AN: I don't own anything about the characters or story references other than the difference in plot details. The characters and some of the dialogue belong to Diana Gabaldon and the creators of the Outlander series.

Outlander: Returning Home

Chapter 1: Stone Journey

Deep down I knew that Jamie wasn't fine. I watched in horror as he paced several times before coming back to where I had been standing. I felt terrible that we had had to kill Dougal, but I knew if it came to him or me, Jamie would chose me every time. I knew he had promised Rupert 2 hours, but I hated the thought of him being hanged or worse yet killed over a useless prince. Charles was going to die one way or another, but for Jamie to be killed as well didn't sit well with me. I just wished Dougal would have listened to reasoning. No, he was just as stubborn if not worse than the Scot in front of me.

"Claire, we must go now," Jamie said as he stood beside me watching Fergus leave with the deed of sasine to Lallybrock. Jamie had Murtagh and I sign our names under his as he gave his only home to his nephew. I knew that wasn't something he wanted to do, but he wasn't going to lose his home over being a traitor. To his way of thinking, it would be better to see it in the hands of little Jamie than for the Redcoats to sieze it, take retribution, and destroy it after the war ended. I knew when we went to Paris it was a long shot to think we could have made a difference or even change history.

"Where are we going?" I questioned as he just ran his hands through his hair, a nervous habit he had picked up over the last couple years.

"I'm no exactly inconspicuous, ye ken. But you—I can save you, Claire, and I will," he muttered as he looked toward Murtagh who was leading the Fraser men away from the battlefield. My god! Jamie was going to try to save his men as well. I tried to reason with him about leaving right now and not coming back, but he wouldn't have it. It hurt to hear him admit that he would have gone to the stake with me if he couldn't have saved me. Yet, what caught me off guard was his heartfelt confession of what he thought because I had never really felt that kind of love. I thought I loved Frank, but it wasn't until I really gave my love to Jamie did I truly understand what it meant to be loved. Jamie spent his every free moment showing me just how precious I was to him, and that one single act made this life so worth it.

"Claire, I would die a thousand times for you, but I am not carrying our child," he said softly as I moved a step back from him and looked directly at him. "Sassenach, by my reckoning it's been two months since you had yer courses…" His voice trailed off as he looked past me at the battle behind us where his brothers and fellow Scots were being killed.

"Jamie, you can't know that," I exclaimed, a little surprised that he had even been aware of it during this whole bloody war. I admitted to him I had wondered if I might be pregnant for a couple of weeks. He placed his hand on my flat belly and gave me a tight smile.

"This wee one will be all that is left of me here or in the future. I must beg ye, Claire," he said as I saw him looking from me to the men running around us.

"No, I can't leave you," I said frantically. "I chose you that day when I had the chance to go back. Damn it, Jamie, I chose you over Frank. To me it has always been you. You can't expect me to leave you now!" Tears streamed down my face as he gently wiped them away.

"Claire, you must. When you asked me to spare Randall's life… you made me a promise, and I am calling it in now. You promised me that if it came to this, ye'd go back. You would go back through the stones, back home to Frank. I am going to hold you to it," he said adamantly as I moved backward from him. He was really sending me back.

"No, I won't go," I insisted stubbornly. "You are my home. This time here is my time," I snapped as he nodded slowly but moved single-mindedly toward his horse.

"As you are mine, but this time isn't your home. This time is lost right now. You know it and I know it. I don't want you to die needlessly when you could have a chance to live. Our bairn and you need to go to a time where ye'll be safe, and to a man who can care for ye." He mounted his horse. I hated that he was right. "But God help me, if it weren't for the baby I would stand my ground," I thought as I took his hand, and he pulled me up on his horse.

It didn't seem fair as we rode through the men running with their weapons to battle. It wasn't fair for any of them to have to die as I was being taken to a safe haven. To me the injustice of it all was haunting. It pained me deeply to know that many of the men who faced being slaughtered were people I actually knew and cared for.

It didn't take Jamie long to get us to Craigh na Dun. I could see the stone circle in front of us as he stopped at the bottom of the hill and got down. He grabbed my hand and we rushed up the hill together, only to stop at the top, panting. I could see the tall stones in front of me and I froze, not ready to leave this man I had grown to love with all my heart.

"What should I say when I get back?" I questioned, not really sure what I should say.

"I'm not sure what to say to Frank or anyone, I'll leave that all up to you. You can tell them the truth or no. More than likely he nor anyone else would want to hear it. Yet if he does, tell him. Tell him how grateful I am, that I know I can trust him to care for ye and our wee one," he said softly as I pulled him closer wanting to close the gap between us, wanting to never let him go. The buzzing was growing stronger the longer I stood near the stone. I wanted to cover my ears; I was in pain. But I kept my hands on Jamie for fear that he would disappear.

"I can hear it, the buzzing is so loud. Jamie, I'm not ready to leave you. Please, please, come with me," I begged and pleaded with him as he shook his head, slightly chuckling.

"Oh, I would in a heartbeat, but I don't hear anything. This is my time right here and now. My time is right where I belong mo cridhe," he said softly, laying his hand on the stone as if to prove his point. I felt like the breath had been knocked out of me. He didn't hear them at all. There would be no way for him to come with me. "Sassenach, to be honest even if I could hear it, this is my time. My destiny lies on Culloden Moor. I need to be there for my men and any other Scot who might have a chance at life," he said regretfully. "I need to be able to protect Murtagh, Fergus, Jenny, Ian, and the rest at Lallybroch. I can't leave them knowing what will happen to them once this is over."

"I love you," I said as I watch him turn back toward me.

"Claire, I am so thankful for you. I have done so many horrible things in my life to be ashamed of, but marrying you and trying to change history has never been one of them. I would do this all over again if I was given you once more. So if and when I stand before God, I will be able to say one thing that would be honest and truthful to try to outweigh the sin that has plagued my life," he said, giving me a smile.

"Yes," I said hoping he wouldn't just leave me hanging.

"I would tell him, 'Ye gave me a verra rare woman, Lord, and I loved her well. I may not be a righteous person, but I loved that woman with all my heart, mind, body, and soul. I would have laid down my life for her if it meant another day with her.'" His eyes glistened with tears. I knew in my heart he meant it, and I was crushed at how I had wasted so much time without him.

I didn't know who moved first, but before I knew it, we were both lying on the ground making love. I would rather we'd done it slowly but I knew our time together was short. I tried to memorize the touch and feel of him inside of me as he pounded into me, as if he too, was trying to savor every detail of our last time together. I climaxed and felt Jamie shudder deep inside of me. It was over so very quickly. I could feel the effort it took for him to get up. He helped me stand as we heard the first cannon blast echo, letting us know the war had begun. He looked back over the hill and I knew our time had come to an end.

"It's begun," he murmured softly holding onto me as if trying to will it away. I looked toward the sound, knowing all too well what would lie in store for the Fraser bloodline.

I dug in my pocket to get our wedding gift from Munro. I wanted Jamie to have it as a reminder of our time together should he survive. "Jamie, here." I handed him the now wrapped amber. For me, it was a reminder of our love, but I hoped it would also serve him as a talisman to help him in battle like the rosary Jenny gave him when we left Lallybroch. He took it from me and placed it in his sporran. Then together we whispered our wedding vow. "Blood of my blood… Bone of my bone… So long as we both shall live."

I hated to see him so calm as if the outside world didn't matter when I knew deep down he was itching to get back to the fight. Even though we both knew the outcome, he still was going to stand strong in his belief. That made me proud of him, yet angry because he was making me leave. He gently pulled me away from my thoughts as he placed his hand once more on my belly. His only thought was how this baby would be the only thing of him left, and another wave a fear shot through me.

"This belonged to my father. Give it to the bairn. Let him know his father loved him verra much," he said as I watched him pull something from his sporran. It was a gold ring with a cabochon ruby set in it. I couldn't help the tears that were now pooling in my eyes as I slid the ring on my finger next to the ring Jamie had given me on our wedding day. It all seemed so far away now.

"Jamie, I'll name him after your father. It would only be right after all for him to bear some part of your family," I said after a long moment. He gave me a big grin as we both jumped slightly as another cannon blast could be heard in the distant. I could feel him gently, inexorably, guiding me backward, but for the life of me I couldn't look away. His eyes seemed as though they were searching the depths of my very soul.

"Claire, I'll always love ye, whether here in the present or two hundred years from now," he said in a low tone. It was difficult for me to find the words to express just how much he meant to me. I tried to fight him even now when I knew what he was doing as he took my hand in his and reached toward the stones. I wanted to curl my fingers in to keep from touching them but I felt his head shake on my shoulder. The next I knew, I was floating through the stones, listening to the agonizing screams and wails of those trapped within them.

Then, just darkness.

Before I opened my eyes I heard the sounds of birds and could hear a plane overhead. I knew that I was no longer in the 18th century, but wasn't even sure what time I was in now. I slowly got up and made my way to the bottom of the hill, carefully checking myself over to make sure everything was all in place. I looked to my hand and made sure the two rings were still on my finger; they were but the ruby was gone.

I didn't know how long I had been walking; I jerked as a car honked at me on the street. I turned around to see a woman getting out of the car. It was Mrs. Graham!

"Claire, is that you?" she whispered in amazement as she came closer to me. I wrapped my arms around her as she pulled me gently toward her car. "Let's get you out of here," she said, helping me into the passenger seat. She didn't speak nor ask questions as she drove us to a small house. It wasn't the same house Frank and I had visited, but it was nice and homely.

"Frank," I murmured as she helped me out of the car.

"He's in Oxford I believe. Would you like me to call on him?" she questioned softly as I followed her into her home.

"No. I'm not staying, not if I can possibly go back," I said as she gave me a big smile.

"Alright then, first things first." She led me into a small living room where she proceeded to tell me she wanted to hear everything about my journey. I was surprised by how excited she was, but then again it had been an incredible journey. I began at the beginning as I let my hands lay on my belly where my only link to Jamie was growing.