Title: Charlotte's Tumbling Time Travel: Parting of the ways

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters on "Outlander", I'm only borrowing them for the story.

Author's notes: So, Lottie is back as you can see. This is the fifth story in my series about Lottie's life in 18th century Scotland. My guess is that this one is going to be quite long. I have a lot that I see happening in this story and that I want to fit in here. I've also decided to always state that spanking MIGHT occur in my stories in this series because I don't want to give away too much information about the story.

Warning: May contain spanking of a child/teenager.

Lottie smacked her lips and urged Seoc into an even faster gallop over Scottish green hills and dirt roads. She ducked to avoid various branches sticking out from trees and skillfully shifted her weight in the saddle when they rode through bends. Seoc was sweating from the exertion and so was she but there was no time to mind that now. Even though she didn't like doing it she nudged him in the side with her feet now and then, but she refused to kick him. She would never resort to that no matter what crisis she was facing. And she was facing a crisis all right. She needed to find Jamie and bring him back immediately.

Two days earlier

Lottie sat on a stool in front of the mirror in her chamber. A copper haired girl with thin light green eyes stared back at her. A boy named Elias back at the orphanage in the 20th century had once called her pretty. She hadn't cared a naught for his opinion of her and his comment had only made her nauseous.

"Boys…" she muttered to herself.

She was all right. Not ugly, she thought as she pulled her hair back and quickly braided it skilfully. Her looks wasn't the most important thing in the world to her. And she certainly didn't care what some boy thought of her. She felt content with herself as she was: a slender girl with a small nose and slight blush in her cheeks with straight red hair and average height. In her own eyes she was pretty regular.

She yawned and stole a glance out the window. The afternoon was gray and since she was at a loss as to what to occupy herself with she thought about strolling down to the kitchen to see if she could get a bite to eat before dinner time. Before she got the chance though there was a sharp knock at her door. A voice was heard through the closed door.

"Lottie Dawson ye are summoned to the Laird's chamber right away."

Colum MacKenzie's chamber was dark with a fire crackling and crunching in the fireplace. The heavy tension between the four men in the room was almost suffocating Lottie as she stood still as a statue holding her tongue and listened to Jamie and Dougal getting an earful from the laird of castle Leoch.

Lottie didn't exactly hold Colum in high esteem. Better put she disliked the man a lot. Due to her upfront ways and lack of suitable behavior for a girl the 18th century he had never been fond of her either. He had just finished exiling Dougal MacKenzie and the man stood with his head bowed in affliction in the middle of the room with his back to the rest of them. His older brother had now turned his attention to her instead.

"And you little Charlotte Dawson," he said with a threatening glint in his right eye. "From now on ye better watch yerself, lass. Dinna ever harm Mrs. Fitz' granddaughter again if ye ken what's indeed good for you. "

She met his ominous stare with a steely one of her own but bit back her remark. She knew she should consider herself lucky to have escaped public punishment and didn't want to risk him condemning her to it now when the incident was behind her. She gave him a nod and he seemed satisfied with that. Instead he turned to Jamie who stood behind her solid as a pillar, as always.

"Jamie Fraser! How dare ye spill McDonald blood on my land?!"

Lottie listened as Jamie took his share of the tongue lashing from Colum. He made a few attempts at explaining and defending his actions but his uncle simply turned a deaf ear and cut him off, making him wince and hold his injured side.

"Nasty old grump," Lottie muttered discreetly and glared at Colum. She hated him for not listening to Jamie and for not allowing him rest when he was injured. He was proving every prejudice she had about him.

"Dinna think ye're too old for me to condemn to a thrashing in the great hall again, lad. You fail to follow my orders to stay close to my brother and you will feel that same strap ye felt years ago again, ye hear?"

Jamie pursed his lips in annoyance at his uncle's threat but said nothing. If Lottie hadn't been so angry with Colum she might have giggled. Having been on the receiving end of punishment by Jamie she found it sort of funny to hear him, a grown up, get the same threat of punishment.

"And just so I know that yer mind is focused on my wishes...ye'll leave that wife of yers, as well as the lass, " he nodded at Lottie who stood frozen in anger. "here."

Jamie now took a step forward.

"I see no reason why…"

"You flap that tongue at me again, lad, I'll have it cut out at the root!" Colum roared.

Everyone looked up as a sharp no! was heard in the cramped room. It took Lottie a moment to register that it was her own voice she had just heard. Dougal had now snapped out of his reverie of misery and turned around and also Jamie and Ned were staring at her small form. Ned with showed interest and Jamie with some trepidation in his eyes.

"You can't do this just because mistakes were made! So what if Dougal got Geillis pregnant! He shouldn't be punished just for loving someone, even if it's someone who acts like some whore! It's not his fault."

She ignored Jamie's fumbling behind her. He tried to grab her arm and get in front of her but she shook him off and faced off with Colum.

Colum looked like he had just realized he was choking on a piece of meat stuck in his throat. His face was dangerously red and looked almost swollen.

"And you have no right to send Jamie away! He only defended himself in that duel for God's sake! If he's going then I'm going to!"

Lottie swallowed hard as she watched Jamie saddle his horse and fasten his packed belongings behind the saddle. He was really leaving. Just as things had been working out so well and she had thought she would be safe with both Jamie and Claire. And now everything was heading south.

"Dinna fash, lass," he said with a sympathetic look at her hovering at the stable door. "I've given ye my promise I'll be back for ye both, aye?"

She nodded and ran the back of her hand across her nose with a sniffle.

"Yes. But who knows when that will be."

"Well, I canna say for sure. But I promise to try my best to make sure it's soon. If ye promise me to be good while I'm away, aye?"

Lottie appraised his words with arms crossed over her chest.

He turned around.

"Lottie," he said demandingly.

"Yes, yes, I promise," she said with resignation. After the events in Colum's chamber she wasn't about to make more trouble for herself. Things had ended with Colum aiming to slap her face, but he had ended up hitting Jamie's chest instead, as he had stepped in front of her. Not much good had come of her outburst either. She had been unable to change Colum's mind about anything. He was still exiling Dougal, sending Jamie along for an undecided period of time and he was still convinced she was a burden not necessarily worth putting up with.

"And for the very last time, lass: Stay away from Laoghaire. If ye know what's best for you."

She nodded.

"I know."

He seemed satisfied with that answer and finished the preparations on his horse. When he was done he took the reins and led the black horse outside into the courtyard where Dougal, Angus and Rupert were waiting. Claire approached and Lottie deliberately kept her distance to give the couple some space to say their goodbyes.

As Claire finished up tending to Jamie's wound Dougal rode up to Lottie on his speckled horse. He remained seated in the saddle, casually holding the reins in his right hand while looking down at her with a deadpan look on his rugged features. She met his gaze with a steady one of her own.

"Ye tried to stand up fer me," he said calmly. "Against my brother. That's either very brave or very stupid. I choose to believe the former."

Lottie said nothing, just stared at him. On the road she had found she could get along with Dougal MacKenzie. She had to her surprise even found that she liked him and she was sad to see him go now. It had also made her so mad to see him get so beaten down by his older brother earlier.

"Hold out yer hand, lass," he said to her surprise.

He reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out two coins which he dropped in the palm of her outstretched hand.

"For me?" she asked, stunned.

A small pleasant grin spread on his lips and the lines around his eyes became visible. He bent down and gave her a heavy but affectionate pat on the head. Then he turned his horse around and headed over to his companions.

"Jamie! Kiss yer bride goodbye now. I want to put some hard miles between me and my brother before nightfall."

Lottie dropped the coins into her pocket with a sniffle and hurried over to Jamie and Claire. When he turned to her to say goodbye she threw her arms around him in a hug. She had decided to stay strong for Claire's sake and not cry, so she forced her fear and worry into the back of her mind and focused on the thought that Jamie would be returning. He had after all promised he would.

Jamie patted the back of her head and held her close for a moment. Then he let her go and gazed seriously at her.

"Ye mind Claire now, lass," he held up a hand in the air. "But you look after her as well. I'm counting on ye, aye?" he said with a smile.

Lottie pushed her shoulders back a little and felt her chest swell with the pride she felt from being entrusted with responsibility while Jamie was away.

"I promise. Hurry back," she said.

He nodded, gave Claire one last kiss on the forehead and swung himself into the saddle. And they were gone.

Two days later

Lottie was bored. Really bored. The day had been uneventful and she had spent most of it in her chambers reading about different poultices that could be put on snake bites. It had been sort of exciting the first two hours but now she was sick of it. She simply had to get out and do something. She knew it was really too early to head down to the great hall for dinner but she got up from her desk anyway and opened her closet in search of something presentable to wear when heading down there. She had promised to tell a story tonight after dinner as entertainment and she chose a red and black dress for the occasion. Claire had instructed her not to walk around wearing whatever suited her but to think about what she wore in public at the castle, so she squeezed herself into the dress without complaint. Lottie didn't loathe her 18th century dresses or anything but she missed wearing breeks in public. She wore a pair around her own chamber when she wasn't expecting anyone but she resisted the urge to put on a pair when headed to the great hall.

There weren't many people in the big room and she hadn't expected there to be many either, there being two hours until dinner time. But it didn't take long before she had spotted Ned Gowan seated on a bench close to the fire with his nose buried in a book. She approached him and plumped down on the bench next to him. He came out of the world he had been in with a jerk and looked up.

"Oh, Lottie, what a lovely surprise. How are ye?" he said with a smile at her. He closed the book with a muffled thump.

Lottie enjoyed talking to Ned and she was happy to have found him sitting there. After having exchanged pleasantries they got into a conversation about women's possible opportunities to become lawyers in the future. A conversation which occupied them both for half an hour, that was until Mrs. Fitz's kitchen maids began to set the tables for dinner. A pleasant aroma of fried chicken reached Lottie's nostrils and she inhaled the delicious smell deeply, hearing her stomach growl accusingly at her. She turned around and glanced at the doorway.

"I wonder where Claire is," she mumbled.

"Claire?"

She nodded at the old man.

"Yes. I haven't seen her since this morning. Perhaps I'll go down to the surgery and check on her."

"Oh no, no, lass. That's not necessary. Claire headed to Cranesmuir an hour ago. To Mrs. Duncan's house," he informed her.

Lottie fixed her green eyes on him and grabbed his shirt sleeve tightly.

"What?!" she exclaimed. "Why?"

She was well aware of Jamie's warning for Claire to stay away from Geillis Duncan before he left.

"Lottie, " he admonished a little uneasily and made her let go of his clothing. "She received a note with a message that she was in a hurry to show Geillis Duncan, for some reason. She was on her way to fetch her horse when I encountered her. But I'm sure she'll be back soon, it's almost dinner time and I dinna think she'd miss Mrs. Fitz roasted..."

Lottie swiveled around on the bench, hopped off and ran from the room, leaving a surprised Ned behind. She had to get to the stables and saddle Seoc. She had a bad feeling about the letter and Claire.

Lottie and Seoc came in a fast trot through the cobbled streets of Cranesmuir. Just about to enter the square their path was intersected by a shivery looking black wagon with bars at its door. Seoc winnied a little in surprise and Lottie calmed him by stroking him between his ears.

"Shhh, boy, easy."

She got off him and was about to start leading him the rest of the way when she was met by a terrifying sight that made her stomach turn to ice. Claire and Geillis were dragged out of Geillis' house by two men and forced into the back on the black wagon which had parked just outside her house. Lottie wanted to run over there and try to get them out but something stopped her. It was too big a risk, she realized. If she made the mistake of thinking she could rescue them and then failed she might get thrown in there with them too. And then there would be no one to get help from the castle.

Lottie got off Seoc and dropped his reins in the middle of the courtyard. The sound of old Alec's angry admonishing voice reached her ears as she ran towards the staircase but there was no time to explain to him now why she was being so irresponsible with her horse. She just called over her shoulder to him while she ran:

"Sorry, Alec...emergency!" and leapt up the stairs three at a time.

She crashed into the big hall, almost breathless and managed to quickly find Ned among all the people eating dinner. The room was filled with bubbly Scottish voices and she had to raise her voice to be heard over them.

"Help," she said with alarm. "You have to come help me, Ned! Claire has been taken by some men in the village!"

Ned wiped his mouth on the napkin that had been in his lap and his eyes widened.

"What are ye sayin, lass? Taken? By whom?

"I don't know. She and Geillis Duncan were both thrown into the back of a black wagon and taken away. I think I heard someone say something about witchcraft and the thieves hole."

Ned got up quickly and together they left the room. An hour later Lottie was pacing the corridor outside her room when Ned finally reappeared. He had just come from a meeting with Colum about the situation and was now going to fill her in on the plan to rescue Claire. She lunged herself at him, grabbing his sleeves.

"What did he say? Is he on his way to Cranesmuir with men to get Claire out? Or will he wait until morning because it's already too late in the evening? It would be so typical of him to make her spend the night in a thieves hole, whatever that is, because he needs his beauty sleep..."

"Lottie," Ned cut her off. A serious expression covered the old lawyer's face. He looked weary and almost ashamed and it scared her. "I'm afraid Colum isn't going to take action against this atrocity against Claire.

Lottie felt a part of her brain start to boil, but before she had a chance to go livid she felt fear take over instead. Jamie was gone, and now Claire was in deep trouble. Ned had explained to her that Geillis Duncan was most likely the one accused of witchcraft, and that Claire had most likely been in the wrong place at the wrong time. However that didn't diminish the threat against her now that she had been taken along with Geillis. The villagers would see her as just as guilty as the other woman.

"Why won't he help her?" Lottie almost growled between gritted teeth. She spun around and kicked the door to her chambers open with a loud bang. She went inside and Ned stood in the doorway.

"It is complicated, lass. Calm down. I willna abandon them though. I will go to the trial to represent them and do my verra best to help them be set free."

Ned's words calmed her somewhat but she still wasn't satisfied.

"Good but why the hell won't Colum help them?!" she repeated, exasperated.

Embarrassment conquered Ned's features once again and he blushed a little.

"Because of the child Geillis Duncan is carrying," he reluctantly told her with a sigh. "It's a bastard child and Colum would rather it died with her in the pyre than have to deal with its existence after its birth."

The old man shook his head at the distastefulness of his Laird's decision.

"This is however not a conversation I should be having with a young lady such as yourself. All ye need to know right now is that I intend to assist them both to the best of my abilities."

Lottie pushed strands of red hair from her face. Her hair was damp at her neck from riding Sach back to Leoch in such a hurry. She was desperately worried about Claire and she wished Jamie was there. None of this would have happened if he had been. Then the thought hit her: What if this was Colum's doing? Was it possible he could have sent Claire into this trap?

She spun around.

"Did he do this? Colum. Did he send Claire to Cranesmuir to get caught by the town's people?"

Ned frowned in thought, and then contemplated her words for a second before he answered. That wasn't a good sign. It meant Colum really had no desire whatsoever to help Claire since Ned even had to consider the possibility of him setting Caire up like this.

"No, lass. I dinna think so."

She threw her hands in the air.

"Then who would…" she stopped in mid sentence and felt her green eyes turn into slits. "Laoghaire."

Lottie felt sure Laoghaire had had something to do with Claire getting caught in this mess. She wanted nothing more than to pummel that evil seductress but revenge wasn't her main focus right now. Helping Claire, however, was.

It was morning and the witch trial was going to take place in Cranesmuir at first light. Ned had ordered her to stay at castle Leoch and not set foot in the village the night before and it had of course ended with a dispute between them. Lottie didn't care though. She was going to ride down to the village as soon as he had left and be there for Claire. There wasn't anything the old lawyer could do to change her mind.

To be continued

A/N: Please, please let me know what you think of the beginning of this story. Good? Too slow? Do you have any questions or wishes regarding the story? Reading peoples' thoughts really helps me to keep writing to please send me a short or long review. Thank you for reading.