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[givingback]

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[givingback]

[ Bree shifts uncomfortably, swallowing and wetting her lips. ]

I married Roger.

[ She hadn't meant to blurt that out, she'd been trying to figure out how to tell her, and that's how it comes out. But then the truth of her own decision follows swiftly. ]

And after is when he told me he knew what happened to you and Jamie all along. I was so angry that I told him to leave. To go back.

[nineteenfortyfive]

Married?

[So much for keeping her cool. Claire practically reels back, needing to set a hand down on the bed to steady herself. Thank God Bree had the sense to not say this with Jamie in the room. Roger was a good one--or so Claire thought before leaving Boston.]

Well. It's not counting here. Not unless you wish it to count.

[givingback]

I don't.

[ She says it with surety. ]

It was a handfasting. Only good for a year and a day.

[ But, still, she has to ask. ]

What if he wakes up?

[nineteenfortyfive]

[Handfasting. She's familiar, thanks to Fergus and Marsali, and so she visibly relaxes. It's more like a long engagement. Easily broken.]

Then he'll deal with Jamie and I.

[givingback]

It was all the same day. Being happy to see Roger, the handfasting, then the lie and then the tavern.

[ She rubs a hand over her face; she's never understood bone tired before, but she does now. She's exhausted and sore, mind still reeling from trying to reconcile two very different worlds, one which has ended. ]

[nineteenfortyfive]

[Again, Claire feels like it's about to be her turn to be sick. She manages to swallow it down as she reaches for Bree again, needing to hold her in her arms.]

They're far away, now. [Roger, and the monster that hurt her.] I'll get you more comfortable and braid your hair. We'll crawl into bed together and make Jamie fetch us something to eat.

[What else is a husband for?]

And I won't leave you alone. Only if you want me to. All right? I promised to take care of you, and I will.

[givingback]

I don't want you to leave me.

[ She says that quickly, a flash of panic in her eyes at the idea of it as she lets herself collapse into Claire's arms again, taking a deep breath. ]

Will Jamie come back?

[ She knows he isn't angry with her, but she has no idea how he processes anger or hurt. ]

[nineteenfortyfive]

I won't.

[A promise. She strokes her back and rubs her neck gently, trying to soothe away the tension she can feel.]

He will. He won't stay away long, he just needs time to breathe, and knows you might have only wanted to talk to me, for now.

[givingback]

I was trying to save both of you. Now I just want you both close.

[ She looks up at her mother, circling back to something else she said. ]

I've seen you use the magic you got from the Natha before. At the clinic. Can it really...help now?

[ Nothing can change the way she feels outside of the physical pain, she knows. But at least her mom can take away something.

[nineteenfortyfive]

[As much as Jamie wants to be with them both, Claire knows he understands himself well enough to know when he needs to step away. He'll be back.]

It'll take away the soreness.

[She was hit in the face, too. She hasn't forgotten that. Probably roughened up in ways that will only seem like a pinch, should Jamie or Claire get their hands on Bonnet.]

[givingback]

[ Bree nods, letting out a soft breath and pulling back just enough to let her mother do whatever she needs to. Whether that's brushing her hair out now, braiding it, or healing her.

She hasn't seen the state of her own bruises on her legs, around her hips. There was no time to look at anything, think. She was just back, on the floor, then in her mother's arms. ]

[nineteenfortyfive]

[Healing, first. Claire gently checks her over, her face, her arms, and then very hesitantly the rest of her, to see what needs to be done. Decades of medical practice has made her beside manner very good, but there's still something more tugging at the corners of her mouth when she sees physical evidence of Bree's encounter.

Fucking animal. She'll kill him before Jamie has the chance.

It's quick and easy, then, to erase the bruises and all the physical discomfort. A touch, palm flat, and she works her way upwards. When she gets to Bree's face, and heals her cheek where she guesses a blow landed, the work is done. And now she can cup her face with a bit more sureness, and kiss her forehead harder.]

Did I miss anything?

[givingback]

[ Brianna feels like she can't breathe the entire time, and as soon as Claire kisses her forehead, the tears come even as she shakes her head. She tries to speak and that's when the choked, soft sob escapes her as she cries, reaching out blindly and crashing her body into her mother's. ]

[nineteenfortyfive]

Oh, Bree. It's all right now. [Without worry of agitating any hurts, she hugs her so tightly that her arms ache.] I'll help you through this, and so will Jamie.

[Unfair that such a thing has happened to both father and daughter. Her whole family here, Fergus included, have suffered.]

You don't need to talk about it now. But you can, if you must. I'll always listen. Whether it's tonight or in a month. There's no such thing as a bad time. Understand?

[givingback]

[ Bree nods, hiccuping and sniffling and letting out a breath. ]

Okay, mama. Okay. I'm okay.

[ She's trying to sound sure of that, anyway. ]

Will you brush my hair? Please?

[nineteenfortyfive]

I'd love to, Bree.

[She does love her daughter's hair, and she loves brushing it out now even with the curls. All Claire needs to do is step away for a moment, fetching her hairbrush, and then she parks herself behind her on the bed.]

One braid, or two?

[givingback]

Just one, I think.

[ She closes her eyes as her mother brushes, and she sways with the movement. ]

It hasn't been all bad.

[ Bree feels like she needs to say that. ]

I sang 'San Francisco' to Joanie. I met a woman named Lizzie who travels with me now. She's quiet but nice. And Scotland was so pretty. The mountains, the snow.

[nineteenfortyfive]

[One braid. She's careful combing out her hair, the curls snagging on the brush now and then despite her best efforts.]

Jamie will be over the moon to hear you've been to Lallybroch. It might not be his home now, but it's where he grew up. Where the rest of his family lives.

[givingback]

I wish I could have stayed longer and met everyone.

[ Bree's head moves with the brush and she's not tender-headed. She couldn't be with her hair. ]

I dropped out of Harvard. But I graduated from MIT with a degree in mechanical engineering. Not that it matters now.

[nineteenfortyfive]

You should tell him. Explain, of course, what that is--but I know he'll be as proud of you as I am, Bree.

[He already is.]

[givingback]

I had this plan in my head. To try and make indoor plumbing work in North Carolina.

[ She smiles softly, and her body is slowly starting to sink a little, sag, beginning to feel the sleepiness. ]

[nineteenfortyfive]

And be tried as witch?

[Claire teases, voice soft as she feels the shift in Bree's body. Time for a quick braid, then. It's not perfect, but it'll keep her hair at bay, and once Claire is done she sets it over her shoulder.]

There. Now, darling, let's get you into bed so you can get some real sleep.

[The nap on the station, on the floor, was hardly rest. Bree needs to eat, drink, and recover from the shock, but that can wait until she's slept some.]

[givingback]

Just for us, I meant.

[ She murmurs the words sleepily and it's easy for her mother to move her to a position better to sleep in. ]

[seventeenfortythree]

[ Jamie returns then, quietly letting himself into the room. His right hand is suspiciously wrapped around the knuckles with a piece of cloth as he takes in the scene. He looks less angry but there's still a tension set in his shoulders. ]

I came to say goodnight to ye both.

[ He assumes Bree will want to be alone with Claire for the evening, so he bends down to kiss Claire's forehead first, then Bree's. ]

[nineteenfortyfive]

[Claire's just gotten Bree under the blankets when Jamie arrives. She sees his hand, and truly, isn't very much surprised. It's just a relief to have him back.

She gives his good hand a squeeze as she sits on the edge of the bed Bree's in. She'd like Jamie to stay, and doesn't think Bree would mind it as long as she's there with her, but she's not about to speak for her.]