Jamie p.o.v.
I turn around and look straight into the eyes of someone I had thought to be dead.
"Murtagh" I whisper under my breath.
"James Fraser." He says with a grin on his face.
I quickly cross the distance between us and grab Murtagh in an embrace. After my father died Murtagh has always been a father figure to me and to see him standing before me while I thought he died at Culloden is nothing short of a miracle to me.
I take a step back to look at him.
"I thought you died at Culloden." It's a statement, but also an invite for him to explain to me what happened.
"For a moment I thought I did too." He answers. "Why don't we go inside, and I'll tell you all about what happened and you'll tell me how you ended up back here at Lallybroch."
I agree and side by side we go inside. Jenny and Ian are also very surprised but of course very happy to see Murtagh. The four of us sit down and Jenny asks Murtagh to explain what happened after Culloden, but I notice Murtagh looking at me questionably.
"Where is Claire? Isn't she here?" He asks me and my heart drops to my stomach. I have to swallow the bile in my throat before I can answer him.
"She's gone Murtagh." My voice cracks and I see him struggling to process.
"Gone as in… back through the stones? Or gone as in…?" He doesn't finish the sentence.
Before I can answer I hear Jenny muttering and looking at Ian. They don't know about the stones. I never told them, but maybe I should tell them. It would make it easier for them to understand. They are her family too after all, so they deserve to know.
"The stones." I answer Murtagh's question.
Before I can say anything else Jenny interrupts me.
"Excuse me… Are you going to tell Ian and I what's going on here? What stones? What is he talking about? What are you talking about?"
I take a deep breath and start explaining the story from the beginning. The first part Murtagh already knows of course. I tell them about how Claire was from the future, how she went through the stones the first time and about Frank. I tell them about our love and how she chose me on the night before we first arrived at Lallybroch. Then I tell them about what happened before Culloden. About Claire wanting to stay but with her being pregnant I couldn't let her. I tell them I was certain I was going to die at Culloden and that I wanted our unborn child to grow up safely and with a family. I tell them Claire went back through the stones and that that is how I lost her. Her and our unborn child.
After finishing I can't hold my tears back and I just lose control of my emotions. I cry like I've never done before. I feel Jenny's arms around me and Murtagh's and Ian's hand on my shoulders as they try to be there for me, but all I see are images of Claire and what we could have been if I had let her stay.
"I'll always love you Sassenach." It escapes my mouth before I know it and then my world turns black.
Claire p.o.v.
After Frank leaves for work I have to find something to do today to take my mind of things. I took the day off from work because I know I wouldn't be able to fully focus, and I can't afford to make mistakes. Work would have been a welcome distraction though.
My mind races with all the things I could do to distract myself, but somewhere deep inside I feel the need to be close to Jamie on this day. It's not just a feeling that I want to be close to him, but it's a need. I have no choice in the matter. Maybe I have been ignoring my feelings for way too long. At some point it has to get easier to breathe right? I decide that today is the day I'm going to be strong. I lost the love of my life, but my life isn't over. He would have wanted me to keep going, to make the best of it. But to move forward I first have to do something I couldn't do for the last five years. I have to say goodbye to Jamie. One last time.
I run around the apartment like a whirlwind of chaos. I pack a suitcase and grab my passport. I leave a letter to Frank on the dining room table. The letter explains to him why I have decided to leave, that I'm thankful for the good times we did spend together and that I hope that with me gone now, he'll finally be able to start living again too.
On top of the envelope I put the golden wedding ring I have been wearing for so many years. A tear rolls down my cheek as I do this, but it's what must be done. Frank and I no longer belong together, and we need to acknowledge that. It's the only way for us both to move forward. As I stand in the door opening I look back one more time.
"Goodbye Frank." I whisper, before closing the door behind me.
I leave my key to the apartment in the mailbox and grab a taxi to the airport. When I arrive at the airport I feel a moment of frustration towards myself. What am I thinking? I don't even have a plane ticket. But there's no going back now. So I walk towards the service desk.
"Good morning, I was hoping to catch a plane to Scotland. Edinburgh or Glasgow maybe? Do you have any tickets so I can leave as soon as possible?" I ask the woman.
"Let me take a look for you madam." She says.
The seconds feel like minutes, and I feel my heart almost exploding in my chest, but it skips a beat as the woman looks up at me with a smile.
"I have a seat on a plane to Glasgow. You'd have to wait a bit. It leaves in four hours." She looks at me.
"Yes please, thank you!" I say.
It's really going to happen. I'm really going back to Scotland. It makes me happy and sad at the same time.
Four hours later I board the plane. I look out the window as we take off. I expected to be overcome with sadness and regret, but instead I feel so incredibly relieved. Just as if I can finally breathe out after holding my breath for a long time.