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[givingback]

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[givingback]

[ She was 100% going to say 'but daddy always cooked' so way to nip that one in the bud.

Bree looks down below the table, then back at Claire before cutting up her pancakes into smaller bites. ]

How many dogs are there, exactly?

[nineteenfortyfive]

[Claire's already started on her plate. Had to taste test, you know. She pokes at it a bit with her fork.]

Three. [She lifts a brow. She's not entirely pleased about that number, but as long as no one is getting mauled...]

This one is Quiver. He's very sweet once he stops being terrified of everyone and everything. I found him when I first bought the space for my clinic. I didn't have time for what looked like a young pup, then, so I gave him to Theon.

[Theon and dogs go together, unfortunately.]

When Jon and Sansa were here, they had wolves. The shedding was terrible.

[givingback]

[ A Theon in dog form, then. ]

Actual wolves?

[ She asks that before taking a bite and an eyebrow goes up because these are actually palatable and she's surprised, but happy about it. ]

Sounds like I missed all of the excitement. Literally all of it.

[ From wolves to dragons. ]

[nineteenfortyfive]

Direwolves. Bigger than wolves. Smarter too, I'd reckon. I think they truly understood what you said to them.

[Claire was never their master, but they listened to her to an extent by virtue of her closeness to Jon and Sansa. She assumes they went back to stasis along with their owners. Or if they haven't, that they're out enjoying themselves in the wilderness somewhere.]

I'm not sorry about that. I think we have plenty of excitement around here.

[Who doesn't want to live with a walking mess?]

[givingback]

[ Bree takes a few bites, chewing slowly, enjoying the way the chocolate melts before speaking again. ]

I helped Fergus bury bodies. I'm glad I wasn't awake yet.

[ Shaking her head a little, she looks back at Claire. ]

And I met a fish woman named Mipha. She's a princess in her world.

[nineteenfortyfive]

[Claire pauses with a bite of pancake in her mouth. It takes her a long moment to chew and swallow. Dead bodies aren't a thing she wants Bree around, but if things like the dragon keep happening, well... there's no avoiding it, is there?

At least it was with Fergus.

The fish princess is not that startling, thankfully.]

Oh?

[Eloquent.]

[givingback]

[ Bree hadn't mentioned this before, but she mentions it now, looking down at her plate. ]

She can heal injuries with magic.

[ And how would you know that? she hears in her head, already. ]

[nineteenfortyfive]

And how would you know that?

[Bree knows her mother, whether she thinks she does or not. There's a gentle clink as Claire sets down her fork on her plate, frowning.]

[givingback]

I got hurt. It was nothing major, I promise, just a cut on my leg. I didn't even feel it, and I only noticed it when she asked me if I was okay. She offered to heal it and I was curious about what healing fish magic even is, so I let her.

[ Bree takes the biggest bite of pancake possible to avoid talking again for a few seconds at least. ]

[nineteenfortyfive]

What makes you bring this up now?

[It's hard not to worry even when the wound is long healed by magic.]

[givingback]

[ Bree's quiet for a few seconds even after she swallows. ]

No more secrets, remember?

[ Apparently that carries over here, too. She hopes, at least. ]

[nineteenfortyfive]

[It brings a small smile to Claire's face despite herself.]

No more secrets. You're right.

[Which... does bring something to mind, and that smile abruptly fades.]

[givingback]

....What? I know that look. What's that look?

[ Someone has a secret. ]

[nineteenfortyfive]

[This isn't the conversation she was planning on getting into when she decided to lure Bree out with some breakfast at midnight. Truth be told, it slipped her mind. Jamie's time at Helwater isn't anything Claire tends to dwell on.]

When... I went back through the stones, I did so knowing there was a possibility that Jamie could have an entirely new life. A wife, children.

[Which he did sort of have. The Laoghaire ordeal is a mess Claire will keep to herself, for now.]

I found out he had a son. An illegitimate son.

[givingback]

[ Whatever she thought was going to come out of her mother's mouth, that wasn't it. And she has no idea what to say for a while and she has no idea what the right thing to say is. ]

...Are you okay?

[ That's the first thing that comes to mind. ]

[nineteenfortyfive]

I'm fine.

[And she means it.]

I was prepared for a hell of a lot more than that. [Just, you know, not Jamie marrying the woman that nearly got her burned as a witch.] His name is William. Willie. Jamie was working as a servant, and one of the ladies of the household blackmailed him into sleeping with her. The boy was a result of that. She died during childbirth and so he has no idea of his relation to Jamie.

[givingback]

[ What is this family??????? ]

Which means all this time has gone by, and Jamie's never seen him again? I have a half-brother who can never know he has other family?

[ Just so she understands how this bastard stuff works. ]

[nineteenfortyfive]

Jamie was able to see him grow for some time. He taught him how to ride a horse. The boy was adopted by his aunt, and Jamie's friend ended up marrying the woman. So he knew he was in good hands.

[Friend? Is that was John Grey was? It seems a bit simple, but Claire's still unsure about what history there is there.]

From the sounds of it, he at least had the foundations for a good, spoiled life. Jamie and I never spoke of it much after the initial conversation. I didn't want to upset him.

[givingback]

Do you wish you...could meet him?

[ She hesitates in asking that, but she's curious. Would her mother even want to know this child that wasn't hers? ]

[nineteenfortyfive]

[That's a question. Claire sighs, picking up her fork, and giving it a thoughtful little twirl.]

It's not that I don't want to meet him. Should the opportunity ever arise I'm sure I'd take it. But... it's not something I long for, no. I'm fine with Willie being a portrait.

[givingback]

Do you think...

[ Brianna stops, pausing because she's not sure how this is going to sound, but. She knows her mom took photographs back to the 18th century. ]

Do you think I was better off as a portrait, for Jamie?

[nineteenfortyfive]

Bree, no. Of course not.

[There's no hesitation in that, or Claire putting her fork down and pushing her plate aside so she can reach over and put her hand on Bree's arm, giving a firm squeeze.]

Your father loves you. Both your fathers loved you from the very beginning. From the very moment they knew you existed.

[givingback]

[ Well that, just...that hurts for a lot of reasons, and Bree closes her eyes tightly, swallowing before speaking quietly. ]

I miss him. So much. And I feel like I...I can't here.

[nineteenfortyfive]

[That comes as a surprise to Claire. Not once at home did she ever try to make Bree feel like she couldn't mourn. It's why she hardly changed a thing in the house when Frank passed. His books, his cigar box, photos of him--all were kept right where they were, so that Bree always had that to touch and look at when she missed her father.]

What do you mean?

[givingback]

Jamie is here. He's here, and it's like I should move on, I should get to know him, he's my father, and I...

[ She trails off, trying not to get overly emotional about it, but she's been wrestling with it for a while. ]

I don't know how to navigate this.

[ There's no way to know how to deal with two dads, one dead, one an 18th century Scot. ]