I was staying in the official guest bedroom at Fraser's Ridge, and Jamie and Claire proclaimed it an honor that John's wife was the first guest to lay their head upon the bed. I was just pleased to have a roof over my head, and was quick to tell Claire and Brianna what I was good at. I could cook, clean, hunt, prepare a kill for a meal, and sew. They were very impressed with me, and I was shocked when Jamie asked me to accompany him for a hunt.

"We willnae go far, what with the bairn," he informed me, once Claire voiced her reluctance, and the healer in her ultimately agreed.

We left the house before dawn the following morning, and I felt relieved to navigate the unfamiliar terrain with a proper woodsman like Jamie Fraser. Since John had trusted him, I knew I should afford him the same treatment. Such a thing came easily to me, as they had accepted me into their home and hearts so quickly, and I knew the least I could do, in return, was to trust them, now that I was in the same time period as they were.

"So, Lord John came through the stones to ye in yer time?" Jamie asked as we hiked through the warm woods.

I nodded; it was a familiar topic of conversation, but perhaps Jamie figured he could get more out of me, now that Claire and Brianna weren't there. "Yes," I responded. "As I told Claire, I was hiking with my family when I heard a buzzing, and that led me to John. He was quite unconscious, as was to be expected, so I offered him water, and got him to his feet. I then took him to my home, where he recuperated and acclimated to the new environment."

"Healing 'tis in yer blood, then," Jamie observed.

"Yes," I said quietly. "My mother and father were a nurse and a doctor respectively. My oldest brother is a doctor as well. While my second brother, younger brother, and I did not go into the medical field, our mother made sure we knew the basics, in case we found ourselves in a difficult situation, or another person."

Jamie tossed me a smile as we ventured up a steep incline. "I never believed that Lord John would be marrit again after Isobel," he mused, reaching out and taking me by the hand as the incline got steeper, and I permitted him to do so. "But, I can see why he would, after meeting ye, Lady Alexandra. Ye are truly something quite different, ye are."

I returned Jamie's smile. "There is no need to address me as 'lady'," I told him gently. "Once John returns, he will likely seek an annulment, and I will find my way back to the stones and be out of your lives."

"I cannae see him doing so, once he kens ye carry his bairn," Jamie informed me firmly, as he squeezed my hand before letting it go, once we reached the top of the incline. "Lord John 'tis a good man, Lady Alexandra. He will do right be ye."

I laughed aloud at that. "It all sounds very archaic... Erm, old-fashioned, to me," I told him, and Jamie turned to look at me. "Of course, I'm from two hundred years into the future. I don't really allow myself to be taken care of."

Jamie nodded his head. "Claire and Brianna are much the same, although I can understand it," he told me softly. "O'course, Lord John has experienced first hand what the future is like, while I havenae done so." He stared at me askance for a moment. "Are ye also worried about how young William will take to ye?"

I flushed slightly at that; of course I was worried about how William would take to me, although I had no idea if I would ever be introduced to him, given that John had been so content to leave me behind. "Of course I am," I said quietly. "I hope you don't mind me saying that I love him very much already. Listening to John speak about him made it impossible not to. He loved my nieces, Alexa and Ruthie, plus my nephew, Trevor, to no end." I smiled slightly at that. "My brother and sister-in-law also gave John's name to Trevor as his middle name, as well as made him the godfather. He adored little Trevor, but I could always see that he wanted William so badly, which is what drove him to attempt to return."

"I dinnae mind ye loving William," Jamie assured me. "I would hope that anyone who marrit Lord John, if he ever found himself another wife, would love him." He gave me a boyish grin that had me grinning back at him. "Ye will be a good mother to young William. Once Lord John returns and comes to his senses, ye will be a proper family."

I gave Jamie a small smile. "I wish I had your confidence," I replied.

As we ventured deeper and deeper into the woods, Jamie held up a hand once he heard some telltale creature-like footsteps within the clearing just ahead. Inching forward through the underbrush, a deer was lurking within the confines of grass. Slowly, I lifted the gun that Jamie had given me, once the shot was clear, and zeroed in on the mighty buck as it slowly and unsuspectingly meandered about. Finally, just as it turned, its dark eyes boring into me, I took my shot, and the almighty blast filled the air, causing a disturbance in a murder of crows, just lurking in the branches of the canopy of trees.

Jamie gaped from beside me as the buck fell to its feet, defeated for good, and, slowly, turned to regard me. "Ye have been hunting before, lass?"

"Since I was very young," I confirmed, nodding my head. "My mother made sure that all of us went, especially me, and my father allowed it. My mother made sure that I knew how to prepare a kill once it had been overtaken by a bullet."

"Ye ken how to prepare a deer, then, lass?"

I turned to look at Jamie, smiling slowly. "Of course I do. My mother taught me from the age of fourteen, at the same time my father taught me how to shoot. They claimed it was a useful skill, and my mother said that my father had to take me as well."

"'Tis," Jamie responded, stepping into the clearing and taking a good look at the deer. "Bit too much fer me to carry. Run on back down to the house, fetch Roger, Fergus, and Ian. Perhaps they can give me a hand in bringing this here buck back."

I nodded my head. "I can do that," I told him, slipping out of the underbrush and making my way back down the incline, going carefully. As I walked, I found my hand creeping to my belly bit by bit, until it remained there as I ventured back towards the Ridge. I had never thought I would have a husband, let alone children, but I was very happy that the latter had come to pass. Of course, it didn't really feel as if I had a husband in truth, given that he wasn't here with me, and we had gotten married for all the wrong reasons.

It was just a few hundred yards away from the house where a snapping of a stick erupted from behind me and, turning, I saw an unknown form making his way towards me. I gripped tightly onto the gun, not wanting anything untoward to happen to me, let alone my child. I went into protective mode and all of a sudden began running, my heart hammering in my ears, at the thought of anything happening to my baby, my last link to John. In an attempt to throw off my pursuer, I rounded a bend of trees and, thinking I'd lost him, hid behind one, and smacked right into the person himself.

"Little rabbits should no' play with guns," growled the man in a thick Gaelic accent, and wrested the gun away from me.

"Give that back!" I shouted, without thinking.

The man had the audacity to chuckle as he stared down at me with unfeeling eyes, his rancid whiskey breath blasting into my face and making my stomach turn. "Per'aps I 'ave found me a wife," he declared, yanking me towards him and pinning me to his body, holding the gun outwards and proceeding to walk me the rest of the way towards the Ridge. "Ye'll be more willing than my last wife, I'll wager. When she didnae listen to me, I broke her arm. Per'aps if I screw yer fire outta ye, ye'll cooperate better-like."

I struggled within his grip. "You captured the wrong rabbit if that's what you had in mind!" I spat, hating this stranger's grip upon me.

The man made a considering sound for a moment. "Ye speak so alike Dr. Rawlings," he mused for a moment, and I tensed within his arms at the direct mention of the pseudonym that Claire employed for her medical writings. "Yer silence is deafening, lassie. Per'aps ye realize that ye need a little dominance and control... Per'aps ye are the one we Browns 'ave been looking for all this time..." He then proceeded to tear into my blouse and fondled my breasts, and pure revulsion flowed through me at the sensation of his fingers upon my skin.

I trembled as I struggled to free myself, but it was no use as the man tore open my skirts and entered me from behind, and I screamed an earth-shattering sound, which echoed off the trees surrounding the two of us. The anguish tore through me at the notion that John was no longer the only man to have touched me in such a way, as I was slammed repeatedly against a tree trunk, a tree, which represented life, although I felt as if death had come for me in that moment. I was blinded by tears as I was unceremoniously torn open, blood dripping down my legs as I flailed like a fish, gasping for breath, in an environment that its life could not be sustained within. I dug into the bark of the tree, the anger and rage boiling up inside me, finally breaking through to the surface as I pictured my child within my womb, knowing I couldn't ever let anything happen to them, no matter what was happening to me now.

I angled my head around slightly then, and, with narrowed eyes and the most hateful voice I could muster, I growled at him, "You will not touch me for one more second!" and snagged my hand away from his grip, and promptly elbowed him in the stomach and pulled my gun away from his grasp, kicking him to the ground and pointing it directly at his head, my skirts thankfully pooling back over my legs, although my stockings were a lost cause, and the blood continued to drip downwards, a sharp contrast to my pale skin. "I think you should learn a lesson or three before you even think of taking another wife," I informed him, not permitting my voice to shake.

It was then that there were a series of quick footsteps behind me, and I felt a comforting hand upon my shoulder. "Give me the gun, Alexandra," said Roger's voice, and, turning, I saw that he was standing there, eyes trained upon the man I'd taken down, and Claire and Brianna were standing just behind him.

I handed the gun over to Roger without hesitation and rushed for Claire, throwing myself into her arms and trembling, reaching out blindly for Brianna in the process, who too joined in the embrace. "Claire... Claire, please..." I begged, looking up at her.

"Ye know good and well ye're not welcome here," Roger growled, aiming the gun at the man's head and having no intention of pulling it away.

"Claire, who was that man?" I whispered, permitting Claire and Brianna to pull me away, and towards the big house.

"Lionel Brown is his name," Claire whispered softly to me, keeping a good hold on me. "He tried to kidnap me by causing an accident at the still. Thankfully, Jamie wasn't too far away, and saw the accident for what it was. He got the Browns off our land, with the order never to return for any reason..."

"But he broke the order!" Brianna nearly shouted, guiding me into the surgery. "Mama, we can't just let him walk away again!"

Claire hesitated for a moment and looked out the window, gasping as she saw Jamie charging down the hillside and speaking sharply to Roger. "Stay here," she ordered, grabbing a gun for herself, and marched out the front door.

"She's gone to get Fergus and Ian," Brianna explained, and I shivered, so much so that she wrapped her arms protectively around me. "Come on," she whispered, pulling me closer to the window and gently easing it open. "They won't be able to see us, due to where the sun is, but we need to be quiet so we can hear them."

"...told ye before that ye werenae welcome on me land, Brown!" Jamie was ranting, his blue eyes wild with rage. He reached forwards, grabbing ahold of the man's collar and holding him aloft, Roger just beside him, the gun still trained on this Brown fellow. "And now I'm to hear that ye've gone after my daughter, a proper lady!"

I turned and looked at Brianna, fear in my eyes. "Roger wouldn't lie to your father, would he?" I whispered, and Brianna squeezed my arm.

"Just listen," she whispered back.

I was about to ask further questions when Claire, Fergus, and Ian all came around the house, each carrying a gun, along with Ian's dog Rollo, who growled at the sight of Brown, and positioned himself between his master and the intruder. With no less than four guns aimed at him, the man finally raised up his arms. He was disheveled, that was for sure and certain, and the best thing to compare him to was that of a whipped puppy.

"I only ken one daughter ye have, Fraser," Lionel Brown growled, glaring at Jamie. "That 'tis the lass with the hair like fire—"

Roger promptly stuck the gun directly in the middle of Lionel Brown's chest. "Dinnae speak about me wife!" he growled.

"I have meself five daughters, though one is no longer here, by the grace of God," Jamie said, a fleeting pain entering his eyes for a moment, before it cleared, and he focused on the enemy of the Fraser family before him. "Faith, who was born to me and my wife in France, who was taken by the Lord. Brianna, who I didnae know for a great many years. Marsali, wife of my dear son, Fergus, and Joan, her little sister. Finally, came my fifth and final daughter, Alexandra, who never fails to brighten our day. She was sent to us, I believe, to fill the void that Faith left behind when God called her to His kingdom. 'Twas Alexandra who ye decided to go after, who is marrit to Lord John Grey, second son of the Duke of Pardloe and Earl of Melton, as well as the younger brother of the man who too holds those titles. A man who, despite his English heritage, I hold in quite a high regard. Dinnae cross me again, Brown, nor any of the Fraser family again, or ye'll regret it and ye willnae see a tomorrow."

"The lass was asking for it," Lionel Brown declared.

Brianna, who had been shouting for me to come back, didn't even bother running after me as I made my way out of the surgery without looking back. I stepped onto the back portion of the Fraser property, and wordlessly held out my hand for the gun Roger now held, and he promptly gave it over to me. Without blinking, I took the gun from him, pointed it straight at the head of Lionel Brown, and fired the weapon.

~*~

Claire ordered strict bedrest for me after my ordeal with Lionel Brown, but was also quick to inform me that both I and my unborn child were all right, physically, at the very least. I could only tolerate Jamie, Roger, Fergus, and Ian around me, as well as Jemmy, when it came to people of the male sex. Claire and Brianna, meanwhile, stuck close to my side, and I became very friendly with Marsali and Lizzie in the interim, and enjoyed hearing Lizzie speaking to me about her childhood.

After two weeks, I finally ventured outside again, and deliberately walked in the space where Lionel Brown had attacked me. Jamie, Roger, Fergus, and Ian, Rollo in tow, had brought Lionel back to his home of Brownsville, where Richard Brown, his brother, had been very apologetic for his brother's actions. No matter how patient and wonderful everyone had been towards me, all I wanted was John, and the notion that I couldn't have him with me was heartbreaking enough, although I was relieved that our child was all right.

I came downstairs to help prepare dinner one evening, when I spotted Claire and Jamie speaking to one another in the living room. "I'm sorry," I said softly, immediately moving backwards. "I didn't think I was interrupting anything. I'll go..."

"No, lass," Jamie said, shaking his head. "Come in here, please."

I turned to look at Claire, who offered me a smile and nodded, and I slowly stepped into the room, my fingers knotting themselves together. "I was just about to go and help Mrs. Bug with dinner..." I said lamely.

"You don't need to do that, Alexandra," Claire said gently. "Not tonight."

"All right," I said softly, stepping further into the living room and sitting on the chair that Claire and Jamie had directed me into. "If this is about my staying here causing trouble, I can easily go back through the stones and we can forget this ever happened..."

"No," Jamie said. "We cannae forget, lass."

I sighed, my shoulders slumping. "Right, because I killed a man, and now I must be hung for my sins," I said softly.

"Nothing will become of that, lass," Jamie assured me. "Ye've my word on that."

I nodded. "All right."

Claire leaned forward. "We have something we would like to ask you."

I flinched as Jamie brought out a dagger with the Fraser family crest upon it. "And what does the knife have to do with it?" I asked, shrinking away from it.

Jamie gave a small smile at that. "Symbolic," he replied, and turned fully to face me then. "I would like to offer ye a choice."

I blinked. "What kind of choice?"

"What Jamie means is, we would like to adopt you," Claire said, and I promptly turned to look at her, eyes widened in shock. "Not to replace your own mother and father, mind you, but so you would have family, in the here and now."

Jamie nodded his head. "Aye. We wish to be yer mother and father, lass, but only if ye would allow such a thing."

I felt my eyes filling with tears then at the notion at what that meant. "You... You're saying that you want me?" I whispered, looking from one of them to the other.

"Yes," Claire said emphatically, closing the distance between us and clutching at my hand. "I know I want you, Alexandra."

"Aye, I want ye, too, lass," Jamie assured me.

"But... I've told you everything about my life, my world, and about all that I've gone through because of who I am," I said, shaking my head. "How can you possibly...?"

"Because we see ye as our own," Jamie told me, his voice firm. "Claire and I would like very much to call ye our own, Alexandra."

"Our own daughter," Claire said, squeezing my hand. "Brianna and Marsali want nothing more than to call you your sister."

"And Roger Mac and Fergus yer brothers," Jamie continued, "and Ian yer cousin."

I bit down hard on my lower lip. "Although my mother and father did love me, there was always a separation between myself and my brothers. Perhaps they didn't quite know what to make of me, for I was always so different than what they wanted and expected for me." Slowly, I looked up at the pair of them and nodded my head. "Yes. I would love nothing more than to be your daughter in truth."

Claire smiled. "That's wonderful."

Jamie took ahold of the dagger with the Fraser crest upon it, and sliced open his finger, before he handed it over to Claire, who effortlessly did the same. The leaned forward, their red thumbs coming closer to me, and gently painted them along the surface of my forehead. "Blood of my blood, bone of my bone, I give ye my body, that we two might be one. I give ye my spirit, 'till our life shall be done," he declared.

"Amen," Claire whispered.

I lowered my eyes. "Amen," I too whispered.

"Will ye stay, lass?" Jamie asked quietly.

Slowly, I raised my eyes to his. "What?" I whispered.

Jamie smiled. "Will ye stay, lass? Here, at Fraser's Ridge."

"Should John not return, or if he should, and the worst would happen," Claire said gently. "You will always shave a home here with us, is what we're saying."

"Yes," I whispered, nodding my head and clutching at my belly. "My child and I shall stay here, at Fraser's Ridge, for as long as you will have us."

~*~

After Claire and Jamie adopting me, time went on, and, as expected, Brianna proclaimed me as a sister to her, which was wonderful, as we started doing things that all sisters were wont to do, especially sharing clothes. Brianna immediately gave me the dresses she had worn throughout her pregnancy with Jemmy, and told me that she hoped and prayed that our children would be the best of friends. I continued sleeping in the guest bedroom at the big house on Fraser's Ridge, as we were all in agreement that it would be very unlikely to prove that I was truly Lady Grey without John being there to confirm it, so I made no moves to go to Virginia to live in his home over there, nor did I contact William, knowing that John would want to be the one to break the news to him, had he been here.

Meeting Roger face-to-face was a completely wonderful experience, especially when he found out even more about my career in 1969. I was all too happy to tell him about the school, the lesson plans, and my students as well, and we shared stories about all three. I also told Roger and Brianna in great detail about the terrible secret that Headmaster Radclyffe had unearthed about me, and both of them were deeply sympathetic towards my plight, assuring me over and over that, because I had been a child, I could hardly do anything to stop my parents, no matter how wrong their actions were.

One of my favorite things to do, when I wasn't sterilizing Claire's instruments for her or helping Mrs. Bug in the kitchen, was sitting with Brianna and watching over Jemmy. Jemmy was growing like an adorable little plant, and he seemed to expect my company with Brianna each passing day. I hardly minded, and joked with Brianna that I would need as much practice as possible, since my baby was due to arrive in September. I had finally started showing just two weeks before my birthday, and I was immensely proud of that fact.

"Do you know much about your family background?" Brianna asked me one afternoon in the height of summer, Jemmy toddling around in the soft, green grass.

I shifted slightly from where Brianna and I sat underneath the shade of a beautiful Eastern red cedar; it was becoming more and more difficult to get comfortable these days, and, at six months along, I knew it would only get worse. "My father's family was English, and I know that my mother was from Scotland."

Brianna blinked, turning to look over at me. "Really? Do you know her surname?"

"Morrison. She was a member of Clan Morrison," I explained, and Brianna nodded her head, clearly fascinated. "I don't know much about her family, to be honest, but her parents were named Bertram and Sylvia, and they had two children—my mother, and her sister, Eliza. I don't know much more about them, to be honest."

"Perhaps Roger knows something about them," Brianna mused, smiling at me. "Scotland was his specialty. I'm sure he wouldn't mind letting us know if he remembers something."

I placed my hands on my belly, marveling at the notion that I would be a mother, and soon, although my heart still ached at the notion that John was not there with me to share in it. I put the thought out of my mind, and leaned back against the tree trunk. "As much as I adore you and your family, Brianna, for all which they've done for me..."

Brianna reached in between us and took my hand. "You miss Lord John," she said quietly, and I slowly turned to look at her. "Don't worry; I understand. I know I would be absolutely and completely devastated if Roger wasn't here with me."

I hunched my shoulders as I bit my tongue, in an effort to keep the tears at bay. "I think what I hate the most is that I let myself fall, knowing that he could never love me back."

"I think Lord John cared for you," Brianna assured me, "and, when the time is right, he will come and find you. I know it."

I gave Brianna a sad smile. "Let's not hold our breath."

~*~

I had screamed so much that my lungs were hoarse, and my hair was dripping wet onto the pillows behind me. My vision swam with pain as the September sunlight crept into the guest room at the big house, and my fingers were weak from grabbing onto the blankets so much as I moaned in pain. A glass of water was provided for me, and I drank down the cool liquid as fast as I could, despite the warnings of whomever was holding it warning me to go slowly. I couldn't help it—I was in pain, thirsty, and felt devastated that my husband was not here to witness the birth of his child.

He wouldn't want to be here anyway.

You took his chance of going home away from him.

You are nothing but a stupid, selfish, worthless girl from the twentieth century.

He never loved you.

He never wanted you.

He only married you out of pity.

He probably won't even think it's his child.

He will cast you aside the moment he returns.

He only wants the company of men.

He settled for you.

He only married you for a favor.

He doesn't want you.

He doesn't love you.

Doesn't...doesn't...doesn't...

The pains were coming in waves, and they were coming closer and closer together, and nothing was stopping them. I was vaguely aware of Brianna holding my hand, Claire sitting in between my legs, Marsali just beside her, and Lizzie making sure I was hydrated. I gritted my teeth, yet another scream coming out of me; I had heard Claire tell Marsali that I had already lost a lot of blood and that they were going to staunch it, while Brianna informed her mother that she had better do everything she can, and my eyes snapped open at that.

"Bree..." Claire said, her tone a warning.

"I don't care, Mama, I don't care!" Brianna cried out, her voice trembling with emotion. "She's my sister—Alexandra is my sister. You save her, and her baby, Mama. You can do it; I know you can. You have to..."

I felt something coming forth from within me then, and I found the strength to let out an almighty scream, throwing myself backwards as I felt something coming out of me, and there were collective gasps around the room, followed by an earsplitting shriek. I forced myself back upwards, heart in my throat, as I saw my child for the first time, screaming, and swinging its arms and legs back and forth with a fit of passion. Despite the pain I was in, I felt a smile splitting my face as I began to sob, watching as Claire directed Marsali to finish up, and presumably stitch me up, while Claire cleaned off my baby.

"You have a beautiful baby girl," Claire declared, several moments later, having cleaned off the little thing and brought her to me, all wrapped up in the softest blanket. "She is perfectly healthy and is, I'd say, the same weight as a peck of potatoes—so in between six and a half to seven and a half pounds."

"Oh, my goodness," I whispered, reaching upwards and taking the baby into my arms, staring down at the little goddess within them. She would have dark hair, that much was for certain, and I was convinced that it was mine because of its shade and consistency. She had my high cheekbones and turned up nose, but when her eyes opened, I was staring back at her father, which was evident when she furrowed her brow and made a little noise with her father's own mouth. "Johanna, it's all right," I whispered, the first name coming to mind, knowing I wanted to name my child John, but, since she was a girl, Johanna was just as beautiful.

"Johanna... That is such a beautiful name for your beautiful little princess," Brianna whispered, still beside me, and looking down at my little girl, and I moved over slightly, so as she could sit upon the bed beside me. "For Lord John, right?"

I nodded at her. "Yes," I replied. "Johanna Grey," I whispered, reverently, staring down at my daughter with more love and devotion than I had ever anticipated in the entirety of my life. I lowered my nightgown as Johanna began to fuss, and placed my nipple upon her lips, whereupon my daughter began to suckle, in a most eager manner, and I smiled at the notion that my child was alive and well.

Brianna told Lizzie to fetch me a cloth to cover myself for modesty, knowing that I would like to greet Jamie, Roger, and Jemmy as soon as possible. She remained sitting beside me as Claire asked Mrs. Bug for some freshly boiled water, and moved to stand beside Marsali, making sure that she was following her instructions to the letter. My placenta came forth shortly thereafter, and I was promptly stitched up, and, while it was very painful, I wouldn't have taken it back for anything in the world.

"Alexandra, love," Claire said gently, and I looked up, not having taken my eyes off my baby daughter for anything. "Jamie, Roger, and Jemmy are wanting to see you. Would you like me to tell them to wait?"

"Um," I began looking down at Johanna, who stopped feeding, and let out a little sigh of contentment, whereupon I moved the cloth onto my shoulder and gently burped her, Brianna pulling up my nightgown. "I think I'll be all right seeing them... May I go and sit by the window for a while?" I asked.

Claire smiled at me. "Of course," she replied. "Brianna."

Brianna immediately stepped in, taking Johanna carefully from me once I'd finished burping her, and made little shushing noises as my daughter protested. Claire stepped forward and got me out of bed, instructing Lizzie to place clean linens on it and send the dirty and bloodied ones out for a washing. Lizzie did as she was told, effortlessly stripping the bed as Claire assisted me in going over to the chair by the window and easing me down upon it, while Marsali hurried downstairs herself, and Claire got me my robe.

"Thank you," I said gratefully, tying my robe in place and holding out my hands again, Brianna handing me back Johanna. "All right... I'm ready." I was beaming as Jamie and Roger stepped into the room, with Roger holding tightly to Jemmy, who immediately started squirming within the confines of his father's arms once he caught sight of me. I turned and looked at Brianna, who went to fetch an ottoman.

"Here, Roger. Let Jemmy sit here," Brianna instructed.

Roger nodded. "All righ'," he responded, setting down his son, who flew across the room and perched upon the ottoman, climbing up to his knees and staring down at the carefully-wrapped bundle in my arms.

"Jem, baby, careful," Brianna admonished gently.

"Claire dinnae tell us if it was a bonny wee lass or a wee lad," Jamie put in, looking down at the baby I held.

"Either way, ye've got a beautiful bairn, Alexandra," Roger said.

"Bairn!" Jemmy declared, grinning down at the baby, obviously angling to get a closer look. "I want to see!"

"Jemmy, be patient, like we talked about," Brianna said softly.

"I would like to introduce, for the first time, Johanna Victoria Katherine Grey," I said softly, looking up at Jamie, who beamed at the name.

"Ah, a fine name for a fine bonny wee lass," came an unfamiliar voice at my bedroom door and, upon looking up, I saw a lovely woman of middling years standing upon the threshold.

"Auntie, I told you to wait," Jamie said, although there was no heat in his voice as the woman stepped closer into the room.

"Aye, ye did, but I wanted to see my great-niece," she said, smiling in my direction. She stepped closer, and I didn't tense, as I knew that the dear woman was blind, and needed to feel me in order to meet me properly for the first time. As she came closer, Brianna took Jemmy into her arms, and Jamie and Roger assisted her onto another chair that had been procured, and she reached forward, once she had sat down, and placed her hands upon my face, a breathtaking smile overtaking it once she stroked my skin for the first time. "Ah, and ye must be Alexandra, the fine young woman who ensnared Lord John's heart." She continued in that vein for a moment, and nodded to herself. "A fine beauty, indeed, my dear sweet girl."

I smiled up at the woman. "A pleasure to meet you, Mistress Cameron."

"Och, none of that, me girl," she replied, laughing indulgently, patting my cheek. "It is Auntie Jocasta to you, my love."

I nodded. "Of course, Auntie Jocasta," I said. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Aye, and ye as well, my dear," she replied. "Ye have named your daughter Johanna Victoria Katherine Grey, then?"

"Yes, auntie," I replied. "Johanna being the feminine form of John."

"Ah, yes," Jocasta said fondly. "And Victoria and Katherine?" she wanted to know.

"Victoria for Saint Victoria, the Catholic martyr, as well as my paternal grandmother, who I apparently looked very similar to," I said quickly, knowing that I could hardly say it was for Queen Victoria, given that the woman had not even been born yet, let alone ruled over England as queen and as Empress of India. "As for Katherine, for Catherine of Aragon, of course, although with a 'K' and not a 'C'."

"Fine names indeed," Jocasta said, nodding in approval. "It is too bad we have no' seen much of Lord John lately, what with him in London on business."

I grimaced, thankful of the cover story that Jamie had come up with, but desperately wishing that it was true, and not a falsehood. "Yes, we all miss him dearly," I said softly.

"But, onto happier things," Jocasta said, squeezing my arm. "Roger here has informed me of yer connection to Clan Morrison."

I nodded my head at that. "Yes, auntie. My biological mother, God rest her soul, was a member of Clan Morrison. She also had a sister, Eliza, whom we unfortunately lost contact with some years ago. Well, in all honesty, I've not met her, but she was born and raised in Scotland."

"I know an Eliza Morrison, although she is Eliza Robertson now," Jocasta said, smiling to herself in recognition. "Showed up in Inverness nearly thirty years ago... You remember her, Jamie, from Lallybroch? Stayed there fer a time, and ran off to marry Malcolm Robertson just before Black Jack Randall came to the estate."

"Aye, auntie," Jamie said, looking positively ill, while Roger, Bree, and I stiffened at the direct mention of the man who had singlehandedly made many years of Jamie's life a living hell. "I heard tell that Malcolm Robertson and his family are living in Williamsburg now."

"Pretty as a picture Eliza was, back when I still had me sight," Jocasta mused, a faraway expression upon her face. "Hair in between red and gold, with the sharpest blue eyes ye ever did see... Och, well," Jocasta said, shaking her head for a moment as the bygone days filled her mind for a few moments. "Perhaps she would know ye, lass."

I shrugged my shoulders. "It's certainly worth a try," I said quietly, utterly surprised that there could be another piece of me, lurking somewhere in the past. "The worst that could happen is that this Eliza isn't the same person."

"We will send out inquiries at once, lass," Jamie promised.

I looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you, Da," I whispered, and Jamie appeared to be choked up for a moment, "for everything you've done. Everything."