A/N: I am still in the process of reading all of Diana's wonderful books and while reading Bees I came across the companion scene to my chapter 'PB ' and just had to incorporate it into my story.
….…oOo….
After settling the "wee buggers" once more for the night and admonishing them with a stern look, and a shake of his finger not to wake their granny again, Jamie stole out of the room to return to Claire upstairs. As he passed the kitchen, he caught sight of the small bundle he had placed on the top of Claire's herb cabinet earlier during dinner. He stepped into the kitchen to snag the parcel he had stashed there for her later enjoyment.
The homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were a big hit for dinner that evening. Claire had gone to great lengths to glean the peanuts from the garden and grind them into peanut butter with her mortar and pestle. It was all for the children, of course - but he knew well how much she enjoyed the sticky nutty confection herself. Jamie smiled inwardly as he carried the purloined treat upstairs for his wife.
Claire was sitting on the edge of their bed, brushing her hair. Oh how he loved her curly silken locks, a little gray now with age, but every hair just as precious to him as the day they wed.
"Here Sassenach," he said and handed her the delicious peanut butter sandwich made on fresh baked bread and spread with blackberry jelly, wrapped in a linen towel from the kitchen.
"Ya didna get your fair share at supper," he said smiling at her. "You were too busy filling all the wee mouths. So I put one aside for you on top of your herb cabinet. Recalled it just now."
Claire took the bundle and raised it to her nose. With eyes closed as if in ecstasy, she inhaled deeply.
"Oh, Jamie, this is wonderful," she crooned in gratitude.
He made a pleased Scottish noise and proceeded to pour her a cup of water. She would need it to wash down all that thick sticky peanut butter and chewy grainy homemade bread. Then he sat down on the bed to watch her eat.
She reveled in every sweet bite and made noises of such bliss and satisfaction that Jamie was beginning to find himself quite jealous of that sandwich.
"Did I ever tell you that I brought a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with me when I came back through the stones?" Claire confessed.
"No ya didn't. Why that?" he inquired, always interested in any story his wife might have to tell.
"Well," mused Claire, "I think it was because it reminded me of Brianna. I made her peanut butter sandwiches so often for her school lunches. She had a Zorro lunch box with a little thermos in it."
Jamie raised his eyebrows, "Zorro? A Spanish fox?" Claire's reminiscences of the future always brought a certain level of confusion for him.
Claire made a dismissive motion with her hand. "I'll tell you about him later," she explained, "You'd've liked him."
Licking the sticky sweetness off her fingers, (Jamie was now becoming jealous of those fingers) she gave him a saucy wink and continued, "I didn't take a lunch box though. I just wrapped my sandwich in a piece of plastic."
Jamie kept his eyebrows raised and asked, "Like the stuff Mr. Randall's spectacles were made of?"
"No, no," Claire waved her hand again. "More like," she thought for a moment, "like the transparent cover on his book," she said with decisiveness. "That's plastic too but lighter, sort of like a very light transparent handkerchief."
This sparked a long forgotten memory for Jamie. He sat up straighter and asked, "Like a clear baker's wrap, maybe?"
"Yes, precisely," she agreed.
Claire's face took on a far off look, she said, "It was when I came to Edinburgh, looking for A. Malcolm, printer." She flashed him an adoring smile. "I was feeling light headed with fright mostly, so I sat down, unwrapped my sandwich, and ate it. I thought then that it was the last peanut butter sandwich I'd ever eat. It was the best thing I ever ate, and when I finished it I let the bit of plastic go. There was no point in keeping it. In my mind's eye I could see it now the fragile clear plastic crumpling, unfolding, rising and scudding along the cobblestones lost out of time. I rather felt the same way," She seemed a little choked up and had to clear her throat. "Lost, I mean. I wondered then whether someone might find it and what they might think of it. Probably nothing beyond a moment's curiosity."
Jamie stole a suspicious glance toward his sporran which was sitting on the bedside table. He knew it was no longer in there, in fact, he had completely forgotten about the crinkly clear baker's wrap until this moment. Little did he know at that time it's presence, smelling of bread, nuts, fruit and – Claire, heralded her arrival. Gone had that memory been – overwritten by the subsequent, welcome, life altering event almost immediately following. But Jamie remembered that for him it was more than a moment's curiosity. If Claire had not followed quickly on its heels it would have become a prized possession of his.
He shook his head to clear it, looked loving at his wife and murmured, "I daresay."
Spying a smear of jelly at the corner of her mouth he leaned in to kiss her and lick it off at the same time enjoying a kiss that was sweet in more ways than one. Recalling her confession of vulnerability he pulled away from her and added reassuringly, "But then you found me and you weren't lost anymore, I hope."
"I wasn't. I'm not," she replied emphatically resting her head on his shoulder and reveling in his comforting presence.
He let out a sigh of contentment, reminded once again of how blest he was to have her with him, and kissed her forehead.
"The bairns are settled Sassenach, come to bed wi' me, aye?"