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[ Claire knocks on the door that connects Brianna's room to the main portion of Claire and Jamie's. She knows there has been quite a bit of exploring on Bree's part, but she hopes to catch her now so they can speak. ]

It's only me.

[ Called out as she knocks, hand going to the doorknob in anticipation of being invited in. ]

[ When Claire knocks lightly on Bree's door, she knows it's early enough that she's likely still sleeping, which is perfect. Opening the door, she walks to her bed and carefully sits, just watching her sleep for a moment. This is her daughter, the person who didn't ask for the responsibility of making sure Claire had a reason to wake up every morning in the wake of having to leave Jamie.

She knows she wasn't always the best mother she could have been, the most present, the most attentive. But that never changed the fact that Brianna was the light of her life and always would be. Reaching out, she lightly pushes her hair out of her face, noting that small smile on her lips.

She smiles in her sleep. Like you, she'd told Jamie once. Leaning down, she kisses Brianna's temple, then whispers. ]

Happy birthday, Bree.

Edited 2018-11-20 20:20 (UTC)

[ He doesn't know how long it will take before he's fully sure of himself around his daughter, but he could not pass up the chance to wish her well on the day of her birth. He's mindful that today must present a mixture of emotions for her; as hard as it is to think about sometimes, Frank was apparently an incredible father. He took good care of his daughter, and for that, Jamie will forever be in his debt. It also means, of course, that he could never possibly measure up or fill that void left behind by the loss of him. Nor would he want to.

There's no wisdom to draw upon for circumstances such as this, for how to be a father in your child's life when they're fully grown and haven't known of you until recently. And when you happen to be nearly their same age. The two of them will have to figure out a way forward together that works best for both of them. All that he's sure of is that he loves his child to the very depths of his soul, and he wants nothing more than to truly be her father. He's not sure that he can or that she'll grant him that. She's grown now and she had the father she needed in her formative years. Perhaps for them, it has to go a different way, perhaps they will not be more than friends of a sort. Family, of course, but not father and daughter. That would be his one wish, though.

But today is a special day, the day of her birth, when her first breath, her first cry, cast a bright light out upon a day that had apparently been shrouded in gloom and unrelenting rain. Yet there was Brianna, the beacon of hope in all things. It aches to know he couldn't be there, but he can picture it so clearly in his mind. Sometimes he can almost see it in her face, what she must have looked like on her first day, and how preciously Claire must have cradled her.

He has nothing much to give, nothing special, but he places a basket of fresh strawberries by her door, along with a warm wool scarf bearing the Fraser crest. He's planning to simply leave the items and go about his day, assuming perhaps she might prefer that. But after a moment of standing by her door and contemplating the proper course of action, Jamie finally knocks. ]

Brianna?

breaks ur inbox in//11-7, action

here i go again

for the birthday girl.