through the stones.

Caitlin’s heart sank at his words. She hadn’t even told him the truth yet and he was already dismissing what she planned on telling him more or less. For some reason, it seemed as though he’d already heard a similar explanation and knew what she was going to say. Had others come through the stones before her? Was there anyone who knew anything about what had happened to her who could help her figure out how to get back to her time? As much as she’d been dreading the plane ride back home to New York, she hadn’t wanted to delay it in this way. All she had honestly hoped for was some shitty weather that would delay her flight or really bad traffic out of Glasgow that caused her to miss it and then she would have had to hang around the airport for the next available flight. Time travel was the last thing she’d wanted or expected would happen. The very last thing.

And now the one ally she seemed to have in this time was pretty much dismissing what she hadn’t even gotten around to telling him yet. It was beyond frustrating. If he didn’t believe her now, what was going to happen when she did get to tell him the truth? “I wouldn’t believe any of it if I didn’t hear it for myself.” She told him. If coming through the stones and hearing the stones humming sounded insane, what was going to happen when she told him she was actually from three hundred years into the future? If she couldn’t get Jamie to believe her, she’d have to find Anais. If the young woman already believed that she’d come through the stones, then she’d believe her once she told her the whole story.

She shook her head when he suggested that she was imagining things because she’d been through a lot. Grief-stricken people did sometimes lose it, but that wasn’t her. She wasn’t imagining any of this. She was from 2016, she knew that she was. This wasn’t where she belonged. This was wrong. “I know what happened, Jamie. I might have lost my fiancé, but I know what happened.”

“How would you explain me not being there one second and appearing the next second? I know that it seems insane, and I know that you don’t believe in that kind of stuff, but it’s the truth, Jamie. It really is. I didn’t think it was possible either, but I know that it happened because this isn’t the same Scotland I was in earlier today.” That was probably going to sound odd as well, but she didn’t care. It was probably the biggest understatement if she was being completely honest. “This morning I was getting ready to go home to my family in New York. It was the year 2016. The stones brought me here.”

---

That was much more like the fiery young woman that Murtagh knew. Although they had never quite gotten along, he saw enough of her because of his godson. Young Jamie was the reason why he tolerated half the things she said to him. Many of the other men at Leoch told him that they should make her treat him with respect, but he knew how close she and Jamie were. He knew that his godson would step in if he brought any attention to half of what she said to him, so he never really did much of anything other than give it right back to her with comments of his own. He simply rolled his eyes at her words and waited for her to continue on. He figured there was more she was going to tell him, and he’d allow her to do so before interjecting with any comments of his own.

“After what Angus did, I wouldn’t blame ye for not telling him.” He said once she had finished. He could see now more than he had before why she had nearly pleaded with him to take her punishment for her. He knew that it was in part so that Jamie wouldn’t, but it was also because of the condition she was in right now. He was glad that he had agreed to do it for her. Part of him had kept telling himself that it was done for Jamie, but he knew that it was also done for Anais. He was respected her, whether he cared for what she said to him on numerous occasions or not. She was one of the few who could truly hold her own amongst the men at Leoch, and he admired and respected her for that.

It was her later words that shocked him more than anything else. He knew that he could easily dismiss her at that moment and tell her that he wasn’t going to do that for her, but he didn’t. He mulled over her suggestion for a few brief moments before finally speaking. “Dougal will not be pleased either way.” He told her, though he knew that she likely already knew that and was anticipating what her father’s likely response would be once he found out. “I will not let you get pushed out of Leoch though, not in your condition.”

"Three hundred years...roughly aye?" Jamie could not help but laugh. The seriousness in Caitlin's voice did not help the idea that this woman truly thought some old stones had transported her from another time. Then as her facial expressions did not change, his own became solemn. "Oh...aye then...." Was all he could manage to spit out as he looked down at his feet.

For a long time there was silence. Jamie knew not what to say nor how to even bring his gaze to meet her's again. The conviction in Caitlin's voice was enough to let Fraser know that she was not lying- at least she believed she wasn't. This only strained Jamie's mind more, wondering first off what he was going to do-what he was going to TELL his uncle- about a woman who had clearly lost her mind. Even Anias hadn't gone so far to blatantly say she was from either the past or the future. It was a sticky situation he had found himself in....and all because of a pretty face for which he had an instinctive weakness.

After what probably felt like an eternity to the woman, Jamie took in a deep sighing breath and lifted his eye to hers. She was frightened and alone. There was no family there for her- regardless of whether they were in 2016 or 1743. There was no husband to guide and protect her, and there certainly was no friend in this strange place to ease her journey to wherever it was she wanted to go. Instantly Jamie felt a fool for laughing. He could only imagine what trepidation was filling her at that moment. He didn't need to add to it.

"Well lassie....I cannae say I believe you. It all seems rather far fetched an idea that you can from somewhere in the ways of mirth and magic to end up here. Yet my cousin does claim things similar to ye and she kens a lass in the village that dabbles in the arts of such things. I've never spoken with her myself, for obvious reasons but if in the morrow you are still hellbent on such ideas we will pay her a visit....and then write that letter..." He winked then- having in his mind the perfect rues for conjuring a note to send over the sea to the colonies.

It became quiet again. Weariness took both of them- perhaps Jamie more than Caitlin. He yawned slightly. "Just try and get some rest now lassie. You're safe here and there is no point in dwelling what cannot be changed at the moment, aye?"

---

Anais smiled through the tears that threatened to pour over her. "Ye great big oaf!" She grinned, kissing Murtagh full on the mouth. Pulling back her cheeks turned red and she averted her eyes. "Dinnae mean to do that," she admitted quietly. "I just cannae believe you actually are willing to help me....I honestly had set myself up for walking away in defeat."

And what more could she say? Her world in a matter of hours had turned so sour on herself that for the briefest of moments she had even considered leaving in the dead of night and abandoning everything she had- as little as that was- and never turning back towards the castle, Dougal, Colum, or Jamie ever again. Yet the words of compassion from a man whom she had outwardly despised nearly all her life (For even as a child she would pick fights with the much older Murtagh) He had agreed to aid her. It was the biggest surprise- and relief- of her young life.

This of course led to her ever 'eye for an eye' persona, which led Anais to believe he would expect something in return. And even if he didn't, a debt would not go unpaid in her book. She would find a way to make even with Murtagh, even if it took all the years of her life and that of the bastard which grew in her belly. Yet first thing was first.

"Someone is going to have to see me leave this room," she whispered to herself- possibly loud enough for Murtagh to hear. "They are all gonna have to believe I've spent nights here with you...and of course no one will think it odd...not with you taking the beating you did for me." It all played out in her head rather clever like. She felt as though she were rather wicked for it.

"If we are lucky Mrs. Fitz will enter the room in the morning with more kindling for the fire and if she were to see us in bed...." The idea made Anais giggle, which was lost once she looked into Murtagh's eyes. The expression turned her mood south again. "Go on then old man....give us the 'irresponsible' speech of how I acted like a harlot."

Caitlin could tell that he didn’t believe her. She had suspected something like this was going to happen, that was why she planned on speaking with Anais the following day, however she hadn’t expected Jamie to laugh when she told him the truth. Here she was terrified to tell anyone, and the one person that she thought to be an ally of hers in this time was laughing at her. She knew that he thought she had lost her mind, if it hadn’t happened to her then she likely wouldn’t have believed someone else if they told her that a set of stones had sent them three hundred years into the past, but to laugh at them? She didn’t think that she would have done that.

The silence was deafening. Had he thought that she was joking? She thought that the serious tone in her voice had given away that she wasn’t pulling his leg or anything, but judging by his silence that didn’t seem like it was the case. She averted her gaze away from him briefly and swallowed hard. She’d go to Anais tomorrow. If the other woman believed that she had come through the stones, maybe she’d believe her when she told her everything. She hoped that she would at least. If Anais didn’t believe her, she knew that she would be completely on her own with figuring out how to get back to her own time.

I don’t have anyone to write to. Caitlin wanted say but she chose not to. He didn’t believe her, and she didn’t know how she would get him to believe her, but she wasn’t going to say anything else about it tonight. If she thought of something that might convince him, she would try, but until then she wasn’t going to. “I did tell you it was going to sound insane.” Was all she said on the subject, though his words did give her a small glimmer of hope. If he was willing to take her into the village, there was a small chance she might yet make him believe her. “I will, and you should do the same.” She didn’t know if she would actually be able to get much rest, but she was going to try to.

---

Murtagh was yet again taken aback by her actions. The fiery young woman was showing him a different side of her today. Even when she was a child she had given him trouble. He only tolerated her because he knew that Jamie cared for her. The two had been close since they were bairns, and that hadn’t changed over time. He put up with more than he had to from Anais, but he did so because he knew any punishments sent her way would lead to his godson stepping in to take them for her. If he hadn’t stepped in tonight, he knew that Jamie would have. That was the last thing his godson needed right now with everything else that was going on, but he would have done so anyway. Murtagh knew that, and he was certain that just about every single other person at Leoch did as well.

“I might not see eye and eye with ye, lass, but I willna’ let Colum dismiss ye.” He knew that if the laird discovered the truth about Anais’ unborn child then the young woman would be thrown out of Leoch faster than anyone could likely imagine. He wasn’t about to let that happen. Even if they were never overly fond of each other, he wouldn’t allow for something like that to happen to her. He knew that his godson wouldn’t stand for it either. He didn’t want Jamie to do something stupid if that were to happen, though something told him that Anais had only told him about the child growing in her belly.

“Ye havna told Jamie, have ye?” He likely already knew the answer to his own question but he was going to ask it anyway. He had a feeling that keeping the truth about whose child it really was would be for the best, even if it meant keeping it from young Jamie as well. He’d be surprised if Anais disagreed with him.

His eyebrows rose at her later words, though he was unsure if the statement was meant for him to hear or not. He knew that she was probably right though. They would have to make this all as believable as they possibly could. “I wasna going to say anything of the sort, lass.” He said, rolling his eyes at her temper.