christie.
"Well, Mr. Christie is wrong about me," Ellie responded angrily.
"We're not supposed to talk to you," he replied, "But I really need to show someone this." He grabbed her arm and dragged her deeper into the woods. Ellie fought to release herself, but his grip was too tight. "It's not far," he said as he continued to pull her.
"Let me go!" she demanded, "I'm not supposed to be in the woods!" Ellie became worried when she couldn't see the house anymore. They finally came to a stop by a creek and Ellie yanked her arm from his grip. "You're a jerk!" she yelled, "Now I don't know how to get back."
"It's ok, I'll bring you back," he replied reassuringly. "But look at this." He pointed to the ground beside them. There were candles set up in a circle. They looked as if they had been used and inside the circle there were small bones and ash. "That Dr. lady must do her witchcraft here," he commented.
"Uhhhhhh! I live with that Dr. lady! She is not a witch!" Ellie cried as she shoved him as hard as she could. Travis tumbled backward and fell. He immediately clutched his hand and began to cry. He stood up and Ellie could see blood trickle down his wrist. "Oh no, are you ok?" she asked as she pointed to his hand. Travis moved his other hand off to reveal a small gash.
"You made me bleed! You are evil!" he cried out. "I'm telling my mom!" He ran off into the woods before Ellie could react. She peered around worriedly and tried to figure out which way they had come. She started walking back toward what she thought was the house, but after twenty minutes, she knew she was going the wrong way. Ellie walked and walked for what felt like hours. Her legs were sore, and her stomach was growling, and she knew everyone was probably worried about her. The panic set in when the sun slowly disappeared for the night. Ellie collapsed against a tree and slid to the forest floor. She could barely see the moon through the canopy of trees. She was cold and curled up into a ball in an attempt to stay warm. She drifted off to sleep and was woken by what felt like a dog licking her face. Ellie opened her eyes to find that it was morning and Rollo was staring back at her.
"Rollo," she sighed with relief. She was so happy to see him, and she realized it meant that Ian wasn't far behind.
"Rollo! Ellie!" called Ian's voice. Rollo immediately started to bark.
"We're here!" Ellie's voice squeaked.
"Ellie," Ian sighed with relief as he crouched down in front of her moments later. "Are ye hurt lass?" he questioned worriedly as he quickly checked her over.
"No," she replied as tears fell from her eyes. "I'm so happy to see you Ian."
"Ye're safe now," he said gently as he embraced her in a hug for a few moments, and then helped her to her feet.
"My legs are so tired, and my feet are sore," she whined. "I don't think I can walk back."
"Can ye get on ma back?" he questioned.
"I think so," Ellie replied. Ian crouched down again, and Ellie wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Ian stood up and started making his way toward the homestead. "Is everyone mad?" Ellie asked.
"Worried," Ian replied. "But ye better have a good explanation for this lass. Ah came home this morning from the reservation, but Roger and Claire have been looking all night for ye." Ellie felt terrible. "Rollo picked up ye're scent right away."
"I didn't do this on purpose," she sobbed, "I didn't mean to get lost."
"Ye can tell Claire when ah get ye home," Ian replied. It took at least an hour before they could see the homestead and Ellie immediately spotted Claire pacing back and forth on the porch.
"Ellie!" Claire cried as soon as she saw them. She hurried down from the porch as Ian set Ellie on the ground. Without saying a word, Claire pulled Ellie into a hug and held her tightly for a few moments in silence. "Are you hurt?" she asked when she finally released her.
"I'm sorry Ms. Claire," Ellie sobbed without responding to her question.
"Ellie, I need to know if you're hurt?" Claire questioned again.
"I'm just tired and my feet hurt," Ellie replied. Claire nodded her head in response and took Ellie's hand in hers.
"Thank you Ian," Claire said. Ian smiled and nodded his head. Claire led Ellie toward the porch. In the distance, Roger was riding back on his horse from searching all night. He stopped and spoke with Ian briefly and handed his horse off to him, and then headed for the porch. "She's not hurt," Claire said to him. Ellie thought Roger looked angry. It was a look she had never seen from him. "Ellie, I want you to go to my clinic so I can look you over and I'll have Lizzie make you some hot tea. I'll be right in." Ellie nodded her head and went inside. She climbed onto the examination table and could faintly hear Claire and Roger talking. They both came into the clinic a few minutes later. While Claire began to tend to Ellie, Roger took a seat at the desk. "Does anything hurt?" Claire asked.
"Just my feet," Ellie replied. Claire swung Ellie's legs onto the table and began to untie her shoes. There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. Claire paused and slammed her fists onto the table, causing Ellie to jump.
"Ellie, why were you in the woods?" Claire demanded. "Jamie told you the woods were off limits!" Ellie had never seen Claire so mad, and it frightened her.
"I…I….I," Ellie stuttered in response, but then broke down into tears.
"Enough with the tears Ellie, I want an explanation from you," Claire ordered. Ellie flinched when Claire pulled off her shoe abruptly. This caused Claire to pause and reassess how she was handling her emotions. She was angry, and rightfully so, but she didn't want Ellie to be afraid of her. Claire sighed. "We were really worried about you Ellie. I thought something terrible had happened."
"It WAS terrible," Ellie cried out. "There was this boy and…..," Ellie began and proceeded to tell Claire and Roger what had happened.
"Ellie, I understand that you didn't want any of this to happen, but this never would've happened if you didn't go into the woods," Claire replied firmly. A knock on the clinic door interrupted them.
"Claire Fraser! Open the door!" demanded Mr. Christie's voice. Ellie was terrified and grabbed Claire's hand.
"Ellie, I want you to go to your room and stay there until we tell you to come out," Claire said worriedly as she looked toward Roger. Ellie quickly hopped off the table. Claire gently took her arm and looked at her directly. "DO NOT leave your room," Claire emphasized. Her voice worried Ellie because she sounded scared. Ellie nodded her head and hurried to her bedroom where she opened her bedroom window hoping she could hear their conversation but couldn't hear anything. She paced back and forth worriedly as the minutes turned to hours. She finally heard footsteps coming up the stairs, but they didn't sound like Claire's gentle steps. They were heavy and loud like a man's footsteps. Convinced it was Mr. Christie coming to get her, panic set in. She peeked out her window quickly to plan her escape. Ellie was in a full panic attack when her bedroom door started to open.
"Jamie," she gasped when he appeared in her doorway. Ellie continued to gasp for air as she placed her hands on her chest. Jamie immediately went to her and kneeled down in front of her, gently taking her hands.
"Close ye're eyes lass," he said gently. Ellie obeyed. "Take a deep breath, hold it, then release slowly." Claire appeared behind him. Ellie took a deep breath and released. "Again," Jamie said. Ellie obeyed and Jamie could see that she was settling down. "Open ye're eyes lass," he said gently. Ellie immediately felt calm and safe when she opened her eyes to Jamie. "Are ye all right?" he asked. Tears immediately fell from her eyes.
"I thought you were Mr. Christie coming to get me," she sobbed. "I was so scared." Jamie reached out and lifted her into his arms and held her tightly. Ellie rested her head on his shoulder and continued to cry.
"Ye're safe lass," he said reassuringly. Claire was relieved to have Jamie back home. He seemed to be the only one who could really get through to Ellie and it was obvious how much the child adored him and needed him. He hadn't even made it to his destination when he had an overwhelming feeling that he needed to get home. While still holding Ellie, Jamie turned and gave Claire a reassuring look. Once Ellie calmed down, Jamie placed her on the edge of her bed.
"Is everything ok with Mr. Christie?" Ellie asked worriedly as she looked from Jamie to Claire. Claire sighed as she took a seat next to Ellie. Jamie grabbed the chair from Ellie's desk and sat down across from them.
"Mr. Christie's version of the story was a lot different than yours which I expected," Claire began. "But we finally came to an understanding that you are both children and that there are always two sides to every story."
"I cause so much trouble," Ellie pouted, disappointed in herself.
"Ellie, Jamie and I will always do everything we can to keep you safe and to protect you, but you need to meet us halfway," Claire explained. "If we can't trust you to follow the rules, then I'm not sure how we can keep you safe. I'm very disappointed in your choices. You caused a lot of problems that could've been avoided."
"I know," Ellie replied. She looked up at Jamie. "I disobeyed your rule and went into the woods."
"Aye, ah ken," Jamie replied.
"I told him everything," Claire mentioned.
"I guess this means I'm in trouble," Ellie commented.
"Aye, ye're correct," Jamie replied. Ellie sighed. "Ah'm vera disappointed in ye lass." His words stung.
"I'm sorry," Ellie pouted. "I try to be good, but trouble always seems to find me." Jamie smiled slightly at her response. She seemed so tough at times, but there was an innocence to her that he wanted to protect. "You can always get rid of me; I wouldn't blame you."
"Ellie, you need to stop assuming that we're just going to "get rid of you" when things get tough," Claire interrupted firmly. "You're here to stay. In fact, Jamie and I would like to make it official and adopt you if that's something you'd want too." A big smile appeared on Ellie's face.
"You would be my "real" parents?" she questioned.
"Ye're real parents," Jamie confirmed.
"Yes, yes, yes!" she cried out, "Of course I would want that!"
"Aye, then we will make it official," Jamie replied.
"Would I call you mom and dad?" she questioned.
"When ye're ready and if ye wanted," Jamie replied. Ellie jumped up and gave Jamie a hug and then Claire. She couldn't believe she was going to have parents again, and how lucky she was to have Jamie and Claire choose her. "Before we celebrate, we have some business to take care of," Jamie mentioned to Ellie. Claire got up from the bed. She knew Ellie deserved whatever she had coming from Jamie, but she still wasn't completely accepting of Jamie's discipline methods.
"I will be downstairs if you need me," Claire said as she ruffled the top of Ellie's hair.
"Ah think ye ken why ah have to punish ye lass," Jamie stated.
"I know," Ellie replied disappointedly.
"This time ah will give ye a spanking, but if ye go into the woods again, ye will be feeling ma belt on yere arse, do ye understand?"
"I understand," Ellie grumbled, thankful he wasn't using his belt. She stood up and approached Jamie. He gently lifted her across his lap and pulled up her dress over her back. He contemplated pulling up her shift but left it down. Jamie wasted no time and brought his hand sailing down on her bottom and repeated in rapid succession. Ellie cried with each spank and was surprised on how much more it hurt than last time. Jamie continued until Ellie was sobbing beneath him.
"Ah'm done lass," he said as he helped her to her feet. Ellie rubbed her bottom frantically as she stood in front of him. "Ye are not allowed to leave the house without an adult until further notice and ye will apologize to Roger next time ye see him," he stated firmly.
"Ok," Ellie sobbed. Jamie pulled her into his arms and gave her a hug to reassure her. "I'm sorry Jamie."
"Ah ken lass," he replied reassuringly, "Ye're forgiven."