Jamie p.o.v.
I wake up when a ray of sunshine falls through the window exactly on my face. Claire is still fast asleep in my arms. I smile to myself at the sight of her. My beautiful wife. I still can't really believe she's back, but I'm so thankful for it. Even though the reason why she came back makes me sad. She hasn't told me much about how her relationship with Frank was when she returned to her own time, but from what she told me last night I get the feeling she has been very lonely for a long time now. I will make sure she'll never have to feel that way again.
I carefully get out of bed without waking Claire. She can sleep for a few more minutes while I grab us some breakfast from downstairs. I get dressed and make my way downstairs. Everyone is already at the table eating breakfast with each other.
"Milord! There you are. I was beginning to think you weren't going to join us." Fergus is the first one to see me. Fergus has definitely grown into a fine young man over the last few years. He'll be turning 16 in just a few weeks. By the way he just greeted me I assume Jenny, Ian and Murtagh haven't told him about Claire being here yet. But that can wait until after breakfast.
"Morning Fergus, everyone… I think I'm gonna have some breakfast in my room today." I say while grabbing a plate and putting some things on it. "Aye, I thought maybe you already had breakfast" Murtagh says and laughs out loud. I can't help but laugh myself and shake my head. "We'll see you all in about an hour or so." I say as I walk back up the stairs. "Did he just say we?" I hear Fergus asking, and then I hear Jenny, Ian and Murtagh burst out laughing. "Be patient, you'll see." Jenny tells him. Their interaction makes me laugh as well. Fergus will be happy to see Claire, I'm sure of that.
I'm still laughing to myself when I walk into my bedroom. "I missed that laugh." I nearly drop the plate containing our breakfast. "Christ… Claire… I thought you were still asleep." I put the plate down on the bedside table and lean in to give Claire a kiss. "I'm not, but it was the best night's sleep in a long while." She says.
We eat the breakfast together in bed. I tell her about what happened after Culloden and I tell her about how I told Jenny and Ian about everything only a few days ago.
"Wait… so you were at the stones two days ago?" She asks.
"Yes. Me, Jenny, Ian and Murtagh went there, the four of us. Jenny and Ian really wanted to see it. Jenny even said some words to the stone, as if you'd be able to hear her. I did too." I tell her.
"I was at the stones as well Jamie… two days ago. It must have been late morning… around noon I think…" She then tells me.
"You were there too?" I think back to the voice I heard when I was about to leave. Could it really have been her voice I heard that day?
"What is it Jamie?" She grabs my hand and looks at me concerned.
"I heard a voice that day. I was about to leave and the wind picked up… It was as if someone… you… whispered in my ear. Jamie. I love you. That was what I heard. It was your voice. I thought I was going mad. Do you think it could have really been you?"
She smiles. "I think it could have been Jamie. The stones are mysterious things. It wouldn't surprise me if you were able to hear something if we were there on the same day."
I smile too and pull her in for a kiss. "I'm just thankful they brought you back to me." I kiss her again.
"Now… I think we should get you dressed and make our way downstairs. I think there will be some people very eager to see you and talk to you." I say.
She nods. "Yeah, let's do that." One more kiss and then she gets dressed.
Claire p.o.v.
As I'm getting dressed, I notice I am starting to get a little nervous. I'm glad Jamie told Ian and Jenny the truth about everything. It makes it much easier that I don't have to lie about anything. I guess I'm just a bit nervous about getting questions about our child or about Frank. I haven't even told Jamie about everything that happened between me and Frank, and I don't know if I'll be ready to do that any time soon. I take a deep breath, as deep as my corset let's me breathe. Let's just enjoy today and enjoy being with my family again.
I turn around and see that Jamie is still sitting on the bed staring at me. I smile. I still can't believe he's really here… alive. He gets up from the bed and walks over to me. He looks me up and down. "You look beautiful Sassenach." He says. "Well thank you Mr. Fraser… You don't look to bad yourself." I pull him a bit closer and kiss him. "Are you ready to go?" He asks. I nod. "As ready as I'll ever be."
When we get downstairs no one is there anymore except Mrs. Crook. She looks surprised to see me but doesn't ask any questions. She tells us everyone has gone outside. I follow Jamie to the front door and then outside. I immediately spot Jenny washing some clothes. There's a young man helping her. It's only when he turns around that I recognize him. Fergus. I grab Jamie's arm.
"Wow… He's become a fine young lad."
Jamie smiles at me. "Aye… and he'll be very glad to see you."
We move closer to them. Fergus sees Jamie first.
"Milord there you are!"
Then his eyes fall on me. The shirt he was holding falls out of his hands and he stares at me.
"Milady?" It's almost a whisper.
"Fergus." I smile.
Then he starts running towards me. He flings his arms around my neck and almost knocks me over with his speed. After a few seconds he pulls back to look at me. I stroke my hand over his cheek once.
"You've grown into a fine young man Fergus."
"Aye… I know." He smiles. "Where have you been milady? I thought you were gone forever."
I exchange a quick look with Jamie. It tells me that Fergus doesn't know about anything.
"After the battle of Culloden I thought Jamie was dead, and I couldn't come back as the wife of a traitor and bring danger to Lallybroch. So, I went to Boston. When I received word of Jamie's pardon I knew he was still alive and I came back." I tell him this in the hope he believes it. It seems like he does.
"But you are going to stay here now, right? With us?" He asks.
"Yes Fergus… I'm not going anywhere any time soon."
He hugs me again and then goes back to helping Jenny with the washing of the clothes. I walk over to Jenny. "I'm sorry it took me such a long time to come back." I say. Jenny smiles friendly at me. "Will you have a drink with me after I finish up the washing? We have a lot to talk about." She asks me while laughing. "I would like that." I say. It'll be nice to have a chat with Jenny, even though I'm going to have to tell her about my miscarriage. But it will be okay. Everything will be okay.
